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* Ag. Science *
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http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_7jE1LOVMzc0/RaGzLSjgL1I/AAAAAAAAAAg/nOOrITvxloE/s320/Punk%2BFarm.jpg :cool:rainbowtrout wrote: »Something like that. There needs to be more punk farmers I think.
I'm not from a farming background, and I think that makes me hate the subject even more. Can I ask, what made you go into teaching it? The syllabus is yonks old, one average revision book, terrible text book and they can decide to ask you anything in the exam. The project is a bit of a disaster and basically plagiarism of somebody from last years work
WHY?!0 -
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At the time of subject choices, I was considering going into medicine. I moved to a new school and they don't offer biology (I know!). Aggers would have covered me for it, but now I'd never go into medicinerandylonghorn wrote: »Ooooohh!! ... you do like to live dangerously, don't you?! :eek:
Do these get mentioned on the AgSci course?! :pac:
Slightly more seriously ... given that, what made you take the subject for LC? I absolutely despise the subject, but it forces me to learn everything and I usually get an A in it. Although, I got 67% in the mocks and tha was the highest in the class :eek: 0 -
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_7jE1LOVMzc0/RaGzLSjgL1I/AAAAAAAAAAg/nOOrITvxloE/s320/Punk%2BFarm.jpg :cool:
I'm not from a farming background, and I think that makes me hate the subject even more. Can I ask, what made you go into teaching it? The syllabus is yonks old, one average revision book, terrible text book and they can decide to ask you anything in the exam. The project is a bit of a disaster and basically plagiarism of somebody from last years work
WHY?!
It was part of my course, I had no choice. Everyone had to do Biology and Ag Science and either Physics or Chemistry. I wanted to teach Chem/Bio, Ag was just an extra and that's where I ended up mainly. I do understand where you're coming from if you're not from a farming background, I was the only city person in the class in college so when we started Agriculture lectures I was the class idiot as I knew nothing, and the lecturer took a perverse pleasure in asking me questions that he knew I wouldn't be able to answer to make me look stupid, but I learned and got on alright in the end.
The course needs a MAJOR overhaul, it won't happen any time in the next 5 years I'd imagine (10 if we're lucky), the material is way out of date and some of the topics asked on the exam (HL) are at best questionable. There was a question on the Economic Breeding Index last year, and while I'd have the knowledge on it, I've never taught that to any of my classes and was surprised to see it. So I've added that to my list of things to do in class. But that's not the way a syllabus should evolve or be tested. It's not fair on students or teachers. Particularly students who are not from a farming background and are relying on what they learn in class and not their farming background.
There are no new books because the companies won't publish because they wouldn't make enough profit, that might change with the rise in numbers taking the subject.
And while you might not like the subject now, you might think differently the next time you are out the country (if you don't live there already) and you look into a field and you are able to identify the cattle/sheep breeds in the field and you know what a creep feeder looks like or you know why the cattle and sheep are in the same field, or you see a piece on the news (like in January during the snow) and understand why the potatoes could not be harvested - obviously because of the weather - but also because that's the time of year they would have been harvested.
My city view of farming changed rapidly when I started learning in college, up till then I hadn't thought about it very much because it wasn't part of my life, I didn't know any farmers and had never been on a farm. Cows were brown, black or white, I never considered that cattle would be bred exclusively for meat or milk or even that there were loads of different breeds (I wouldn't have been able to name anything beyond Friesans or Jerseys), despite the fact that no one bats an eyelid at the existance of different dog breeds, but assume all cattle and sheep are the same. As far as I was concerned lambs were born in spring (along with the daffodils and snowdrops coming out) and I never considered why this was the case when all other animal young (including humans) could be born at any time of the year. Lots of food for thought.
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That's not as bad as the video we saw of the bull getting castrated....rainbowtrout wrote: »I've met plenty of students who think silage and slurry are the same thing!
Vaccinate, castrate, dock tail. I've shown this one a few times in class. A lot of students find it quite shocking
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EGdSmoqTY8
The "castrator" (???) made a big clipping noise, and everyone in class just jumps back and goes "OHHHHHHHH!" [all-male school ] 0 -
And a lot of lassies getting a night off, I'd say.rainbowtrout wrote: »I like to give them an oul' mention and explain how they are used. You tube is great for that kind of stuff! Lots of horrified lads the day I show those videos!
Oh, I've seen prolapsed uteruses (uteri?) and seen them dealt with too ... I suspect however that that pic would be enough to send many boardsies to their beds with nightmares.Ahaha! You'd swear you never saw a soft case of prolapse vagina
Hmmm ... question for you (both? :P) ... what ordinary kitchen condiment did farmers once swear by as an aid to treating the condition?
Hmmm ... but I'm sure the girls are wondering why it falls out so easily ... >_>Sure its only normal, everything falls out now and then.... Just pop it back in and she'll be grand!
Anyway ... back to AgSci!! :pac:0 -
randylonghorn wrote: »And a lot of lassies getting a night off, I'd say.
Oh, I've seen prolapsed uteruses (uteri?) and seen them dealt with too ... I suspect however that that pic would be enough to send many boardsies to their beds with nightmares.
Hmmm ... question for you (both? :P) ... what ordinary kitchen condiment did farmers once swear by as an aid to treating the condition?
Hmmm ... but I'm sure the girls are wondering why it falls out so easily ... >_>
Anyway ... back to AgSci!! :pac:
Kitchen condiment? Ketchup! Catsup? Ket...suuuup? MUSTARD!
Don't be naive, ladies! That's a normal side-effect of giving birth :pac:
By the way, you shall be referred to as RandyShortHornCattle in this thread 0 -
randylonghorn wrote: »And a lot of lassies getting a night off, I'd say.
randylonghorn wrote: »Hmmm ... question for you (both? :P) ... what ordinary kitchen condiment did farmers once swear by as an aid to treating the condition?
Hmmm ... but I'm sure the girls are wondering why it falls out so easily ... >_>
Anyway ... back to AgSci!! :pac:
Parsley I think.0 -
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Kitchen condiment? Ketchup! Catsup? Ket...suuuup? MUSTARD!
Nope and nope.rainbowtrout wrote: »Parsley I think.
Sugar / sugar solution was often used in the days before vets were affordable / equipped with modern drugs to reduce a swollen prolapsed uterus (principle of osmosis) to make re-insertion easier.
As recently as ~10 years ago, I can remember an old farmer muttering when he saw his vet's bill that "sugar was a hell of a lot cheaper!"
Ah right, blame the wimmen for your own shortcomings ...Don't be naive, ladies! That's a normal side-effect of giving birth :pac:
Well, as I've wandered around Boards for a month under the name ImpotentNoHorn courtesy of an admin / site developer who was overly soaked in the Christmas spirit one night, and subsequently forgot all about it the next morning ... I'm sure I'll survive!By the way, you shall be referred to as RandyShortHornCattle in this thread
Well, I'd try it quicker than mustard ...I am EXTREMELY interested to know how parsley re-inserts a vagina :pac: Please, do explain
But I can't say that one rings a bell here either ...
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randylonghorn wrote: »Nope and nope.
Sugar / sugar solution was often used in the days before vets were affordable / equipped with modern drugs to reduce a swollen prolapsed uterus (principle of osmosis) to make re-insertion easier.
Well, I'd try it quicker than mustard ...
But I can't say that one rings a bell here either ...
Very interesting. Parsley I think is supposed to be good for labour pains, muscles etc so I took a guess that it might be right. Obviously not.:D0 -
Just looking it up there, it's meant to stimulate uterine contractions, so might be a tad counter-productive ...rainbowtrout wrote: »Parsley I think is supposed to be good for labour pains, muscles etc so I took a guess that it might be right.
I have no idea how effective it is for that purpose, can't say I've heard that one before, but certainly though many herbal / natural remedies had sense to them and many were used as the basis for more "refined" medical and vet. products.0 -
randylonghorn wrote: »Just looking it up there, it's meant to stimulate uterine contractions, so might be a tad counter-productive ...
I have no idea how effective it is for that purpose, can't say I've heard that one before, but certainly though many herbal / natural remedies had sense to them and many were used as the basis for more "refined" medical and vet. products.
Ya I didn't check it up when I posted0 -
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hmmm, people are asking about what pictures of plants / animals need to go into their portfolios...
However my understanding is that NO plant or animal identification stuff needs to go into that portfolio!
The requirements clearly state that:-
(2) the Practical experience... and
(3) the investigations
...need to be recorded.
There is nothing in the guidelines that says there needs to be any written record at all of category (1) indentification.
Surely the identification is something your teacher has graded based on an oral examination... and the 20 marks available for that section are based purely on the teacher's grade without any written record to corroborate that grade. The people whpo get picked for the interrogation by an external examiner should get their mark adjusted depending on how well they respond to the interrogation...
...am I wrong about this?
...Because my interrogation is Wednesday, there are only 3 Ag Sci students in the school. I am guaranteed to be picked for interrogation, and I have NOTHING in my portfolio on identification. I was told I didn't need to put it in. -God knows that portfolio is long enough without it!!!
Can anyone clear this up?
You're quite correct Lamph, you don't need to put pictures of animals and plants in your portfolio, so no need to panic. Some teachers get their classes to do it so they will learn them and as you said you will be assessed by the external examiner on Wednesday and they will ask you to identify plants and animals from a selection.
...Try not to look at it as an interrogation and more as an informal chat, it's not going to be as bad as you think0 -
Thanks. I was trying, in vain, to cut down my revision. One more:)
How do you tell the difference between a Belclare, Texel and a Charolais? I can't find anything about them regarding distinguishable features.
Am I leaving any breeds out that I could be asked to identify?: Scottish blackface, welsh mountiain. wicklow cheviot, kerry hill, welsh mountain, charolois, suffolk, belclare, texel.
Wheat vs barley? Is there anyway to tell them apart?
Wheat looks like the symbol on the Weetabix logo
You will generally be shown a selection of pictures and asked to identify the ones you know. Examiners are not there to catch you out on the finer points of sheep identification.0 -
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Hi,
In the oral, for plant identification, I was going to learn off a huge list of about 20 types of weeds and other plants. This seems very long to me but the reason I'm doing it is because I'm afraid I'll be asked to identify a plant that I've never seen before! Am I right in thinking like this? Or can the examiner just ask you the plants that you have identified in the project?
Also, my teacher brought us to a farm for our project but I also want to do my project partly on my uncle's farm. It would only be a little bit extra on dairying as the farm my teacher brought me to didn't have a dairying enterprise. Is this okay?
Just on last question! On the 2010 paper, a question on scutch grass came up. I hadn't met any explanation of this weed in my green book before and was wondering why the book doesn't go into detail on the different types of weed? What sort of weeds and their properties should we be aware of?
Thanks so much to anybody who can help!!!!!!:):):):):) 0 -
MaighEoAbu wrote: »Hi,
In the oral, for plant identification, I was going to learn off a huge list of about 20 types of weeds and other plants. This seems very long to me but the reason I'm doing it is because I'm afraid I'll be asked to identify a plant that I've never seen before! Am I right in thinking like this? Or can the examiner just ask you the plants that you have identified in the project?
Also, my teacher brought us to a farm for our project but I also want to do my project partly on my uncle's farm. It would only be a little bit extra on dairying as the farm my teacher brought me to didn't have a dairying enterprise. Is this okay?
Just on last question! On the 2010 paper, a question on scutch grass came up. I hadn't met any explanation of this weed in my green book before and was wondering why the book doesn't go into detail on the different types of weed? What sort of weeds and their properties should we be aware of?
Thanks so much to anybody who can help!!!!!!:):):):):)
Learn the plants and weeds your teachers tells you to learn. Your teacher will be putting out the plant selection on the day. If the teacher doesn't do it the examiner will bring their own. They will stick to the common ones.
Yes you can add in your own information on your uncle's dairy farm.
I think scutch might be listed in the list of grasses in Ch 19 of the green book. The green book is not the bible. Just because it's the main book it doesn't mean it covers everything on the syllabus.
I've said it before Textbook =/= Syllabus.
From the syllabus, to show you how vague it is:Identification of plants of agricultural importance in the school environment and study of characteristics and habitat.
Principles of classification of plants. Ability to classify plants in at least six natural orders.
http://www.curriculumonline.ie/en/Post-Primary_Curriculum/Senior_Cycle_Curriculum/Leaving_Certificate_Established/Agricultural_Science/LC_Agricultural_Science.pdf
The book was printed in 1992 so it's out of date and it doesn't have information on everything that is being asked. Also because the syllabus is so vague lots of things are appearing on the paper which are not in the textbooks but could be asked under the guidelines of the syllabus.
E.g. Maize silage was asked this year. Silage is on the syllabus, cereals are on the syllabus. No specific cereal is mentioned so by that reckoning it should be allowed, but I don't know any book that contains information on maize or any teacher that teaches it. That will change in time though.0 -
Hey guys
Repeating..
Took on Ag science new this year..
Thing is, our ag science teacher is somewhat a tyrant if im being honest.
We were warned how intense the course would be and I accepted.
But Im really stuck on Soils - confused - and she expects us to know the book by John Breen WORD FOR WORD??..Literally
Thing is, the book doesnt even make sense. Like, Id enjoy physiology etc cause I like Bio but Soils is bogging me down!
Any tips ? Any good site or notes online? etc! Thanks 0 -
Hey guys
Repeating..
Took on Ag science new this year..
Thing is, our ag science teacher is somewhat a tyrant if im being honest.
We were warned how intense the course would be and I accepted.
But Im really stuck on Soils - confused - and she expects us to know the book by John Breen WORD FOR WORD??..Literally
Thing is, the book doesnt even make sense. Like, Id enjoy physiology etc cause I like Bio but Soils is bogging me down!
Any tips ? Any good site or notes online? etc! Thanks
Personally I find soils the most agonising part of the course to teach. Students find it boring, teaching it isn't much fun as there isn't a lot you can do to make it interesting ..not as cool or interesting as cows calving etc.
get yourself Rapid Revision Ag Science by Elaine Buckley Murphy (Folens). It'll cut out the waffle and tell you what you need to know for the most part.
The soil section in the green book is long and cumbersome. It can be easy to lose track of the sections and how they link together, but do make the effort because Q2 on the paper is a full question on soil every year and there is often an experiment as well in Q4, so worth a good few marks overall
I would suggest make out your own notes on the following topics:
Parent Rock Materials: A small grid with three types of rock (igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic, two example of each, one county in which each is found.
differences between basin and blanket peats, Bord na Mona have some good fact sheets and summary table of both.
http://www.bnm.ie/corporate/index.jsp?&1nID=93&pID=102&nID=391
Physical and chemical weathering: know 3-4 examples of each.
Chapter 1 done.
Chapter 2 and 3 :
Properties of Soil: Physical, Chemical and Biological:
5 Physical: Texture, Structure, Air, Water, Temperature
2 Chemical: pH, Cation Exchange Capacity
1 Biological: Living Organisms
Also know Carbon Cycle and Nitrogen Cycle
Chapter 4
Know the different Soil horizons, leaching in horizon A and accumulation in horzion B.
be able to describe a podzol
Chapter 5: know the importance of Nitrogen, Potassium, Phosphorus
Liming and Soil Testing.
You will need to know the experiments for each as well, particularly in chapter 2 and 30 -
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