—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 5, 1972
6
• From Local Aq- Teachers:
Editor's Note: This is the second of many articles in a
special column written by various agriculture teachers in our
service area. The articles are designed to be of interest to
and have educational value for all farm people. At the same
time, they offer an opportunity for the farm community to
become better acquainted with the teachers and for the
teachers to express their own interest in the local
agricultural community.
By Michael J. Burton,,
Penn Manor H. S.
Vocational Ag Teacher
Most people associated with
vocational agriculture know what
a supervised experience project
is, but may not know that it is
outdated
An agriculture student raises a
crop or animal that is his own and
keeps all necessary records on it.
He does this so that when he
graduates he will have the
necessary foundation, stock and
capital, along with management
skills to start farming
Supervised farming projects
like these do not meet the needs
of today’s agriculture Only five
per cent of the nation’s work
force is actively engaged in
farming, but 40 per cent are
employed by the vast agriculture
industry
So the supervised farming
project is not doing its job if it
prepares all these students to
enter farming, and not agn
mdustry.
To meet the changing needs of
agriculture, vocational educators
had to revamp their supervised
experience program. The result
is the supervised work
experience program. It places a
student in an approved local
business under close supervision
of the agriculture teacher, the
employers, and his parents
Here the student is exposed to
as many different phases of the
business as possible. Thus,
when the student graduates, he
will know how the entire business
operates This knowledge, along
with his agriculture training, will
make him a valuable employee.
The supervised work
experience program can be used
by the student two ways He can
work in an approved agri
business all through high school
earning money, and possibly
entering that business at a more
advanced position after
graduation; or he can carry a
supervised farming project while
in high school and go out on
work-experience as a senior.
Under work-experience type
program the student is exposed to
the business that he selects over a
period of six to ten weeks. During
this time, he changes jobs within
that busmess three or more times
to obtain a general outlook of the
whole business.
For example, he may enter a
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farm machinery dealership. The
first two weeks he may work in
the repair shop. The next two he
spends with the field serviceman,
and finally two more weeks with
a salesman and in the office. This
gives him an understanding an an
appreciation of the whole farm
machinery business.
Now that both programs have
been briefly explained, some
may question the value of having
students spend school time
earning money or acquiring
capital to start farming.
However, the supervised ex
perience programs (farming and
work experience) do more than
provide a student with money,
livestock, and experience They
give a student a chance to explore
the many facets of agriculture
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firsthand. He is exposed to many
situations which help develop
him as a person and improve his
chances to succeed in life. Some
of these opportunities are:
—Developing responsibility:
getting up every day to feed his
animal or to go to work.
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—Making decisions; which bull
to use for breeding or whether the
tractor needs overhauling.
—lmportance of keeping
records; whether he makes a
profit or loss from his steer, how
he takes inventory.
—Analyzing records: pounds
feed per 100 pounds gain, cost per
bushel of corn produced.
—Managing money: budgeting
his paycheck, investing in
production inputs.
—Exploring agriculture;
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—Learning skills: milking
cows, servicing machinery,
judging livestock, etc.
This small sampling of ex
perience shows the value of
supervised farming program and
the supervised work-experience
program. Alone, or in com
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and relevance to education.
At a time when youth is
demanding that education be
relevant, the new supervised
work-experience program helps
to prepare students for a career
in today’s modern agriculture.
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