Reviving Southern’s Agriculture Science Program

Thank you Dr. Eckels for all that you are doing to revive the Agriculture Science program at Southern High School. Your time, effort, love and dedication to your students and to what they are learning is truly a gift. My daughter is a junior at Southern High School in her 3rd year of the Agriculture Science Program and the current Future Farmers of America (FFA) President for the Southern Chapter. She recently testified at the Maryland House of Delegates in favor of a bill to support Agriculture education in the classroom. She informed the panel that she has learned more this year in her Bio Tech class [with Dr. Eckels] than in any other class in the past three years. Guiding your students on how to properly research and keep lab notes and records is getting them ready for college and possibly a career.

My son is a current freshman at Southern and has also really enjoyed his Intro to Agriculture class. Learning about all of the different aspects of the agriculture industry offered him an education that you cannot get in many classrooms. Thank you for encouraging students to work in the Greenhouse for Christmas tree sales, plant sales, for going to competitions with them, and for guiding them. Teaching them how to care for the Greenhouse and plant and grow vegetables is such a valuable skill that not all schools are able to offer. What you bring to the classroom will stay with our kids for their entire life. In addition, you taught them marketing skills as well as how to keep track of their spending and what they were making. The kids have taken great pride in their greenhouse and it is wonderful to see them want to work in it. Taking a group of kids to the “Taste of Ag” dinner where they met Governor Hogan was a huge honor for them and an experience they will not forget. They met people from all over the state who care about agriculture in our state and also learned what is going on in other areas of our state.

Dr. Eckels, you engage your students, you make learning fun for them and help them see how what they learn can apply to everyday life. You reach out to parents if you think there is a problem and you care about your students not only as pupils but as people too. You are not just teaching a class you are educating our future in life skills. Thank you for all that you do for your students and what you’re are bringing to Southern High School.