Sarah Piper | Clemson University, Clemson, SC

1. The Importance of SAE Sarah Piper| Clemson University, Clemson, SC Introduction Supervised Agriculture Experiences (SAEs) were first developed with the Smith-Hughes Act of 1917 along side the development of the National FFA organization. The purpose of developing the SAE program was to allow students in agriculture education programs personal experience in the agriculture industry under the supervision of an advisor (Camp 2003). SAEs give students the chance to use the skills they learn in the classroom, and apply them to real life situations. Over the years, SAE participation has declined for numerous reasons even though the importance of SAEs has not changed or declined. History Supervised Agriculture Experiences were developed through the Smith-Hughes Act of 1917 as well as the National Vocational Education Act in Public Law 347 Section 10. This section states, “that such schools shall provide for directed or supervised practice in agriculture,” (Southerland 2010). The reason for developing the SAE program was to provide agriculture experiences to students that would be overseen by an advisor. SAEs incorporate experiential learning and direct application of knowledge to enhance the learning experience. In 1992 the SAE program was revised to allow the modernization of the agriculture industry to be a part of the program. The National Council for Agriculture Education and the National FFA Foundation joined together to help revitalize the SAE program and make it more applicable to today’s agriculture industry. Today there are 6 types of SAE programs in this essential component of the agriculture education program; exploratory, entrepreneurship, placement, research, analytical, and directed laboratory experience. Issues SAE participation over the years has declined because of difficulty in implementing the programs. Teachers are often not compensated for the extra time they spend observing their students SAE programs and therefore they do not put much emphasis on the programs in the classroom. A lack of available facilities is another reason why SAE participation has declined. When agriculture education programs first began it was common for the programs to have their own land and farms that students could also use for their SAEs. As agriculture becomes more modernized and the economy becomes an issue, it is hard for programs to keep and maintain farms and land. Finally, students desire to do SAE programs that can last all year and require out of school effort and work is a cause for the decline in SAE programs (Southerland 2010). The ultimate low of SAEs occurred in the 1980s, before the “renovation” of the SAE program to allow for the modernization of agriculture industry. Benefits There are many overlooked benefits to Supervised Agriculture Experiences. By having a first-hand supervised project that students have to do outside of class and keep records on the project they are taught many things that will prepare them for “real life,” (Experiential 2003). Students gain agriculture experience, earn money, achieve independence, gain a background in the agriculture industry, gain work competencies, provide a record of employment, gain self confidence, work with others, increase ability to handle responsibility, increase maturity and reliability level, and get recognition for their achievements. These are all some of the things that students gain by actively participating in the SAE program(Experiential 2003). Conclusion All agriculture education programs should actively participate in Supervised Agriculture Experiences. As time goes by, the program improves and allows students to participate in all possible facets of agriculture. Although SAEs may take some extra effort from the educator, the benefits to the students greatly outweigh the added effort. Students are able to get real-world experience and develop skills they can use later in life through SAEs. Resources Camp, William G., Ariane Clarke, and Maureen Fallon. "REVISITING SUPERVISED AGRICULTURAL EXPERIENCE." Journal of Agricultural Education 41.3 (2003): n. pag. Web. 21 Nov. 2012. <pubs.aged.tamu.edu/ jae/pdf/Vol41/41-03-13.pdf>. "Experiential Learning (Supervised Agricultural Experience Program)." Program Plannin Handbook. N.p.: Missouri University, 2003. N. pag. Web. 21 Nov. 2012. <dass.missouri.edu/ aged/resources/handbook/chap8.pdf>. Southerland, Dallas M. "Importance of Supervised Agriculture Experience Programs in High School Agriculture Education Departments." Yahoo! Contributor Network. N.p., 17 Apr. 2010. Web. 21 Nov. 2012.<http://voices. yahoo.com/importance- supervised- agriculture -experience-programs -5816434.html>.