Catching golden apple snails counts as field yield: Every class at Meinong Fu'an Elementary School incorporates agricultural elements
The golden apple snails that give farmers endless headaches cannot escape the palms of these children! Fu'an Elementary School in Meinong, Kaohsiung has embedded agriculture into all of its classes. In math class, students calculate yield variations under different crops, areas and field designs; in science class, besides working in the fields, they learn how to make golden apple snail traps. The results have been excellent: not only did the children's own cultivated fields produce 5% more, but the school also won second place in the Kaohsiung City science competition, earning widespread recognition.
Chuang Tsung-lin, principal of Meinong Fu'an Elementary School, said that future plans include taking the children through post-harvest and processing experiments for agricultural products, such as ripening fruits and vegetables and testing processing under different variables, so that agriculture becomes the best learning environment for the children.
Meinong Fu'an Elementary School spent 13 years building an agriculture-focused curriculum
In recent years, a wave of food and agriculture education has swept through elementary and middle schools across Taiwan, China. Fu'an Elementary School in Meinong, Kaohsiung began integrating agriculture into all its courses 13 years ago. "We are a rural school, and our goal is to create the usability of knowledge," said Chuang Tsung-lin, principal of Meinong Fu'an Elementary School. This year is his fifth year since taking up the post at Fu'an Elementary School.
"We are closely tied to agriculture, so we chose to develop an agriculture-focused curriculum," Chuang Tsung-lin said. Meinong is a rural farming village, and as a rural school, Fu'an Elementary School has no walls, has its own fields nearby, is close to abundant water sources, and most students come from families with backgrounds in farming or agricultural extension, so they are all quite supportive of agricultural courses.
Regarding the origins and ideas behind the agricultural curriculum lesson plans, Chuang Tsung-lin said that 13 years ago, the elementary school teachers at the time began gradually linking agriculture-related activities to different course themes. Starting from isolated point-like activities, through rolling improvements and collaborative lesson preparation by teachers, it developed into today's mature lesson plans.
"The biggest fear with agricultural courses or activities is that they are just a one-off fireworks display," Chuang Tsung-lin explained. Taking rice as an example, transplanting seedlings is the most common farming activity, but the goal must be to develop lesson plans that "any teacher can easily pick up," so that all agriculture-focused courses can be sustained.
Agriculture integrated into Chinese, English, math, science and social studies; the whole school goes into the fields following the solar terms
The core of Fu'an Elementary School's agriculture-focused curriculum is "shinong" (cultivating farming). The character "shi" (cultivate) was chosen rather than "shi" (food) because the design and holding of all courses and activities are matched to the seasons, the 24 solar terms, and the timing of each crop. All courses incorporate agricultural elements, including language arts, math, science, social studies, arts and humanities, physical education and health.
Chuang Tsung-lin gave examples: in language arts class, teachers have children recite agriculture-themed poetry and literature, or have students write essays on agricultural topics; in math class, children try to calculate yields under different crops, different areas and field designs; in science class, children learn about organic farming, pests and diseases, and fertilization.
The entire elementary school, including the kindergarten, has nearly 80 students. Chuang Tsung-lin said that every Thursday morning self-study period is the whole school's shared time in the fields, and different course goals and course designs are set for children of different ages. "What the whole school participates in is transplanting seedlings. For kindergarten children, the farming course only goes as far as transplanting seedlings. The course goal for lower-grade children is to get close to the land. The more difficult tasks like fertilizing and catching snails are only for middle and upper grades."
"All courses still have certain progress pressures, so courses cannot be 100% agriculture," Chuang Tsung-lin said. One morning self-study period per week in the fields is, strictly speaking, not a long time, but all teachers try their best to integrate agriculture into course activities. For example, in the natural environment course, making golden apple snail traps is included, and teachers take students into the fields to do experiments.
