By Logan Wells
FFA State President
Students who take agriculture classes average a 97 percent graduation rate in Wisconsin.
Agricultural education has made a huge impact in my life and thousands of other students, and the best way to explain it is through the visual of a three-legged stool. These components make up the three-circle model of agricultural education:
The first component is classroom instruction. In order to have an FFA chapter there must first be a certified agricultural educator teaching classes at the school. In classes students learn the technical book skills and knowledge. Agriculture classes today have evolved to more than the traditional cows, plows and sows. Everything from tax laws and agri-business classes to biotechnology and renewable energy to food science and cheesemaking to chainsaw safety and tree identification are taught in classrooms today. As diverse as the agriculture industry is, the same is true for agriculture classes today.
The next component of the three-circle model is called a Supervised Agricultural Experience or SAE. This basically is an internship where the student is learning hands-on skills whether that is through a job working for someone else, doing a research experiment, or running their own business. Some examples could be working in a greenhouse, raising and selling animals, operating a sawmill, or welding custom skid loader buckets. SAEs are crucial to this education model because they provide the real world experience to the lessons students learn in the classroom. It's the continuation of learning outside the classroom while still supervised by the same agricultural educator. Students have the opportunity to learn specifically about what they are interested in and can explore a potential career while still in high school.
The final component of the three-circle model is the FFA.
Here is where students can learn the interpersonal and leadership skills. FFA offers a place to network through education by offering different competitions and contests that tests students' knowledge in specific areas of agriculture. Developing interpersonal skills like public speaking, goal-setting, and problem-solving is at the core of the FFA. Growth in leadership and the importance of community service are also significant parts that the FFA teaches.
Together these three components of agricultural education, classroom instruction, SAEs, and the FFA, are very successful in teaching students. In fact, students who take at least two agriculture classes in high school have a 97 percent graduation rate in the state of Wisconsin. Every student in an agriculture class has these opportunities available to them, and there is no telling how far they can go if they put their mind to it.
- Logan Wells, a 2011 graduate of Monroe High School, is currently a forestry major at University of Wisconsin-Madison. He serves as the president of the Wisconsin FFA.
FFA State President
Students who take agriculture classes average a 97 percent graduation rate in Wisconsin.
Agricultural education has made a huge impact in my life and thousands of other students, and the best way to explain it is through the visual of a three-legged stool. These components make up the three-circle model of agricultural education:
The first component is classroom instruction. In order to have an FFA chapter there must first be a certified agricultural educator teaching classes at the school. In classes students learn the technical book skills and knowledge. Agriculture classes today have evolved to more than the traditional cows, plows and sows. Everything from tax laws and agri-business classes to biotechnology and renewable energy to food science and cheesemaking to chainsaw safety and tree identification are taught in classrooms today. As diverse as the agriculture industry is, the same is true for agriculture classes today.
The next component of the three-circle model is called a Supervised Agricultural Experience or SAE. This basically is an internship where the student is learning hands-on skills whether that is through a job working for someone else, doing a research experiment, or running their own business. Some examples could be working in a greenhouse, raising and selling animals, operating a sawmill, or welding custom skid loader buckets. SAEs are crucial to this education model because they provide the real world experience to the lessons students learn in the classroom. It's the continuation of learning outside the classroom while still supervised by the same agricultural educator. Students have the opportunity to learn specifically about what they are interested in and can explore a potential career while still in high school.
The final component of the three-circle model is the FFA.
Here is where students can learn the interpersonal and leadership skills. FFA offers a place to network through education by offering different competitions and contests that tests students' knowledge in specific areas of agriculture. Developing interpersonal skills like public speaking, goal-setting, and problem-solving is at the core of the FFA. Growth in leadership and the importance of community service are also significant parts that the FFA teaches.
Together these three components of agricultural education, classroom instruction, SAEs, and the FFA, are very successful in teaching students. In fact, students who take at least two agriculture classes in high school have a 97 percent graduation rate in the state of Wisconsin. Every student in an agriculture class has these opportunities available to them, and there is no telling how far they can go if they put their mind to it.
- Logan Wells, a 2011 graduate of Monroe High School, is currently a forestry major at University of Wisconsin-Madison. He serves as the president of the Wisconsin FFA.