BROWNSBURG, Ind. — For two days in late August, some central Hoosier growers added "teacher" to their stack of jobs as they volunteered time and equipment to give children in their communities a glimpse into the work of a farmer.
Combines, corn heads, discs and planters, grain semis and tractors antique and new were circled near the parking lot at White Lick Elementary School in Brownsburg on a sunny Tuesday morning. Organizer Angie Williams said an estimated 1,600 young children from Brownsburg district schools were expected to cycle through there and adjoining Eagle Elementary that day.
That was just for the Brownsburg Farm Equipment Day; on Aug. 24, at nearby Avon, an estimated 800 area kids went through similar stations set up at River Birch Elementary. This has been an annual event since 2009 at Avon, but last month was its first time in Brownsburg.
The daughter of an Avon farmer, Williams, 38, taught full-time for eight years until an accident’s injuries sidelined her. Recovering and still interested in education, she said one day an eighth-grade neighbor from the subdivision near the farm asked about biotech in crops because of something they’d learned in school.
Williams called the teacher to ask if she could come into class and address questions and misconceptions about the topic, and agriculture.
After Williams’ talk, she said she had more teachers calling to see if she would speak to their classrooms too.
Eventually, the adults involved figured it would reach more students and to have an Ag Day rather than class-by-class talks. Williams’ dad, Bruce, and fellow farmer Bill Kappel set about recruiting volunteers and equipment.
Williams expected a few tractors, at most. "Farmers do things in a big way (though), so they brought 20," she explained.
Working with administrators and teachers in the Avon Community School Corp., she said their focus was initially on middle- and high-schoolers. But, "these are very eager learners," she said of elementary kids, and noted the teenage students have impressed her with their questions.
Avon Superintendent Maggie Hoerne-mann described Williams as "just an amazing force of nature" whose work has resulted in students being "entranced and engaged in demonstrations and conver-sations" put on by these ag professionals.
She also credits Pine Tree Elementary Principal Karie Mize with helping spread the word about Williams’ efforts among the district’s teachers. After a while, it was the educators seeking information on the talks.
"I think that’s the real compliment in all this," Hoernemann said, "in that farmers are not having to convince the schools to do" these programs.
Avon and Brownsburg school districts have suburban populations with little direct connection to farming, so organizers invite parents and community leaders to these Equipment Days too. Hoernemann likened students climbing on their first combine or tractor and learning how they work to being taken to the theatre for the first time – it’s valuable learning.
"School shouldn’t be where we spend 30 minutes on this topic, and 30 minutes on that topic," she said, adding the best practical way to teach kids how the world works is to show how subjects fit together – such as where food comes from and how it’s grown (or, in the case of corresponding Livestock Days at Avon, raised).
"Maybe it doesn’t get measured on an ISTEP (standardized test) score, but I don’t care."
Williams said there are no fiscal sponsors of Equipment or Livestock Days as such, but each farmer does try to bring someone they deal with, who works in agribusiness (such as seed sales or GPS techs) or an ag-related organization, to help talk at the stations.
At Brownsburg this year, Jack Maloney helped organize the Equipment Day, with his daughter-in-law, Karena, a teacher at White Lick. He said local farmers have been trying to "get in" the school for years, but just recently he said the district had become more friendly to agriculture.
