Challenges in the History of Agricultural Education
Despite its eventful history, agricultural education has faced many challenges and obstacles that are even present in agriculture classrooms today. Four primary obstacles have impacted the advancement of agricultural education in school districts across America. These hindrances include the common “agriculture is only about farming” stereotype, the lack of motivation to establish agricultural education programs, the lack of having agricultural education courses meet some key graduation requirements, and enrollment in agricultural education programs. In order to understand the full scope of agricultural education, it is necessary to comprehend these obstacles so it is possible to find potential solutions.
It is common for many high school students, teachers, and administrators to believe that agriculture only relates to farming and producing food for all. This can, therefore, be considered an obstacle in which has caused some school districts to hesitate in offering agricultural education courses. Administrators may fail to see the true experiences that hands-on agriculture can impact the lives and futures of their students. This stereotype is difficult to overcome because the media and the history textbooks both portray agriculture as farming. Do to these biased portrayals of agriculture, some people may not realize that less than two percent of the American population, only 4.6 million people, live on a farm or a ranch. Often times, agriculture rarely related to improving leadership, job interview skills, food safety, or understanding economics. Agriculture is so much more than farming and it is vital that this is communicated with everyone who does believe that present-day agricultural education is not purposeful due to having curriculum only relating to farming.
Another obstacle of agricultural education has been establishing programs in schools around the nation. This has been a major problem, especially in many large cities or highly populated areas, as many schools in these types of areas are isolated from agriculture in rural or sparsely populated areas. It can be very gruesome and challenging to initiate an agricultural education program in a school singlehandedly, as money must be available to purchase equipment and pay for instructors, classroom space must be available, and the demand for agricultural education must be present within the school’s student body. Therefore, some districts do not have agricultural education programs because of at one or more of the above reasons. A final reason why it has been very difficult to establish agricultural education programs in schools is due to the shortage of agricultural education teachers.
After agricultural education programs are established in schools, the next major challenge that agricultural educators face is enrollment. In order for teachers to continue teaching their course content, they must have the minimum enrollment needed to stay at their current employment status. On the other hand, if a program grows large enough, more staff members may be added at the discretion of the school’s administration and budget. Agricultural education teachers must learn how to effectively recruit students to take their classes by providing a unique pallete of courses with enriched learning opportunities that attract all students, regardless of their background in agriculture, or lack thereof.
A final challenge of agricultural education courses in each state across America is establishing curriculum. Some states, including Minnesota, allow for students to take approved agricultural economics courses to waive the current economics requirement necessary for graduation. These “partnerships” between courses can boost enrollment rates because students will then be motivated to take more agriculture classes if they can meet a specific graduation requirement without taking away from their general electives, which may include art or music. Another potential partnership could include a connection between the science and agriculture departments of a particular school. If students are required to take a general science elective in order to graduate, students may take animal science, plant science, or veterinary science in the school’s agriculture department in place of a different class they would take in the science department. These partnerships also have the potential to boost enrollment in a variety of science-driven agriculture classes. The obstacle that exists in this area is, however, that many curriculum designers fail to see the similarities between required courses and agriculture courses. They also may not recognize that agriculture classes can provide more context than similar classes in other departments by providing hands-on and practical simulations that can be related back to students’ daily lives.
It is common for many high school students, teachers, and administrators to believe that agriculture only relates to farming and producing food for all. This can, therefore, be considered an obstacle in which has caused some school districts to hesitate in offering agricultural education courses. Administrators may fail to see the true experiences that hands-on agriculture can impact the lives and futures of their students. This stereotype is difficult to overcome because the media and the history textbooks both portray agriculture as farming. Do to these biased portrayals of agriculture, some people may not realize that less than two percent of the American population, only 4.6 million people, live on a farm or a ranch. Often times, agriculture rarely related to improving leadership, job interview skills, food safety, or understanding economics. Agriculture is so much more than farming and it is vital that this is communicated with everyone who does believe that present-day agricultural education is not purposeful due to having curriculum only relating to farming.
Another obstacle of agricultural education has been establishing programs in schools around the nation. This has been a major problem, especially in many large cities or highly populated areas, as many schools in these types of areas are isolated from agriculture in rural or sparsely populated areas. It can be very gruesome and challenging to initiate an agricultural education program in a school singlehandedly, as money must be available to purchase equipment and pay for instructors, classroom space must be available, and the demand for agricultural education must be present within the school’s student body. Therefore, some districts do not have agricultural education programs because of at one or more of the above reasons. A final reason why it has been very difficult to establish agricultural education programs in schools is due to the shortage of agricultural education teachers.
After agricultural education programs are established in schools, the next major challenge that agricultural educators face is enrollment. In order for teachers to continue teaching their course content, they must have the minimum enrollment needed to stay at their current employment status. On the other hand, if a program grows large enough, more staff members may be added at the discretion of the school’s administration and budget. Agricultural education teachers must learn how to effectively recruit students to take their classes by providing a unique pallete of courses with enriched learning opportunities that attract all students, regardless of their background in agriculture, or lack thereof.
A final challenge of agricultural education courses in each state across America is establishing curriculum. Some states, including Minnesota, allow for students to take approved agricultural economics courses to waive the current economics requirement necessary for graduation. These “partnerships” between courses can boost enrollment rates because students will then be motivated to take more agriculture classes if they can meet a specific graduation requirement without taking away from their general electives, which may include art or music. Another potential partnership could include a connection between the science and agriculture departments of a particular school. If students are required to take a general science elective in order to graduate, students may take animal science, plant science, or veterinary science in the school’s agriculture department in place of a different class they would take in the science department. These partnerships also have the potential to boost enrollment in a variety of science-driven agriculture classes. The obstacle that exists in this area is, however, that many curriculum designers fail to see the similarities between required courses and agriculture courses. They also may not recognize that agriculture classes can provide more context than similar classes in other departments by providing hands-on and practical simulations that can be related back to students’ daily lives.