SAE Student Success Story #12 - Illinois

SAE is one of the most unique educational tools at our disposal as agriscience educators. SAEs have long standing impact on the lives of students. SAEs are not optional.

Story #12- Illinois

(Preface:  This student almost didn't take an agriculture class because she had all college prep, AP classes and could only take ag if she refused to have a study hall for all 4 years of high school- against the advice of the school counselor.  She had no interest in pursuing a career in agriculture, but by strong convincing by her father and myself we got her to take an Ag Class)

I had a female student in my Intro to Ag class who came to me freshman year unsure what to do for her required, SAE Project.  This student lived on a farm and was in 4-H so we naturally picked a swine production project since she already had 4-H pigs.  She completed that project for freshman year, but knew she wasn't going to farm and wasn’t real interested in swine so we decided that she should expand their enterprise portfolio and start an Agricultural Communications SAE project.  She was our newly elected chapter reporter and interested in public speaking and writing so we thought that would be a better fit for her than swine (we ended up keeping swine for all 4 years to make sure that she would receive her FFA degrees). 

This student has been the most-goal driven, motivated student I have ever encountered.  She competed in our section SAE proficiency contest that year and had gotten beaten.  The student that beat her ultimately ended up winning state and then nationals in Ag Communications.  That gave her even more motivation to do well.  She took it upon herself to write articles and columns for 3 newspapers, complete an online blog/website, as well as complete a job shadow experience with Orion Samuelson.  Two years later she ended up winning the Section, District, State, and National FFA Agricultural Communications Proficiency Award.  She was also on the State Winning Agricultural Communications CDE team and placed in the top 10 as an individual in the National CDE and the team placed 6th in the Nation.  She also served as the Section 3 FFA President (a minor state officer for Illinois).

Although these accomplishments are great, I am more proud for the fact that she ended up attending the University of Illinois majoring in Agricultural Communications and will graduate this year (in 3 years) with her degree in this field.  She also received her American FFA degree last week.  At the American degree session she came up to me and thanked me for "making her" do her SAE project and that if I didn’t push her, she wouldn’t be where she is today.  That meant more to me than all the recognition our chapter received from the awards she helped the chapter receive.  That is what SAEs are all about- Helping students achieve their goals and be successful in life.

Submitting Teacher: Mr. Jay Solomonson

SAE Theorem #10 (Moore, 2003, The Agricultural Education Magazine)

If  a teacher has extended employment, much of this time should be spent on SAE supervision. The Smith-Hughes Act established the Federal Board for Vocational Education. This board established policy and guidelines for implementation of vocational education. One of the policies developed by the board was that agriculture teachers would have 12 months employment to allow the teachers to supervise SAE projects. Even thought this board no longer exists, the principle that teachers should supervise SAE during the summer still exists. Supervision of SAE is the primary justification for having extended contracts. It is difficult to justify an agricultural teacher having an extended contract if there is no SAE program. Teachers must spend a good portion of their extended time supervising students’ SAE programs.

You are a developing positive agent of change who will one day help students explore and grow into their unlimited potential through agricultural education!

SAE Student Success Story #11 - Iowa

SAE is one of the most unique educational tools at our disposal as agriscience educators. SAEs have long standing impact on the lives of students. SAEs are not optional.

Story #11- Iowa

A student – oldest of three brothers -- who was year behind me in high school had a lawn care SAE --- of course received a bit of skepticism from me (et al) because it wasn’t cows and pigs or traditional mid-90’s southern Iowa projects…Long story short --- after putting all three of them thru a small private D-III college ($$$), the oldest two ended up in banking – the youngest, continues the business as a full time endeavor; has hired his retired father as part of a crew to help ( I always point out to kids, how would you like to have YOUR parents work FOR YOU?) and has a very lucrative year round full-service landscaping/yard care/snow removal business in my hometown.  All started from a lawn mower and a couple yards as a simple SAE project that got crazy.  And the cows that I had weren’t nearly as productive, I might add.

Submitting Teacher: Mr. Matt Eddy

SAE Theorem #9 (Moore, 2003, The Agricultural Education Magazine)

On-site supervision is needed in SAE programs. What does the first word in the acronym SAE stand for? Supervised. Students need direction and guidance in conducting the SAE program. This is the perfect opportunity for one-on-one individualized instruction.

You are a developing positive agent of change who will one day help students explore and grow into their unlimited potential through agricultural education!

It's all related: The Brady Bunch of Student Success Tools - Session 26, November 21st

Thank you for participating in our 21st century skills performance assessment on course topic relationships.

Remember, you would not cut a family member out of Thanksgiving, so why would you cut out an educational tool that is vital to student success?

Undergirding our discipline is a complex, yet detectable, web of related ideas. Everything is related.. If as professionals we approach new concepts aware that they’re related and actively seek links between them, that makes the content easier to understand and retain. 

More important, the conceptual framework we acquire looks more like an integrated body of knowledge than an incomprehensible menu of scattered facts. Anyone familiar with Piaget 101 knows that building a mental framework helps learners accommodate and assimilate new information. Nodes in our minds allow us to compare new data to old and create a meaningful narrative. The alternative is intellectual buckshot. 

Adapted from Dr. Karen  Eifler, a profesor at the University of Portland. Reprinted from What Would the Brady Bunch Do?, The Teaching Professor, 26.7 (2012): 6

SAE Student Success Story #10 - South Dakota

SAE is one of the most unique educational tools at our disposal as agriscience educators. SAEs have long standing impact on the lives of students. SAEs are not optional.

Story #10- South Dakota

I am in my 6th year of teaching and I am just now starting to see the products of my first couple batches of freshmen. I require all of my freshmen to have an SAE of some sort.  Naturally, some are more ag-based than others!  One boy in particular, as a freshmen, decided to take advantage of an Farm Service Agency loan program.  He applied for the loan and was granted the money.  With his money he bought 3 bred cows at a local sale barn.  Over the next three years of high school, he not only paid off his loan, but bought more cows, took out an additional loan to buy more cows and has paid that loan off as well.  He developed a strong interest in pedigree analysis and has worked hard to make continual improvements in his herd through AI'ing.  This student was on an IEP in high school, but because he was willing to work, he was able to place in the top 3 in the Beef Production Proficiency area in our state.  Not only that, he was able to establish a record keeping method for himself, use some of his income to pay for college, and is currently majoring in Ag Technology at a tech school in our state and plans to make a career in the cattle industry. If you would have told me when he was a freshmen, that this kid was going to be my very first proficiency finalist, a state degree recipient, etc., you could have knocked me over with a feather! I love to think of this as a prime example of working hard and achieving success.

Submitting Teacher: Ms. Sarah Lambert

SAE Theorem #8 (Moore, 2003, The Agricultural Education Magazine)

SAE should be graded. If SAE is an integral part of the agricultural education program and is required, it should be graded. Many teachers have SAE count for 10-20 percent of the grade.

You are a developing positive agent of change who will one day help students explore and grow into their unlimited potential through agricultural education!

SAE Student Success Story - Story #9 - Texas

SAE is one of the most unique educational tools at our disposal as agriscience educators. SAEs have long standing impact on the lives of students. SAEs are not optional.

Story #10- Texas

Dawn was a bright and outgoing young lady even when she first entered high school in the early 1990’s.  She had spent her early years in a rural area of Ohio.  Her family had relocated to our area while she was in middle school.  Her father worked for a national banking firm and her mother taught elementary school.  In those days much of the emphasis in Texas was still focused on directing students toward SAE projects that related to either plants or animals.  Dawn did start with an animal project but was always looking for ways to expand her opportunity to serve.  It was clear to see that she was a leader, but difficult at that time, even a veteran teacher, to understand how that talent could be transformed into her supervised agriculture experience program. 

Dawn was selected to attend the National FFA Convention in the fall of her sophomore year.  There she discovered that students from other parts of the country were incorporating community service and community development into their SAE program.  She became very excited at this prospect and began to look for opportunities to serve that included the connection to agriculture.  Throughout the remaining years in high school she was able to have a major impact on projects and programs throughout the community as well as into the larger cities of Dallas and Fort Worth which were nearby.  It was not unusual to have community leaders call and ask me to put her in contact with them or to praise some role that she had taken in their community efforts.

Dawn, of course, graduated and went on the college and the life beyond that.  We have continued to keep in touch over the years, now days as ‘friends’ on Facebook. She is now a director of emergency preparedness in Anchorage, Alaska where she now lives.  Almost every week I will see a Facebook post from her detailing some cause or program that she is involved in.  Still serving people as her main goal.

Submitting Teacher: Mr. Ron Whitson

SAE Theorem #7 (Moore, 2003, The Agricultural Education Magazine)

Time should be allowed in class for record keeping. If students are to take record keeping seriously, the teacher should take it seriously.  To show the importance of record keeping, time should be allotted during the agricultural class for students to update their records. Some teachers have a set time every month or two weeks. Students should bring all receipts, pay stubs, bills, etc to class to update.

You are a developing positive agent of change who will one day help students explore and grow into their unlimited potential through agricultural education!

SAE Student Success Stories - Story #8 - Pennsylvania

SAE is one of the most unique educational tools at our disposal as agriscience educators. SAEs have long standing impact on the lives of students. SAEs are not optional.

Story #8- Pennsylvania

A male freshman student takes on a SAE project in grain and beef production, also has an interest in the changing world of farming equipment.  Continues the SAE and conducts his own research on farming equipment.  Attends Governor's School for Ag Sciences at PSU during his junior year of high school.  The Fall of his senior year he applies to Cornell University and is accepted into their animal science program.  Applies for Outstanding Ag Science student in PA and is awarded that honor due to his SAE and research on large bales and their feeding to beef cattle.  Attends Cornell and earns a degree in Animal Science and Ag Education and now operates a beef & grain operation and has taught Ag Education in PA at Central Columbia for 15 years. 

Submitting Teacher: Mr. Doug Brown

SAE Theorem #6 (Moore, 2003, The Agricultural Education Magazine)

Records should be kept on SAE. The research literature indicates one of the greatest benefits of having a SAE program is learning how to keep records. No matter what one does in life, record keeping is an important skill. Therefore, accurate and complete records should be kept on the SAE.

You are a developing positive agent of change who will one day help students explore and grow into their unlimited potential through agricultural education!

SAE Student Success Stories - Story #7 - Washington

SAE is one of the most unique educational tools at our disposal as agriscience educators. SAEs have long standing impact on the lives of students. SAEs are not optional.

Story #7- Washington

He needed a project his freshman year and it happened that a friend of ours was in need of landscaping help. She was turning her yard from a watering stealing lawn, to a native plant, bird and small animal sanctuary. She helped Nathan learn the native plants and their needs and she hired him off and on throughout his 4 years of high school (it was as she had the money to do more work). No matter what other SAE projects Nathan did, he always came back to landscaping as his favorite - including during the Advanced Horticulture class; he always took on the landscape projects. Today...Nathan is studying Sustainable Horticulture and Landscape Architecture at the University of Idaho. He plans to become a Golf Course Greens Manager upon graduation.

Submitting Teacher: Ms. Annette Weeks

SAE Theorem #5 (Moore, 2003, The Agricultural Education Magazine)

A signed SAE agreement is essential. Everyone involved in the SAE program – parents, employer, students, teacher, mentor, etc – should sign an agreement outlining specifically what they student will be doing, who will supply the materials, and who will recognize any financial gain from the activity. This is to prevent misunderstanding on down the road .

You are a developing positive agent of change who will one day help students explore and grow into their unlimited potential through agricultural education!