1) The document discusses a research project on the benefits of introducing basic agriculture education to at-risk middle school students in urban areas. It aims to provide new career opportunities, life skills, and consumer knowledge while improving society's view of agriculture. 2) Educators surveyed were supportive, seeing benefits like structure, survival skills, and potential career paths. Community support is important for student success. 3) To reach and retain students, the agriculture community must get involved in schools through volunteering, donations, field trips, and showing students different aspects of agriculture with kindness amid misunderstandings about the field.

1. At-Risk and Agriculture: Reaching and Retaining Urban and At-Risk Students
Welcome everyone!Myname isSarah Garner,I am a seniorAgriculture Educationmajoratthe
Universityof Tennessee atMartin.Aspart of the requirements forthe University Scholarsgroup I’min,I
have beenconductingatwo-yearresearchstudyonthe benefitsthaturban,at-riskmiddleschool
studentscouldreceive fromabasicintroductorycourse inAgriculture.
Project Background
I chose thisprojecttopicdue to experiencesIhadwhile avolunteerzookeeperatthe MemphisZoo in
the “PettingFarm”area – membersof the public– bothaffluentandpoor- were alwaysastonished
whentheyfoundoutwhata chickenora cow lookedlike inreal life.People wouldcome runningup to
me screaming,“What isthat?!” AndI wouldhave the opportunitytoexplaintothemthatwas a cow.Or
othertimes,someone wouldaskme,“Isthat where myKFCcomesfrom?”and I wouldgetto explain
that theirKFCdidn’tcome frombantam silkie chickens,butthattheywere onthe righttrack. I realized
at that time whatan impact an educationinAgriculture couldhave onmy communityandIdecidedI
woulddomy part to make that educationavailable tocommunitymembers.
Defining Terms
Before Igo any further,Iam goingto define At-RiskandUrbanfor you,because these termscanbe
ambiguousorhave differentmeanings,dependingontheircontext.
“At-RiskStudent”isdefinedasastudentwhoislikelytofail atschool;usuallybydroppingout.
(National CenterforUrban EducationStatistics)
“Urban” Istypicallylarge citiesorareaswith characteristicssuchas an increasingpopulationof
Englishlanguage Learnersorrelativelyhighpovertyrates.Urbancan be furtherbrokendown
intothree categories:Urbanintensive(cities>1million people),UrbanEmergent(Cities<1
millionpeople,butare still verylarge),andUrbanCharacteristic(citiesthatare medium-large
and share characteristicsof the othertwo).(Milner,“ButWhat IsUrban Education”)
Why It Matters to You
Clearlythisprojectmatterstome,as I have spenttwoyearsof mylife workingonit,butwhyshouldit
matterto you?The numberone mostimportantreasonisthat a wave of uninformed membersof the
publicare dictatingwhathappensat the productionlevelof Agriculture.Inshort,yourjobsare beingrun
by consumerswhodon’tknowanythingaboutwhatyoudo.Who thinkthat steakcomeswrappedin
cellophane andwhohave neverseenafield,muchlessaworm, intheirlife.Yetwe cannotlookdownon
these people because theyaren’tstupid –not at all – theyare simplythe productof an educational
systemthathas chosento focuson otherthingsandhas leftAgriculture behind.
Why It Matters to Them
Agriculture educationmatterstome,andit matterto you,but whyshoulditmatterto at-riskstudents
livingininnercities?Because aneducationinAgriculture providesstudentswithnewopportunitiesfor
careersthat they don’tevenknowexist.

2. It givesthemthe opportunitytolearnskillsthattheycouldlive off of oruse as a hobby. A classin
veterinaryscience thatincludesevensmall animalslike aguineapig givesstudentswho are bulliesand
jerksthe chance to learnempathy,compassion,andpatience –skillsthatcannotbe taughtinalmostany
othersetting.
It givesthemthe knowledge tomake betterconsumerdecisionsinthe grocerystore andknowledge on
howto respondwhentheysee aninflammatoryarticleonline aboutthe dangersof GMOs and
antibioticsintheirfood.
Andit givesthemthe chance to change the way that societyatlarge viewsagriculture.
Highschool is settingthe stage forstudents’careersandcollegiatedecisions,andmiddleschool setsthe
stage for highschool.Currently,manyof ournations’studentsare enteringhighschool withlittle-to-no
backgroundinformationonagriculture.We cannotexpectthose studentstotake Agriscience classes –
shouldtheyevenbe offered –if theydon’tevenunderstandwhatagriculture is.
What Educators Said
In my research,I conducteda surveyof middle school teachersinlarge citiesthroughoutTennesseeand
NorthMississippi.The responsesIgotwere verysupportiveof seeingAgriculture incorporatedintotheir
programs.Some of the responsesIgotwere:
 “It wouldgive themstructure andwouldbe betterforstudentsthatare active duringthe
school yearwith extracurricularactivities.”
 “It wouldallowthemtogainsurvival skillsaswell aslearnhow to leada healthylifestyle.”
 “If disadvantagedstudentsstudiedagriculture andlinkedittootherdisciplines,theyhave
the potential tolearnnotonlyhealthiereatinghabits,butalsohow itfitsintothe greater
economy.Theycouldlearnskillsfromraisinglivestockandcropstopreparation,marketing
and more - justwithinthe foodindustry.Andbytyingitintotechnology,math,and
engineering,theymayfindinroadstofieldsthattheyotherwise mightnotconsider.”
Reaching Students
To reach our urbanstudents,we have tobe able to show themthat the knowledge theygainfrom
Agriculture classeswill benefittheirfuture andtheirpresentlives.We have tostart recruitinginmiddle
schoolsif we expectourstudentstobe interestedinhighschool.Andwe absolutelymusthave a
presence intheircommunity.
Communitysupportisone of the numberone reasonsthata studentmaysucceed. The community
supportwill influencefamilysupport,andthisiscritical. We have toconvince urbanfamiliesthatwe are
worthyof theirchild’sinterest –careersinAgriculture justaren’tviewedashighlyassportsor music
careersin a lotof urbancommunities.
Retaining Students
To retainthese students,we mustensure thatstudentswhoare low-achievingare receivingequallyas
much attentionashigh-achievingones.Simplybecause astudentdoesnotexcel academicallydoesn’t
meanthat theyaren’tgoingto be brilliantinahands-oncareer.

3. We mustalsopushfor culturallyinclusive programs.The majorityof innercitystudentsdon’tlooklike
me,and manyof themdon’tspeakmylanguage as theirprimaryone.We have to have a program that
takesnote of this andincludesthem.Fartoooftenwe see programsthat say somethingalongthe lines
of,“And the pilgrimsettlersbegantoplow andthe Indiansshowedthemthatif theyplantedfishwith
theircorn itwouldgrowbetter.” While thatistrue,and important, thatcourse of learninghasthe
tendencytomake white peoplethe focusof it,totallydiscreditingthe thousandsof yearsof agricultural
productionthatwas done bymillionsof people thatweren’twhite.Some of the most historically
advancedirrigationsystemshave been unearthedasrelics inthe Andesmountains.Israelcurrentlyleads
the worldinmany Agricultural technologies.We have tomake sure that studentsof everyrace and
backgroundunderstandthattheirculture hashad a handin gettingAgriculture where itistoday,and
that theycan continue thatlegacy.
Andagain,we must create a communityfocus.The more involvedthatwe asan agricultural community
become inprimaryeducation,the more we have achance to shape andinfluence itandthuschange
societal perceptionsof Agriculture.
How to Get Involved
How can we accomplishthese goalsof reachingandretainingstudents?
We can volunteerwithlocal organizationsandclubsalreadyinexistence. Ourphysical presence canbe
life changingforthese students. If youdon’tknow whatcurrently existsinyourcommunity,contact
your ExtensionAgentsandsee if MasterGardeners,4-H,or FFA ispartneringwithinner-cityschoolsin
any way.If you are a 4-H or FFA leader,considerhavingyourmemberspractice their speechesand
reasonsat middle schools.
We can alsotalkto our local schoolsto findoutwhat programsare alreadybeingofferedtostudentsby
the school and thenbecome active withthose programs.
Time isa preciouscommodity,soif youare pressedforit,considerdonatingmaterialstoschool
programs.If the school hasa garden,perhapsyoucan donate topsoil,or seeds,ora few shovelsor
rakes.These donationscanbe tax deductible,dependingonwhichorganizationyougive to.
Kidslove fieldtrips,andseeingafarminworkingactioncan be highlyinfluential tothem.Youmaybe
able to have studentsoutwhile plantingorharvestingandletthem simplystandonthe side of your
fieldandwatch – I’ve hadthe opportunitytodo thisinmy college classes,andif a 21 yearold city-slicker
can get excitedfromwatchingacombine drive past,image how exciteda 12 or 13 yearoldwouldbe.
Now,if bringingpeopletoyourfarm makesyouuncomfortable,isabiohazard,or justdoesn’twork,
considertakingthe fieldtriptothe students. Ican’ttell youhow excitedaclassof kidswouldbe if you
pulleduptotheirschool witha cow ina trailer.Or if a biologyclassistalkingaboutplantsystems,bring
ina fewcornplants,or soybean,orcotton,or wheat.Whateveryou’ve gotissomethingthattheydon’t,
and theywantto learnaboutit.
Conclusion
Thiswas onlya fewideastogetyou started,butthere are manymore out there. Iencourage eachof
youcreate yourownlist for gettinginvolvedinaschool’scommunity.

4. Thank youall for beinghere –in justa minute feel free tocome share withme anyideasthatyou have.
Before we end though, Iwant toencourage you – we are livinginatime periodwhenAgriculture is
neededmore thanever,yetisoverlooked,unappreciated,andinsultedonadailybasis.We cannot
change people’smindsetsbybeingangry.Instead,we canprovide the knowledge thatislackinganddo
it withkindness. We have the chance to moldsocietythroughourNation’syouth,andIstrongly
encourage youto getout there anddo so forthe sake of Agriculture.Thankyou.