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“Winston the Pig” Playing His Part in Ag Education at West Jordan High
Description
Students in the Agriculture Program at West Jordan High are getting hands-on lessons that look nothing like Ag programs of the past. Here, high tech is combined with live farm animals and a working greenhouse to teach students where their food comes from. In many cases, they are students who may have never set foot on a farm before.
In this week’s episode of the Supercast, we meet Ag students and their instructor, along with Winston the Pig who is part of the Ag Program.
Audio Transcription
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 scienc