Farm Education

Oct 26, 09:09 AM

Current Headlines: By Clarissa Aljentera, The Monterey County Herald, Calif.

Oct. 26--Megan McGaugh marveled at the tiny acorn in her hands.

Armed with a new knowledge of seeds she learned Thursday at the annual Farm Day at the Monterey Fairgrounds, the 8-year-old picked at the outer shell to reveal a yellow hue inside. "Look how the seed is different," she said. "It is light and dark."

For Megan and her third-grade classmates at Marina Vista Elementary School, Farm Day was a rare opportunity to get a science lesson, learning a little about everything from how seeds sprout to dairy cows to germs.

With many teachers required to meet instruction standards for math and language arts under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, subjects like social studies and science often take a back seat.

"We have a lot of minutes for language arts, math and PE," said Marsha Leadingham, Megan's Marina Vista teacher. "You have to be creative and try to figure out how to integrate (science) into the curriculum."

Leadingham said she has been taking her classes to Farm Day for five years and tries to create lesson plans based on what students have seen there.

Earlier Thursday morning, Megan and her class heard a presentation from representatives for Gowan Seed Co., who walked students through the process of how seeds are planted with farm machinery.

"Some of the students know everything and some don't know much," said Cheri Heffren, an employee of Gowan who has done the presentations for eight years. "It depends on if they have a class garden. You can see which teachers are interactive."

Through it all, Leadingham listened carefully and snapped digital photographs of the presentations. She was unable to quantify exactly how much time she spends teaching science to her class in a week.

Schools like Captain Cooper Elementary in Big Sur have more hands-on science experience available to their students than many of their urban counterparts.

Ted Guzowski, who teaches a combination second- and third-grade class, uses a school garden to help teach science every day.

"I know many teachers don't have time for everything," said Guzowski, who has a science background.

In addition to the students' field trip to Farm Day, Guzowski has taken his class to Earthbound Farm to learn about fruits and vegetables and has taught a 30-minute lesson on healthful cooking.

"Teachers love Farm Day," said Bob Morgan, principal at Marshall Elementary School in Seaside. "They do find time to integrate it into the curriculum."

He said math can be integrated when teachers examine feeding schedules and weight.

"They all work with formula and equations," said Morgan, who sent 100 third-graders to the event.

Farm Day is funded by Monterey County Agricultural Education, a local nonprofit agency, and has been held since 1991. About 98 percent of the county's third-graders in private and public schools participate. This year the event attracted about 2,500 students.

"We know how pressed teachers are for time," said Connie Quinlan, executive director of Monterey County Agricultural Education. "Science plays an important part in everyday life. Science is not something to be afraid of."

Clarissa Aljentera may be reached at 648-1171 or claljentera@montereyherald.com.

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