SSCC professor attends Commodity Classic Agricultural Event

It’s not easy to stand out in a crowd of 8,000 people, but a colorful lab coat definitely helps. Thirteen Ohio teachers recently attended the Commodity Classic in Phoenix, Ariz., seeking to create a bridge between the agricultural industry and the classroom.

The group included chemistry, biology, environmental science, agriscience, physics, biotechnology and food science teachers. They spent time in the trade show, attended learning sessions, talked with ag industry experts and explored new topics in agricultural business and science.

“Real Issues, Real Careers: How Agribusiness Professionals, State Association Staff & Other Agvocates Can Help Science Teachers Teach Agriculture” was Saturday morning’s learning session, a shared presentation by the Ohio Corn Marketing Board and the Ohio Soybean Council. Seventy-five people representing ten states attended the session and learned about curriculum available to teachers on ohiocorneducation.org and grownextgen.org. The session included a video of teacher testimonials, a panel of Ohio industry and media experts who have collaborated on education projects, and a hands-on water quality activity demonstrating the link between standards-based curriculum and agriculture.

Don Storer, a chemistry and life sciences professor at Southern State Community College, was amazed at all the critical insights he gained into careers in agriculture.

“On my first day back in the classroom, I shared a few ideas with my students: weather, use of the GPS, international trade, separating fact from fiction regarding GMO’s, engineering and of course, the huge number of bio product possibilities with high oleic soybean oil,” Storer said.

He looks forward to developing new ideas and curriculum to share with other teachers.