Within agricultural education, there is a lot to outline to students and parents, especially if it's the student’s first year in the program. Between the classroom, FFA, CDEs, LDEs, fundraisers, field trips and SAEs, there are a lot of components (and acronyms) that need to be explained before students and parents fully immerse into the culture of agricultural education.
Although there was excitement for the beginning of the school year - meeting new students, reuniting with colleagues and returning to a routine - it was also met with the monotony of the first couple days of school.
Between rules and expectations, classroom routines, safety drills and ALL THE PAPERWORK, I always felt like a broken record for the first couple days of school. There was no excitement, no fire, no passion in those days.
SAEs. Supervised Agricultural Experiences. Work-based Learning.
Whatever you call students’ experiential learning opportunities, the concept of students’ SAEs is not a complicated concept but one my students struggled to understand.
Most FFA advisors know their chapter is doing amazing things. Most students know their chapter is doing amazing things. However, most community members do not know their school’s chapter is doing amazing things.
