Educating Youth
The CWA was also instrumental in educating youth about agriculture and recognizing their academic achievement. The CWA partnered with private organizations and teachers to develop resources to train teachers in agricultural education, and to perform puppet shows in elementary school classrooms. The CWA also appointed an Academic Chairman to work with the California state education board and teachers to develop agriculture related lesson plans, evaluate agriculture related films for schools to purchase, provide summer reading lists, and provide high schools with agricultural-related magazines for classrooms. “Fred the Friendly Farmer” and “Callie” were hand puppets used to teach 30,000 students about agriculture statewide. It came prerecorded with a cassette tape to explain parallels between agriculture and their lives. Additionally, in 1984, the CWA developed AG Trek, a computer game program designed to teach youth agricultural economics, by learning how to manage a farm, make investments, make decisions about purchases, all with the intent of learning how to make money without going broke. CWA also encouraged youth the consider careers in agriculture. For example, students from CSU Fresno, King River Community College, and Cal Poly Pomona were inspired by the CWA to develop chapters for The California Students for Agriculture (CSA) on their respective college campuses. These aspiring agribusiness students were mentored by CWA members and were encouraged to participate in CWA activities.
Related Collection:
1. "Youth"