On the Horizon: If you build it, they will become it

Every year the Oklahoma Aerospace Alliance puts on a summit to showcase aerospace in Oklahoma. As part of that summit, they have an educator’s day to bring together local educators, industry, and government to create the aerospace workforce of tomorrow. They want to make Oklahoma the global aerospace destination of the world. This year they did things a little differently and I believe it just might work.

They brought the teachers in and gave them hands-on instruction on how to teach students and peak their interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). It was definitely a fun-filled day. While there, I saw teachers laughing, crying out in amazement, discussing new ways of teaching, and really enjoying the learning process themselves. Many can’t wait to take what they learned back to their classrooms to see just how much their students will enjoy learning this way too.

I wished I could have had this type of instruction when I was growing up. Who knows, I might have gone into engineering or maybe science (math was definitely out because I simply don’t do very well other than basic math). Technology is as close as I come currently to anything in the STEM fields but I might have given other areas a harder look if I’d know just how much fun they could be.

In this week’s video blog, see how local teachers are spending their Summer break in the hopes of bringing new ways of teaching to the classroom and maybe getting students interested in aerospace once again.

Alisa Hines

On the Horizon: Ag is Everywhere, Just Ask a Teacher

One hundred years ago nearly every man, woman and child had to be involved in growing the food and fiber he or she needed just to survive. Today only about two percent of the American population grows all we need, leaving the rest of us to grow in other areas - in medical advancement, communication and information technology, space exploration, the arts and much more. Most of us are three or four generations removed from the farm, but all of us depend on agriculture. Tomorrow's leaders must be agriculturally-literate to protect and preserve the advantages we gain from a strong agriculture. Building that essential literacy is the purpose of Oklahoma Ag in the Classroom.

The Oklahoma Ag in the Classroom curriculum features lessons for grades pre-K-8. The lessons use agricultural topics and ag-related activities to reinforce core skills in Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Visual Arts and Music. Most of the lessons are interdisciplinary and teach many of the Oklahoma State Department of Education's Priority Academic Student Skills (P.A.S.S). On top of that, they’re really fun lessons. I kind of wish I would have had Ag in the Classroom when I was going to school. It might have made learning more enjoyable.

Now they even have programs designed for teachers so they can learn how to better teach using the curriculum and also demonstrate agricultural practices to their students. Each teacher has her/his own approach to teaching but some are more creative than others and are able to make learning about agriculture fun and exciting every day for their students.

In this week’s video blog, meet Shirley Lettkeman, this year’s Ag in the Classroom Teach of the Year who you can tell is very dedicated about letting her students know where their food comes from.

Alisa Hines