Marilyn Bishop Shaw

Florida Agriculture in the Classroom (FAITC) is a not-for-profit organization that provides teaching materials and training to both teachers and volunteers to educate students about the value of and issues challenging agriculture in Florida. I’ve been happily associated with FAITC for about ten years and know first hand what high quality materials and activities they offer.

Each summer approximately 150-200 teachers and volunteers attend the FAITC Conference where they meet with exhibitors, attend training sessions, and tour regional farming operations and industries. This year it was my honor to present the keynote at the opening session of the conference. I shared two of the primary forces behind my writing – Florida agricultural heritage and a teaching career. These two parts of my life marked Solomon indelibly and will, I predict, mark most of my future writing as well.

Following my brief presentation, I joined a panel of farmers and ranchers from throughout Florida. As frequently is the case, the questions we were asked revealed how many people know how the agricultural industry operates and the challenges it faces to bring food and fiber to Florida and far, far beyond. The inquiries were thoughtful, meaningful, and sincere. The expressions on many of the faces in the audience told us how unaware they were of the increased operational costs and decreased income in ag pursuits. I feel sure that the opening session and the day and a half of workshops and tours conference participants understood enough about agriculture in Florida to share valid and valuable information to their students through academic lessons.

I was especially proud of two of my Alachua County colleagues and friends for being named Outstanding Teacher of the Year for their creative, effective methods of teaching agriculture to students. Cherith Davenport teaches at Archer Community School and Brent Douglas at High Springs Community School. If you are a teacher at any grade level or a volunteer interested in working with young people, contact FAITC for assistance, materials, and contacts with commodity groups through the state.

Many thanks to Lisa Gaskalla and her staff for organizing a conference so packed with excellent activities. Florida Agriculture in the Classroom is funded by proceeds from the Ag Tags we see on cars and trucks. Call them vanity tags if you like, but what those tags represent put clothes on our backs and food on our tables.