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Students Eat It Up

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By LIZ BLEAU

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 21, 2008

VALRICO - A recent lesson in extreme cuisine gave agricultural students at Mulrennan Middle School a chance to kick their knowledge of Florida fruits and vegetables up a notch.

They had some knowledge of where food comes from. Agriculture teacher Susan Carpenter has been working with them on a number of projects throughout the semester, including caring for farm animals and growing vegetables and flowers traditionally and hydroponically.

Carpenter recently was named one of three agriculture teachers of the year in Florida by Florida Agriculture in the Classroom, a nonprofit organization that promotes the importance of agriculture in the state's curriculum.

The Florida Excellence in Teaching about Agriculture Award recognizes teachers' efforts to educate students about where food, fiber and landscape material come from.

On a recent field trip, Carpenter took 25 students to the Hillsborough County Farm Bureau offices on Mulrennan Road, where they were treated to cooking and nutrition lessons using fresh Florida produce.

The students began their cooking lessons making yogurt parfaits with strawberries and blueberries. Working in teams of three, they assembled their sweet treats by following instructions expertly offered by farm bureau Vice President Michelle Williamson, who sweetened the lesson with tips on nutrition.

She compared the nutritional value of prepared breakfast foods such as Pop-Tarts and sugary cereals with that of oatmeal, saying whole-grain cereals may be sweetened with fruits instead of processed sugars.

"Fruit is nature's candy," she said.

Next, the students constructed individual pizzas with whole-wheat muffins. Toppings included tomato sauce, green peppers, onions, mushrooms, cheese, olives and pineapple chunks.

Williamson encouraged students to try a little of everything on their pizza.

"Now is a good time to see if you might like some of the things you thought you didn't," she told the young cooks.

"I don't like onions and peppers that much," said Carla Rodriguez, 12, who had not made a pizza before. She decided to try the toppings anyway, along with black olives.

Like many of the students, she was surprised by how delicious the pizzas tasted, even with nutritious ingredients they wouldn't normally have selected.

"I liked it. It was really good," said Hanna Sui, 11. "I even liked all the things I had never tried before."

After the cooking class, the students returned to their classroom and greenhouse at Mulrennan, where they showcased class projects for a professional videographer as part of Carpenter's agricultural teacher of the year award.

The agriculture classroom area was easy to spot: a row of flowers and vegetable plants were blooming along a wall, and behind it were rows of plants in the greenhouse and a hydroponic farm system where potted plants were stacked high.

Inside the classroom, Haley Smith, 13, and Morgan Belsley, 12, showed off their "hoosters," hens that can lay eggs but are genetically altered to crow like roosters.

"These are our responsibility to take care of," Morgan said.

Outside, Tyra Islam, 12, was tending to her cucumber plants. "It's been fun growing them," she said. The class will pickle the cucumber crop when the vegetables are ripe, she said.

Carpenter said plants and equipment for the agriculture program at Mulrennan are paid for in part by plant sales and grants from Florida Agriculture in the Classroom and the Hillsborough Education Foundation.

Reporter Liz Bleau can

be reached at (813) 865-1557

or lbleau@tampatrib

ABOUT THE WINNERS

A North Central Florida elementary school teacher and two middle school agriscience teachers won Florida Agriculture in the Classroom's 2008 Excellence in Teaching about Agriculture Awards.

Cherith Davenport of Archer Community School near Gainesville won for the elementary and overall Florida level. Susan Carpenter of Mulrennan Middle School in Valrico and Brent Douglas of High Springs Community School in North Central Florida won for the middle school agriscience level.

"These teachers exemplify what Florida Ag in the Classroom is looking for in teachers who strive to teach students about the important role the Florida agriculture industry plays in these students' daily lives," said Cara Martin, chairwoman of Florida Agriculture in the Classroom and assistant director of government and community affairs for Florida Farm Bureau.

The nonprofit statewide agricultural program is based in Gainesville and aims to educate Florida students and teachers in kindergarten through 12th grade about the importance of the Florida agriculture industry. It is funded by sales of the state agriculture specialty license plate, also known as the "Ag Tag."

For details, call (352) 846-1391 or go to www.flagintheclassroom.com.

Source: Florida Agriculture in the Classroom

.com.

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