Episode 24: “Winston the Pig” Playing His Part in Ag Education at West Jordan High

Anthony Godfrey:
Welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. On today's edition of the Supercast, we get a look inside the agricultural program at West Jordan High School. It's a program that looks nothing like Ag classes of the past. Here, high-tech combines with live farm animals, like Winston, the pig and the greenhouse to teach students where their food comes from. For students who may never have set foot on a farm before, it is a learning environment they love. All right, we're here with Cody Gull, in his classroom. There is an enormous skeleton of a horse with no name, apparently. And we also have several rabbits, floral arrangements, a number of juniors and seniors, and who knows what else he has because he teaches a wide range of classes. Cody, very nice to meet you.

Cody:
Nice to meet you.

Anthony Godfrey:
What do we have going on here today?

Cody:
This is my equine science class and we are talking about nutrient deficiencies in horses.

Anthony Godfrey:
So I hear we might be snipping, some buttons.

Cody:
Some rabbit nails, too. Trisha, do you want help with that? Do you want me to hold her?

Anthony Godfrey:
Trisha are these bunnies names?

Speaker 3:
That's Bruce and Karen,

Anthony Godfrey:
Is that based on some kind of obscure pop culture reference I'm not aware of it?

Trisha:
She wants to talk to the manager.

Anthony Godfrey:
I see. Karen wants to talk to the manager.

Trisha:
I'm going to help you clip them. April, come on over. So Trisha's going to hold them and I'll tell you where to clip.

Anthony Godfrey:
Is it kind of scary to do that. Is it hard? Which is the harder job holding the rabbit or clipping the nails?

Student:
Holding it.

Anthony Godfrey:
Is it a rabbit?

Student:
Yes. The technical term is a rabbit. Bunnies are babies. And so you want to make sure that when you're clipping you are clipping gray. That's where the light part of the nail ends. So about right there because there's veins inside of there. So you don't want to clip too high up and hold tight in case he doesn't like it.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. Is this Bruce or Karen? Bruce seems very calm about this, like he doesn't know what he's in for. Oh wow. It's kind of like a whole punch that is just coming around the rapid toe. Is there anything lucky about rabbit toes as opposed to rabbits feet or rabbit toe nail?

Student:
I think the lucky part is not getting scratched as you are pulling them out of the cages and holding them. That's lucky.

Anthony Godfrey:
Why do you clip the Bunny's nails?

Student:
We do them so that when students get them out to handle them, they don't get scratched because they're super, super sharp and they draw blood very easily.

Anthony Godfrey:
Do you ever do a manicure?

Student:
No.

Anthony Godfrey:
For a bunny-cure. That doesn't exist?  Just  a buff and clear polish.

Student:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. Can I touch Bruce?

Student:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Can I like, oh wow, Bruce is very soft. Bruce has gray and white, very big dark eyes. I like Bruce. Bruce is very chill. Does someone take equine science if they have been around horses or they're just interested or who signs up? Who's mostly has interest in that sort of class?

Cody:
Ag kids So a lot of these kids took my animal science class or floriculture class. And so it was basically through recruitment. I only actually have one student in here that has horses at home, in this class. She's a barrel racer. So she has extensive experience with her own horses. But other than that, everyone else just, they were able to take this class because of word of mouth, through my other animal science classes that I teach. And just something that they were interested in.

Anthony Godfrey:
And how long have you been teaching here now?

Cody:
This is my second year at West Jordan High School and second year teaching.

Anthony Godfrey:
Great. So you teach equine science. What other classes?

Cody:
I teach equine science. I teach animal science one and then animal science two, which is just a more advanced animal science. We go into a little more detail. It's a little meatier, but it's also quite a bit more hands-on because the kids are able to take that animal science one class, that gives them the science part of things. And they learn all the terminology. And then they're able to apply it in animal science to two specific things. I also teach a floriculture and greenhouse management class and that class is super fun and also super hands-on. All of my classes are very hands-on, but the floriculture class is the most hands-on. We make a monthly floral arrangement that we are able to sell to faculty and staff and community members. And it's all student work. They choose the arrangement that they make every month. They choose the flowers that go in that arrangement. They choose everything. They learn the business end of things. They learn how to run a floral business the first half of the year. And then the second half of the year, starting in January, we are working in our greenhouse.

Anthony Godfrey:
So if they're behind on getting a flower arrangement together, do you tell them to put the pedal to the metal?

Cody:
That's a great one. I've never used that one, but I'm going to start using it now.

Anthony Godfrey:
I was just checking. I think I've never met a teacher who teaches a wider range of subjects than you do. I know they're all kind of outside and nature related, I suppose, but floral arranging and equine science. That's quite a wide range. What made you interested teaching those subjects?

Cody:
I come from a background of agriculture, fairly extensive. I'm from Spanish workers and so I was able to kind of grow up on the farm, doing all these sorts of things from having my own horses and cows and pigs and all sorts of different animals. And through high school, I was able to be involved in an agriculture education program and in the FFA. And it was something that I knew when I was a sophomore. I needed to be an Ag teacher and I wanted to be an Ag teacher. And so I just followed the plan and the rest is history. Here I am.

Anthony Godfrey:
I like the way you say that I needed to be an Ag teacher.  You just knew that's what you needed to do was what I needed to do by my sophomore year. That's fantastic. Well, I have to admit that everything you teach is way out of my range of talent and ability. So I'm thrilled that you're here and that you're teaching.

When we come back, we'll introduce you to Winston the pig. He's just one animal playing an important role in Ag Education at West Jordan High School.

Break:
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Anthony Godfrey:
Welcome back. Now it's time to find out what goes on in the greenhouse and small farm setting behind West Jordan High, as part of the Agricultural Program. Walked out behind West Jordan High School. I thought, there are facilities available to students here for this program.

Cody:
For the Ag Program right now, we have our full production greenhouse, where we were able to grow all sorts of different flowers and a variety of different vegetables. We also are in the process of creating a mini-animal lab. We will be getting a barn, just a small 20 by 20 foot barn to put out here by the end of this month. Students are able to purchase a market, go and market lambs to raise for the Salt Lake County. Fair. A lot of the students that we have here in our program don't come from an agricultural background. And so with it being a more urban area, we need to, I really believe in the importance of giving students these hands on opportunities like exhibiting an animal at the Salt Lake County Fair. And so providing a place for that animal and providing the entire learning experience from when they get the lamb or the goat to the time they get to sell it and make money on that end.

Anthony Godfrey:
I think it would be surprising to a lot of kids exactly what is involved in raising the animals that provide food for them ultimately, at the end of the line. And I'm excited to see what's going on. I think I heard a pig in the background.

Cody:
Yeah. Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
What does that noise from the pig? It's an oink, but what does it mean?

Cody:
He's trying to escape you. That means leave me alone.

Anthony Godfrey:
What is your name?

Student:
Brendan.

Anthony Godfrey:
Brendan, do you consider yourself a pig master?

Student:
Not really.

Anthony Godfrey:
I liked dogs, but you like pigs and what's the pig's name?

Student:
Winston

Anthony Godfrey:
Winston. That's a very sophisticated thing. I liked that. Have you handled pigs before this class?

Student:
I have not. He's actually a miniature pig, not that that's actually a thing. There's no such thing as an actual miniature pig because he could grow up to be 300 pounds, but he's about five or six months old now and weighs right around 40 pounds. You just have to be very careful what you feed them and how much, because they can grow up to be big pigs.

Anthony Godfrey:
So the ultimately, size of the pig depends on what you feed it.

Student:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
And so how does the pig interact with students in your classes? How do you use the pig as part of the instruction?

Cody:
So when we are talking about different animals behaviors or different training, we can incorporate him into that. We can also talk about the confirmation of the animals when we're doing livestock judging and things like that. Pointing out specific things on the pig or on any animal is always a really, really valuable tool to use. If the students can see it and touch it, it's usually very valuable and they're able to remember that.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, no, Winston wanted to eat the microphone. We're going to keep that from happening. What are you feeding Winston?

Cody:
Right now we are giving him just some mini-pig treats and they are blueberries and cream flavored. But in general, we feed him an 18% protein hog feed.  We just give him about a half a pound a day, and that is what he eats. And then he also loves marshmallows. Those are his favorite.

Anthony Godfrey:
He loves marshmallows, blueberries and cream. Is he a millennial pig? Does he eat only organic?

Cody:
Probably.

Anthony Godfrey:
You talked about animal behavior earlier. Can you tell about Wilbur's behavior and what there is to learn about behavior from Wilburn?

Cody:
Yeah. So when we were getting him out of the pen, when he was making that noise and it sounded really aggressive, that sounded like it was forming syllables.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yes.

Cody:
That was his way of saying, I would really prefer if you don't bother me. But obviously, once he was out and he's getting treats, he's singing a different tune.

Anthony Godfrey:
So like many humans, he's resistant to change, but once he settles in, he can see the benefits of being out and having some blueberries and cream.

Cody:
Absolutely.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. So is it difficult for students, once they've raised an animal in your program to then sell it, knowing that it's going to become food?

Cody:
That is a great question. Diana here was one of the very first to experience that just last year.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell us about your experience last year. What did you raise?

Student:
I raised the lamb.

Anthony Godfrey:
And what was the lamb's name?

Student:
I didn't give him a name until I sold it.

Anthony Godfrey:
Until you sold, then you gave it a name, as you said?

Student:
Yeah, it's because I didn't want to get too attached. I thought that naming it would, you know, I'd be too friendly with it. And then it'd be harder for me to sell him.

Anthony Godfrey:
Did you feel like even without a name, you gained this close connection to the animal?

Student:
Yeah, butI knew it was for food and I didn't want to get too attached to it.

Anthony Godfrey:
You'd be able to have that experience without this class.

Student:
Definitely not. I don't think I would've been interested in purchasing a livestock animal and raising it just because I've never been interested in lambs or goats or anything.

Anthony Godfrey:
What is it that made you want to take the class?

Student:
It was my last science credit I needed, to be honest and I thought, okay, I'll just animal science. I don't need any other credits. So with animal science, I'll be able to stop. And then he introduced the idea of having lambs and I thought, yeah, what the heck? I've never done it before. You know, this should be an experience,

Anthony Godfrey:
But that's a good thing. That's what happens sometimes is those high school requirements make you take a class you might not otherwise take and you learn some things about the world and what interests you.

Student:
Yeah. So I got my animal science credit. All my science credits are complete and I'm in his animal science II..

Anthony Godfrey:
So what would you say to parents and students who are maybe considering this?

Student:
Oh, definitely do it. It's so much fun.

Anthony Godfrey:
You learn a lot?

Student:
Yeah. A lot.

Anthony Godfrey:
Do you care more about animals having taken this class?

Student:
Yeah, for sure. You know how to take care of them correctly.

Anthony Godfrey:
Do you feel like you could live off the land now?

Student:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. Well, that's good. Brendan. I think you experienced the circle of life, a little bit earlier, didn't you? What happened earlier with Winston?

Student:
It looked like he was sniffing my boot and either something came out of his mouth or his nose, but he moved away. And there was, there was just something on my boot.

Anthony Godfrey:
So something came out of Winston and onto your boot, these things happened. I'm wearing one of my favorite pairs of dress shoes, so Winston and I are probably not going to get very friendly right now. I'm not dressed for Winston, but Winston is grateful. He is not paying me much attention. He's rooting in dead leaves and who can blame him. So you know, this is part of the bargain, right? I guess that sometimes things come out of animals and land on you. And you're good with that.

Student:
Yeah. Just an adventure, really.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. It is an adventure. You can't say that about every class, it's an adventure. I liked that. Do you think Wilbur has a pretty good life here?

Student:
Yeah, I think he does because it helps us learn new things about pigs and animals. So yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Winston seems to be enjoying himself. Do pigs wag their tails because he kind of seemed to be a minute ago.

Student:
Yeah, it seems pretty happy.

Anthony Godfrey:
What about the chickens? You turn and look around and suddenly there's another animal.

Cody:
Okay. So the chickens are one of my students SAE projects, Supervised Agricultural Experience. And what that means is when a student enters any of my Ag classes, they are required to fulfill an SAE project of some kind. That project includes anything involving agriculture. So it can be something as simple as researching careers in agriculture and then writing about what they learned. And that gives them that career exploration, part of an SAE. They can purchase a chicken coop with chickens and that's their project. Caitlin owns these chickens. They obviously are housed here at the high school because she's not able to keep them at her own house. But she has five hens. Each of them lay about an egg a day and she's able to take those eggs home to her family. And she's actually started selling some to close friends and relatives as well.

Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. That's exciting. So chickens, pigs, rabbits, what else? What's next?

Cody:
Chicken, pigs, chickens, pigs, and rabbits are what we have right now. If you were to come back in April, we will have 10 to 12 lambs and 10 to 12 goats that kids will have purchased to raise at the camp.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's fair. So I love the, how, how students talk about a project. You know, we talk about project based learning, but if you look at raising a goat or sheep or a pig and seeing that whole process all the way through, that's true project based learning, It's really cool to watch all of their hard work pay off because in the interim, my hard work pays off.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. And when you put it that way, you really do get to see the difference and see the result of your work. The sense of efficacy must be very high for participation in this class when you really know that the effort you put into something brings a result.

Cody:
Along with that, the program here, when I started two years ago, had about 30 active FFA members and we've more than doubled. We've got about 75 active FFA members now. And I went from having maybe 150 to 180 kids in my classes to having over 200 this year. And so I'm seeing that program grow and seeing other kids hear about that from their friends, from their family. Having them come, be involved, it is really a great feeling for me. But it's even better and more rewarding for the kids.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, classes grow like that when there's a great teacher. So thanks for being a great teacher and providing an awesome experience for kids. Appreciate it. We'll be back in just a few moments. Stay with us.

Break:
You want to know what's going on in Jordan school district, maybe see your child or a friend featured in a school story. Check out our website@jordandistrict.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at Jordan district. Let's connect today, Kim. Nice to see you. Nice to be with you. Tell everyone a little bit about yourself.

Kim:
My name is Kim Newbrough. I am the Career and Technical Education Coordinator at Mountain Ridge High School. I'm a former Agriculture teacher. I taught Ag at West Jordan High School for 19 years before I moved over to being a CTE Coordinator.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell us some about the Agricultural Science courses that are available throughout the District and the experience students can have.

Kim:
We're lucky in Jordan School District. Every high school in our District and our two JATCs have an Agriculture Program. Some of them are budding and growing and some of them are thriving. We teach, as you heard, the wide range. We have flora-culture, greenhouse management, equine science, small and companion animal programs. We have a landscaping program at the JATC South. At the JATC North we have a Vet Tech program. It's just huge, all the different offerings that we have in our District.

Anthony Godfrey:
And we're standing in the greenhouse behind West Jordan High School. You told me, as we walked in, you said this was your favorite place. Tell us about why.

Kim:
Well, I actually had this greenhouse built when I was here teaching. I had a smaller one and they it tore down, my barn and my greenhouse, to expand the football stadium and then built this beautiful greenhouse. This is my happy place because we start with this tiny little seed and then we get to see things grow. Kind of like with our agriculture students, they come in with no knowledge and then it grows and expands, which is really important because we live in a day and age where people are agriculturally illiterate. Yes, we're so far removed from the family farm that people think, Oh, I can just go to the store and get my food. Well, I had a saying on a bulletin board in my classroom that said "Agriculture, without it, you would be hungry and naked." And I truly believe that because people think I just go to the store and buy my clothes.

It takes the farmer to raise the cotton to make their clothes. And it takes a farmer to raise their food. And people often think that agriculture is just growing a food and crops, but it's so much more. We're the largest employer in the United States. You've got to have somebody who comes up with new seeds and new strains of seeds. So you've got science. You've got people who have to transport your food from point A to point B, so we've got truck drivers. We've got food scientists. We've got marketers, everything that we do ties back to agriculture.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, when you said agriculturally illiterate, you kind of looked at me like you could tell that's exactly me. You know, you get joy out of seeing a seed grow. I get a full-grown plant and I end up with dead leaves and a flower pot of death. So I should have taken your class. I should have taken your class in high school. I wish I could go back in time and do that. What do you wish that parents and students who might be considering a class knew about Ag Science opportunities in Jordan?

Kim:
That they're the best classes for students to take because we teach students how to work. I think that parents need to understand that their kids are going to learn so much more than you know. Everybody thinks, Oh, they're just a farmer. Farmers are the smartest people we have because they have to understand the weather. They have to understand when to plant. They have to understand when to harvest. They have to know when to water and fertilize. If parents knew how much their kids could gain and know about themselves for agriculture. I had an amazing agriculture teacher when I was a student in high school who made me want to be an Ag teacher. And I have a former student who is now an Ag teacher. It's awesome to know that you can touch and have that influence in students and watching your students, who never thought that they would be involved in agriculture, pound on your truck window when you're buying sod and saying Kim, guess what? And I said, you're working in agriculture. It's like, yeah. Who would have thought? There's so many opportunities for students to grow. And the leadership opportunities through the FFA change kids' lives.

Anthony Godfrey:
You had me at kids learn how to work, because I think it's so easy to spend time on a screen or doing other things. But when you're out here, Winston needs attention. There's nothing else you can do. You have to take care of him. So I think this is awesome. Thank you very much for talking with us and thanks for all you've done over the years to continue Ag Science.

Kim:
It's a pleasure. Thank you.

Anthony Godfrey:
Thanks to everyone who took time to give us a closeup look at what Agriculture Programs look like in our schools today. They provide a wide range of opportunities for students interested in agriculture related careers, and they build excitement about learning. Now, any of you listeners out there who realized that I called Winston Wilbur later in the program, get extra credit and you really get extra credit. If you know that I called him Wilbur, because that's the pig in Charlotte's Web. Thanks to those of you who joined us today. And remember, education is the most important thing you will do today. We'll see ya.