How to carry out life education under the theme of agriculture

Lead image / A distinctive market stall designed by students for a farmer

In recent years, on school campuses, we increasingly hear teachers express concern about their students. Elementary school teachers say students are generally hyperactive and have very poor daily habits; middle school teachers say students lack focus and behave defiantly; university professors say students lack enthusiasm for learning, preferring to lose themselves in the online world rather than communicate with others.

I do not know exactly how serious the problem is, but I have a vague sense that this trend exists. Yet those of us on the front lines of education have no right to lose heart; we can only face the problem, keep tracing it to its roots, and then, starting from our own position, seek change at both the low and high levels. By the high level, I mean striving to bring about change, directly or indirectly, in education policy, the teaching system and social values; by the low level, I mean the immediate teaching setting, where, in interactions between teachers and students inside and outside the classroom, the teacher takes the initiative to guide students toward change.

Years ago I taught at Tamkang University for nine years, and in 2003 I moved to Tainan National University of the Arts (though it has since been upgraded to a university of the arts, I will refer to it below simply as "TNNUA"); the two were extremely different experiences. Tamkang had more than 20,000 students, while TNNUA had only just over 1,000; Tamkang was a comprehensive university, while TNNUA was an arts school.

The latter's character in particular allowed me to develop a completely different teaching experience - an almost apprenticeship-style "learning by doing" - through which I came to appreciate the many possibilities of guiding students toward change. This experience was originally limited to the more than ten master's students I led in the community building group at the Graduate Institute of Architecture and Art. At the end of last year, a special opportunity gave me the chance for a small experiment with undergraduates as well, and here I would like to share that experience with you.

When Art Falls in Love with the Countryside: TNNUA Anniversary

The story begins with TNNUA's anniversary celebration. For the past three years, TNNUA has held its anniversary in a different way. At first the theme was "Southern Wind Blows," and teachers and students held a lively and eye-catching "art market" and "art street parade" on campus; last year the theme was "Southern Wind Blows Again," and it tried to step off campus, actively co-hosting "Qiren Yishi" with the local Daqi Village, arranging numerous exhibitions and performances. The most unforgettable was a temporary stage built from 2,500 beer crates in a mountain gully, where a concert shared with the moon was held under the night sky, and even the president went on stage to play the violin in celebration.

Concert in the mountain gully

This year the southern wind blows again, bringing a new atmosphere - when art falls in love with the countryside, it must reach further outward, to see what kind of sparks are struck when art meets the three rural issues.

To this end, a variety of activities were arranged, including exhibitions, concerts, film festivals, markets, fruit-picking experiences and more. Each activity contained arrangements for teachers and students to learn. For example, "Jian Ji and the Peasant Movement of the Japanese Colonial Period" and the accompanying lecture were intended to let viewers and listeners gain some understanding of Taiwan's agriculture and the situation of farmers from the 1930s to the 1950s, and to build historical awareness; the "Farm Film Festival" was planned to let viewers understand the difficulties farmers generally face today; the "Agri-Art Market" was meant to introduce the ideas of organic agriculture and environmental sustainability to campus, and to use the market to provide more opportunities for exchange (between consumers and producers, between producers, and even among consumers); and the tangerine-picking experience in Daqi Village not only gave parents and children a chance to get close to the orchard, but was also the most direct help to farmers.

Among these, the "Agri-Art Market" especially considered deep student participation, guiding them through coursework to come into contact with the land in the hope that they would be moved by people. We specifically coordinated with the third-year course in the University's Department of Material Creation and Design, and teachers Zhang Jiaju and Zheng Zhengxiong led 45 students in their "Creative Integration" course, with every 3 students forming a group, carrying out a creative exercise over 8 weeks. Each group of students was paired with an organic farm and, through contact, visits and observation, gained a deep understanding of each farm, including the farm owner's motives for farming, the process of exploration, the hard-won products, and the farmer's attitude toward the land. Students were asked to find moving elements in this and then transform them into artistic and design concepts to help the farmer present them at the market.

An Agri-Art Market That Teaches Through Fun

At first, because it was unfamiliar, the students took an attitude of resistance and excuse-making toward the arrangement of this course. But as they stepped into the farms and received warm welcomes from the farmers, and then continued to interact with them, the students' attitudes began to change markedly. Later, in class, they transformed their understanding of the farms into creative ideas, and after several discussions they began to create various media works that helped introduce the farms, and finally assisted the farmers in presenting them at the anniversary market. The results displayed at the market stalls were generally admired by the farm owners and visitors alike, and the students themselves admitted that they had gained a great deal from the learning process; this experience was truly unexpected and moving.

The "Agri-Art Market" held in conjunction with the anniversary was presented on a weekend at the end of November in the University's most central Bronze Mirror Plaza, where each group of students and farm owner arranged a stall three meters square. Thus, the students' final performance can be explained in two parts: one, the explanatory works created individually for the farms, and the other, the overall presentation after being combined with the stalls.

The Works Students Created for Farmers and Agricultural Products

The various media created by the students to help introduce the farms included large posters, farm logos, explanatory booklets, stickers, packaging bags, cool cards, hanging ornaments, postcards, distinctive rubber stamps, stall decoration elements, short films and more. Among them, large posters, explanatory booklets and stickers were the most common, while the rest were specially designed according to the farm's character, product features and the owner's needs.

These finished works were mostly handmade, and the graphic designs were also produced only in small quantities, but the students' creativity was clearly evident.

For example, packaging bags designed to hold fruit or vegetables came in many designs - ordinary paper bags with unique logos added to highlight the farm and product; or canvas simply sewn into a bag that could hold five or six jin of tangerines; or papaya carrier bags folded and glued from old newspaper, which could be carried and also used as ripening bags; or papaya hanging bags knitted from yarn, simple and easy to use.

Cool cards, hanging ornaments and distinctive rubber stamps were popular little items among the younger generation, but they could all appropriately express the thematic features, making the product descriptions more varied and rich, while also being welcomed by young consumers.

Various works created by students for farming households

Distinctive Stall Designs at the Market

Bronze Mirror Plaza, where the market was held, is a plaza square on the outside and round on the inside. Students helped arrange each stall meticulously, giving each stall a high degree of visual appeal. Visitors browsed one by one, stopping to ask prices or chat with the owners, and the viewing experience thus became richer.

The uniform equipment for each stall was a three-meter-square canopy plus two three-foot by six-foot long tables, but different styles of stalls were set up according to the nature of the products.

For example, "Home of Beans," which mainly grows black beans, sesame, red beans and other miscellaneous grains, had students glue bean kernels and pods into a signboard and decorate the canopy poles with sesame stalks left after harvest, drawing many people to gather and discuss what crop it was - achieving both a decorative effect and serving as ready-made teaching material.

"Sunlight Organic Farm" mainly produces papaya and sold green papaya, shredded papaya and freshly blended papaya milk on site. In addition to arranging posters and explanatory booklets, the students also wove mats from reeds obtained near the farm to decorate the tabletop, and hung green papayas in yarn-knitted hanging bags to adorn the stall front and show its character.

Although "Letian Organic Farm" had few products because of the season, the students grasped that the owner's characteristic was that he often smiled, so in addition to making posters and a farm logo themed on that smiling face, they also carved a distinctive rubber stamp, attracting many people to the stall to stamp it and meet the man himself, which precisely highlighted the stall's special feature.

Teachers and students learning together from the countryside

Students' Life Learning

Over the nearly two-month course, each group of students generally visited the farms more than four times, and with phone contact and so on, they became close friends. The farm owners were all surprised by the students' creativity and greatly admired their dedication; conversely, after learning about the organic farmers' experience in farming, the students were all moved by their perseverance and hardship, and they could generally feel the farm owners' sincerity, plainspoken character and great love for the land.

After the course ended, the students wrote down their reflections, which can be summarized into three kinds of gains: first, increased understanding of organic agriculture; second, a renewed understanding of people and the land; and third, affirmation of this learning experience.

Increased Understanding of Organic Agriculture

Through this exercise, the students were no longer unfamiliar with farmland and also gained a basic understanding of organic agriculture. They could see the difference between organic farmland and ordinary farmland, and could appreciate the farmers' care and the hardship of practicing organic farming methods. Below are the reflections of several students:

In every corner of the orchard there was their ingenuity, and one could also see their abundant care for the crops. Unlike other orchards in my impression, where the ground is only soil and turns muddy when it rains, they used purslane as a ground cover, which does not grow upward at will like other weeds and hide insects and snakes, and also produces small yellow flowers, making it visually very distinctive and overall very fresh and clean. (Student partnered with Chenjiazhuang)

In Andrew's vegetable garden there were many insects that we ordinarily consider pests, but Andrew said they were all his little helpers. Although they eat his vegetables and fruit, they also help him weed out unhealthy produce, so there is no need to deliberately eliminate them. In Andrew's garden we saw ladybugs, which we had not seen for a long time, and in very large numbers. Their appearance made us once again realize that Andrew's approach is truly beneficial to the land. (Student partnered with Letian Organic Farm)

Before this cooperation, I truly did not know that most farmers are so dependent on pesticides, and that the amounts used are so large. In this cooperation we were not exactly on the front line, but the data we had already seen was hard to put out of mind, so now, whether buying in a store or at a vegetable market, I feel an extra degree of caution and try to choose organic. (Student partnered with Xunmi Sangtian Farm)

Now organic products can be bought in all market channels. Growing organic products is truly not easy, and it is thanks to their perseverance that we can truly taste healthy, original-flavor food. (Student partnered with Huishengquan Farm)

Students experiencing farm work in an organic garden

A Renewed Understanding of People and the Land

Through interaction with the farm owners, the students directly learned about their motives and process for switching to organic agriculture. Perhaps the time spent interviewing and making contact was not long, but they could all feel the farm owners' values and attitudes and were deeply moved. The students' reflections said:

From the moment we first came into contact with them, we felt their enthusiasm, as well as their passion for and understanding of the land. People who grow crops interact most directly with the land and environment, and their sensitivity to the cycles of the ecological environment is stronger than that of ordinary people. If you find something you like and do it well, life will be very happy. ... Humans are originally part of nature, and how long has it been since we lost our familiarity with the land and environment? (Student partnered with Sunlight Organic Farm)

In this cooperation, what struck me most was the sincere hearts of the Chenjiazhuang family. Mr. Chen and his wife were both very warm and also very plainspoken. I think it is this passion that enables them to keep insisting on organic agriculture and on letting customers taste the purest, most natural flavor. (Student partnered with Chenjiazhuang)

The farmer we visited for the first time, Andrew, left a deep impression on us with his kindness and warmth. After several visits, we designed Andrew's products using the images that had impressed us most. There was the farm owner Andrew's brilliant smile, the healthy loofahs in his garden, and his little insect helpers, the ladybugs. I hope everyone who comes to buy vegetables can feel Andrew's philosophy in running Letian Organic, be friendly to our land, and share health with everyone. (Student partnered with Letian Organic Farm)

In this activity, I saw a group of people with more ideals than those who pursue high degrees and high-paying careers. They did not come to farm because they could not stay in their original jobs, but to seek a more meaningful life, and growing organic food not only gives them a great return for their spirit, but benefits consumers most of all. (Student partnered with Guipin Scented Tea)

Reunderstanding Food Production

After two months, the students went from initially low willingness to ultimately affirming the value of this learning, and the change was truly moving. In their reflections, the students generally said they had gained a lot; for example, this was a brand-new experience:

"In the past, when we created works, we started from ourselves and looked for issues around us to make works. In this activity, we approached a completely unfamiliar person and environment from the perspective of a third party, to understand what they cared about and their lives." "We were originally unfamiliar with farmers, but through this activity we had the chance to get to know the farmers who are closest to our land." "This cooperation case may rarely come again in the future, and precisely because of this experience we were able to use our strengths and substantively help organic farmers; this is rare and valuable in the learning process."

The new experience prompted them to reunderstand food, human nature and ways of interpersonal interaction:

"Through this activity I came to know quite a few organic farms around the school, learned where to buy fresh, healthy, good vegetables, and also met various farmers of different kinds, which changed my view of this industry and added a lot of respect and recognition." "Working and interviewing with them was very pleasant. They were not at all stingy about sharing their journeys with us, and they also gave guidance on the presentation of the works. The cooperation process was also very pleasant. Seeing people striving endlessly for Taiwan's land, I really want to applaud their perseverance!"

Students Felt the Alternative Value of Farmers Respecting the Land and Living Simply

This course lasted only a short two months, and in a university student's four years of study it was only one of many course units, but I believe it will be the learning experience they remember most deeply. Most of the students came from metropolitan areas, and for the first time they were this close to soil that can grow crops, saw how the fruits and vegetables they ordinarily thought they knew well grow in the land, and understood the difference between conventional farming methods and organic ones; on the farms they also came into contact with living "farmers," whose plainspoken conversation and experience must have directly dissolved the young people's original worries and timidity about interpersonal interaction.

As far as the professional course is concerned, this learning still emphasized students' practice of creative skills, but it also asked students to further appreciate the profound connection between form and content - only moving story content is enough to support the form of creation. In the process, they could feel the alternative value of farmers respecting the land and living simply, and tried to express it. Whether or not they themselves agreed with this value, it had already enriched the students' understanding of life.

This experience made me believe even more in several teaching views gradually established in recent years: first, students' awareness is most crucial, and teachers should try to help them build self-awareness; second, we must cultivate students' inner strength, but we must have methods. Third, both of the former require learning from reality, and teachers should guide students to come into contact with the land and with living people in the real world. Let the land and sincere people move the students, and students can both learn professionally and boost their inner strength - truly the best teaching method. I am very happy that in 2011 I explored such an experience that combined both professional teaching and life education, and I share it with you!