NCCAT – What I hope to get from my Kenan Fellows experience

What in the world is an English teacher doing on a produce farm?  That seems to be the question I get from almost everyone when I tell them what I am doing this summer.  Sure, I teach in a school located in a major INTERNATIONAL agriculture hub.  However, I’m expected to concern myself with reading literature, diagramming sentences, and writing prose and verse.  That is so 20th Century!

I hope to help my students realize that agriculture should be everyone’s concern – from the laborer in the field to the broker in the warehouse to the manager of a school cafeteria.  More, importantly, I want my students to gain a better understanding of how important what we eat is to all aspects of life.  I want my students to understand the language and business of agriculture.  I want my students to recognize their importance in the global market.