Bacon comes from pigs (and other educational opportunities)
I was absolutely fascinated by this New York Times story about rural education for urban kids.
The story is about some teachers at a Harlem charter school that take kindergarteners to a farm museum for field trips.
The teachers’ motivation, other than to teach kids about where food comes from, is to improve test scores.
As an example, standardized tests might ask kids to do math problems involving chickens, eggs, plowing or cornstalks.
When’s the last time a kid from Harlem saw a plow?
In one of the classrooms only two of the 25 kids had seen a pumpkin.
Hard to imagine, isn’t it? I guess I’m a lot more naïve than I thought.
The story mentioned a school district in New Mexico that had the opposite problem. Kids in the rural district aren’t familiar with things like lawns or escalators, according to the New York Times story.
Lots of farmers tell me they want to educate urban families about where food comes from. That’s important. But it’s a little mind-boggling to think how much closer kids in Rock County are to rural life than kids in major metropolitan areas.
Just food for thought … about food.
Oct 23, 2009 at 1:35 p.m.
Suggest removal
"I find pastrami to be the most sensous of all cured meats." -George Costanza
Oct 23, 2009 at 1:34 p.m.
Suggest removal
LOL
Oct 23, 2009 at 10:10 a.m.
Suggest removal
Note to self: Don't accept breakfast invitations to Bellagio_Bound's house without a proper chaperone.
Oct 23, 2009 at 9:05 a.m.
Suggest removal
I think bacon is an aphrodisiac.
Oct 22, 2009 at 10:49 a.m.
Suggest removal
i always forget that everyone didn't grow up on a farm, and that my knowledge of chickens and turkeys is unique to a lot of people.
one of my bosses at work seriously thought the eggs that people eat are eaten before they turn into chicks!
Oct 22, 2009 at 10:30 a.m.
Suggest removal
P.S. I was about to explain to the little neighbor girl how store milk comes from cows, too, but her big brothers gave me the "don't go there" look.
Oct 22, 2009 at 10:28 a.m.
Suggest removal
When the neighbor lady had an appointment, she brought the kids over for the day. During lunch, the little sister asked, "Does your milk come from cows?"
"Well... yeah."
"Then, I don't want it."
"That's too bad. Where does *your* milk come from?"
"From the STORE!"
Oct 21, 2009 at 9:40 p.m.
Suggest removal
It is amazing how few people know where the products in the food chain actually come from. Reminds me of a great saying.....
Bacon & eggs...a days work for some, a lifetime commitment for others.....
Oct 21, 2009 at 8:24 p.m.
Suggest removal
Exactly, I always taught my daughter from little on where the food comes from such as eggs from chickens hamburger from cattle and bacon from pigs. It was amazing to me that some kids even here in Janesville thought that those things only came from the store or the fast food restaurant. Not her, we would be on the bus for a field trip and pass by a farm and she would see cows and say MMMM hamburger or MMMM bacon. The teachers laughed as others would say noooo there is only a cow I don't see McDonald's.
Before you post a comment, consider this:
Note: GazetteXtra.com does not condone or review every comment. Read more in our User Policy AgreementPost Comment
Commenting requires registration.