Mike and Jane Madden, and Fred Whitehouse

Once upon a time - well, actually May, 2002 - I got a phone call one night from a friend talking about how we could structure projects for teachers that would make it easy to handle the process in the classroom and yet, at the same time, would allow students to reinforce, and learn, important skills, enduring skills. For some reason, when he asked what the topic should be, I said "rice." We've both wondered about it since that time because we had no idea just how involved it would all become.

Connections in the Rice Project came about when we least expected it. From having the chance to work with people in Georgetown, South Carolina, we discovered the early rice plantations. We had the chance to visit and film the Hampton Plantation in McClellanville. Other meetings took me to Texas where I discovered the importance of rice in that state. An e-mail connected me with the US Rice Producers Association, a group passionately concerned about rice as both a domestic crop and as an export. They turned out to be more than willing to share their resources to assist educators. In fact, they've pulled together a large collection of lessons covering almost every subject area and it's all about rice!

Looking at a map of Texas, I discovered that I would be very close to a small city called Katy. The people of Katy turned out to be some of the nicest individuals you could meet anywhere. Their mayor was most helpful when we asked for his assistance in meeting a local rice farmer so we could contrast the issues of rice production in different places. As luck would have it, the city of Katy was about to open up a heritage museum celebrating the impact of rice on their town. We were fortunate to not only get in early, but to be back in Texas the day the museum officially opened. At the opening, we got a chance to understand on a personal basis, what the rice culture in Katy had meant to people. I met people who had been in rice farming since 1929, as youngsters. I also learned of urban sprawl as large sections of the rich, farming lands of Katy have given way to the increasing demands of the city of Houston. This is a story repeated everywhere in the world and worth examining from multiple perspectives.

While in Katy, I also had the chance to walk the rice fields and hear about issues ranging from environmental demands on the land, global economics, trade, consumer economics, farm economics, science, history, and many other related topics. The fields I walked in Texas made me think of the fields I had walked at home on our farm, far away. I even remembered laughing at my father when he once said he'd like to see if rice would grow on our land because we had a 150 marsh in the middle of it. My narrow mind failed to see how we could grow rice when I figured you needed a tropical climate to do that. The more I understood about rice growing, the more I saw connections to the issues we face today.

Additionally, I was equally amazed at how little I knew about the impact of rice on the history of the United States. The lesson from the National Park Service, "When Rice Was King." make me aware of an entirely different perspective on that period.

This project is meant only to be part of the on-going conversation that occurs as educators refine the ways in which they integrate technology into the classroom. Note that the emphasis is not on the software being used, but on the content instead. The experience with the software is embedded as part of the organization and creation process with the subject matter.

More resources will be added over time and different aspects of this project will continue to be reshaped.

We'd like to thank you for the interest you have shown.
-Jane, Mike, and Fred