The Ancient Chinese Philosopher Laozi is quoted as saying, “If you give a man a fish, you’ll feed him for a day. If you teach a man to fish, you’ll feed him for a lifetime.”
Contrary to the fact that the school is located in Lacy LAKEview, students at Connally High School don’t have regular access to any bodies of water. What they do have, however, is access to high quality education in the study of agriculture.
For the first time since 2002, students at Connally High School are enrolled in classes in the Agricultural Sciences pathway.
“Adding agricultural science classes into our course catalog gives our students the opportunity to be exposed to a whole new world,” CHS Principal Hermann Pereira said. “Our students are learning a new set of skills that are transferable to everyday life and will benefit them in the long run.”
Beginning this year, students had the option to enroll in both Principles of Agriculture and Floral Design. These classes will build into a wide variety of courses in the years to come - including specific studies in plant sciences and agricultural mechanics.
“We made it a point to listen to feedback from our students last year to see what it was that they were INTERESTED in studying,” CHS Assistant Principal of Curriculum and Instruction Elizabeth Brownlee said. “We were lucky to be able to hire such fantastic teachers. Our students are truly excited about their career and technical education.”
There are a wide variety of benefits in engaging in agricultural education during high school. Word has already spread that these new classes are worth taking a look at.
“Agriculture allows students to learn about the industry that feeds, fuels, and clothes the world,” CHS Agricultural Science Teacher Cory Sinkule said. “I believe it is exciting because through hands-on activities, students are able to learn skills that directly translate to solving real-world problems.”
By offering classes in this particular program of study, Connally is now eligible to participate in the Future Farmers of America (FFA) organization. The FFA is a nationally recognized service organization that sponsors thousands of competitions and scholarships every year.
“The benefits of participating in FFA include developing leadership skills, growing personally, and preparing for career success,” Sinkule said. “Bringing it to Connally excites me because students will be introduced to opportunities that help them translate skills learned in general education classes such as Math and English into meaningful experiences like building metal projects, raising animal projects, and speaking publicly.
Students are enjoying the opportunity to learn a new subject matter and find ways to get involved on campus.
“When I first got put in this class, I honestly didn’t know what I was signing up for,” CHS junior Malakai Sterling said. “Now that I’m actually in here, I see that we’re learning about a lot of stuff that I’ve always been interested in. I’m completely enamored with what we’re learning about - it’s great to see how impactful plant life, animal life, and agriculture as a whole is on our everyday life.”
One unique aspect of the agricultural science program of study is the opportunity to use hands-on instruction to teach concepts. This has been on display all year long in the CHS Floral Design class.
“Students in Floral Design learn about all of the different elements of the study of floral design from the history of the craft to the more nuanced elements of the science,” CHS Agricultural Science Teacher Jenna Hage said. “I enjoy teaching the class because it provides a creative, hands-on outlet for our students that might not enjoy some of the other fine arts options.”
As interest in the program continues to grow, the faculty looks forward to offering more opportunities to dive into the subject area.
“As we continue to grow our program, we are looking forward to adding more advanced classes in the pathway,” Hage said. “Students will begin to learn how to do more complex floral arrangements, learn how to market a floral business, and gain real-world experience in the floral field.”
As the school year moves forward, students are eager to get more hands-on opportunities in this new field of study.
“I love that these classes help me showoff my creativity,” CHS senior Karly Clark said. “We get to learn about cool things in a low stress environment. I really enjoy coming to class.”