This post is part of the Science Tuesday feature series on the USDA blog. Check back each week as we showcase stories and news from the USDA's rich science and research portfolio.
As we begin a new school year, I am proud to announce that the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) has again partnered with the National FFA Organization to develop new educational online learning tools that will help promote agricultural and statistical literacy.
NASS and FFA have created a series of K-12 lesson plans based on data from the 2007 Census of Agriculture. The lesson plans and supporting materials will help students better understand agricultural statistics and their importance to the farming community, rural America and society as a whole. The lessons focus on a variety of concepts including discovering new trends in population subsets and evaluating diversity among farmers.
These new, classroom-ready materials are aligned with national agricultural education and academic standards. They are available online via the NASS website and the FFA Learning Center.
After raising six children of my own, I can say from experience that education is the stepping stone to many successes in life. And as a statistician, I know that mathematics and statistics are important building blocks for science and business. That is why I am so passionate about promoting statistical literacy, especially among the young people who are our future agricultural and business leaders. I am thrilled that NASS and FFA can be a contributing force for learning in the upcoming school year.
