Just in CASE

What is it?

CASE is a project started by the National Council of Agricultural Education in 2007 that provides materials in the areas of agriculture, science, and natural resources.

Why was it formed?

According to the CASE website, “CASE develops curriculum utilizing science inquiry for lesson foundation and concepts are taught using activity-, project-, and problem-based instructional strategies.” CASE also provides professional development for teachers so that they are certified to teach all of the areas revolving around mathematics, science, and English in relation to agricultural education. In addition, there is a final stage to the CASE vision statement and that is assessment. CASE wants to ensure that all of the students taking the classes understand the materials involved as well as being able to actively work on real life experiences that may occur in the science field.

Missions statement:

According to the CASE website, CASE is committed to the goal of improving educational experiences for agriculture students by empowering agriculture teachers. The specific mission of CASE is to: 

• Provide a system of curriculum and professional development for teacher change promoting rigorous and relevant student learning opportunities. 
• Leverage partnerships with public and private entities to provide resources to teachers and students to facilitate change. 
• Position Agricultural Education to be a solution to academic challenges in secondary education.

Through this effective missions statement, in the past seven years, 1,134 teachers from 40 states, plus the Virgin Islands are using CASE.

How to utilize the tools provided:
CASE has a variety of different tools on their website that should be taken advantage of. Here are just a few of the resources that they provide:

•  American Technical Publishers
•  Cengage Textbooks
• Goodheart-Wilcox Publisher
• NewByte Software
• Vernier Equipment
• And much more!

If you are interested in learning more about CASE's curriculum and are unsure of what resource equipment you might need, CASE provides an inventory list that give prospective teachers an idea of what each course entails. 

 ***The reason that this blog was created was because it was an assignment for my COMM 133 class. I have greatly enjoyed researching and writing blog posts about agriculture education. Because of this, I have decided to continue to write blog posts even though it is no longer necessary for the class. Please continue to follow The Ag Blast as I pursue more articles and information on agricultural education!  

Are you TAGGED to TEACH AG?

National Teach Ag Campaign:

The National Teach Ag Campaign was organized to raise awareness about the lack of agricultural teachers in the United States. According to an interview with Steve Hickey, director of Indiana FFA leadership programs and part of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture, "Fewer students are going into teaching is only part of the problem. Convincing young people to teach is not hard- keeping them is hard." The Teach Ag Campaign website provides present and future agricultural teachers with helpful insights on how to not only get involved, but stay involved in teaching agriculture. The following sources are just a few of many that the website has to offer:

• Webinars
• Recruitment tools
• Supply and Demand Statistics
• Promotional activities, lessons, and games
• News and publications
• Teach Ag stories and blogs
• Job demands
• Frequently asked questions
• Annual Reports 
 

National Teach Ag Day:

According to the Teach Ag Press Release, “National Teach Ag Day is a component of the National Teach Ag Campaign, an effort to raise awareness of the need to recruit and retain high quality and diverse agriculture teachers, encourage others to consider a career teaching agriculture and celebrate the positive contributions that agriculture teachers make in their schools and communities.” In 2016, National Teach Ag Day will be held on September 22^nd. The event will be hosted in Lexington, Kentucky, and will recognize agricultural teachers from across the nation as well as encourage prospective agricultural students to pursue the career. There will also be a live webcast that will feature appearances from leaders in agriculture from across the United States. For more information about the event click here.

Lack of Ag Teachers Crisis

According to the Minnesota Public School Directory, there are 2,637 public schools in Minnesota and according to the Minnesota FFA Association Chapter Directory, in the 2013-2014 school years there are only 238 teachers/FFA Advisors that are teaching at 191 different schools. That means that only 13.8 percent of Minnesota public schools have an Ag education class. The problem is that there are fewer and fewer people to teach students about agriculture. There is a lack of Ag teachers. Today, I am going to talk about the importance of teaching agriculture, why the lack of Ag teachers is a problem, and what can be done to change this.

Why Ag teachers are important:

• Ag teachers provide students with a great variety of knowledge and experiences.  In an Interview with Natasha Mortenson (a Minnesota Ag teacher) on March 17^th, 2014,  about what the role of an Ag teacher is, she said, “Ag teachers have the ability of to offer many diverse topics in Agricultural Education for students 8-12 depending on their interests.   Students are introduced to a variety of topics to broaden their understanding of all Areas of Agriculture, Food, Natural Resources, Ag Mechanics, and Technology. Students are taught through as many hands on opportunities as can be offered and are tied to the community in all possible ways. There are many opportunities for leadership development for 8^th -12^th grade students  through the school and community. Students develop lifelong skills through opportunities in the classroom and the FFA organization.” According to the Teach Ag website, there are fourteen different classes that an Ag teacher can teach- Animal Science, Welding, Horticulture, and Food Chemistry are just to name a few. With the world population doubling by 2050, we need to continue spreading the word about the importance of Agriculture so we can sustain ourselves as a nation.
• Ag teachers can change the lives of students as well as inspire and equip them through FFA. There would be no such thing as FFA if it weren’t for Ag teachers. Ag teachers are the ones who set up the FFA program in the schools. They are the ones who work with the students and encourage them to find a career in agriculture. They help develop students into leaders.

Why the number of Ag teachers is declining:

•  Ag Businesses are hiring college graduates with a degree in Ag Education to work for them because of their knowledgeable background in a variety of Agricultural areas.  The graduates accepting these Ag Business offers can work fewer hours but still receive a bigger salary. According to the Teach Ag website in an article What is the Average starting salary for an Ag teacher?, Ag teachers make an average of $42,000 a year. While according to DegreeDirectory.org, Ag business workers make an average of $59,250 a year.
• Ag teachers are getting older and are retiring. According to a survey done by the Teach Ag organization, in Region 3, which includes North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota, seventy-one Ag teachers will retire in the next three years. With this many Ag teachers retiring, and with no one to fill their spots, the number of Ag teachers will decline greatly. There are schools desiring to add Ag programs, but with the lack of instructors, they are having a hard time finding who will lead them into a future of Ag Education. Programs like FFA encourage students to find an Ag related job in their specific area of expertise. However, we can’t have FFA programs without Ag teachers. In another survey by Teach Ag in 2015, in Region 3, fifty-eight Ag teachers left the program and twenty-four programs are operating with a teacher not licensed to teach agriculture.
• There is a decline in the number of Ag teachers is that there are not very many colleges that offer a degree in Ag Education. In Minnesota, there is only one, which is the U of M. In Region 3, there are only eight Universities at which you can attain this degree.

Ways to encourage prospective Ag teachers:

• Colleges and Universities should give out more scholarships and grants for Ag teachers.  As well as start funding to provide more available classes to get an Agricultural Education degree.
• We can raise awareness about the loss of Ag teachers through giving public speeches and making posters and putting them up in local businesses as well as posting about the importance of agriculture educators on social media. My cousin, who lives in Columbus, Ohio, did not know of any agricultural programs while in high school and she graduated in a class of five hundred people. She has a degree in elementary education but when I asked her about “Ag education” she asked me what “Ag” meant. We need to get funding and grants from local businesses to pay Ag teachers more so that people like my cousin and others are aware of what Ag means.

In conclusion, Ag teachers are highly marketable professionals that have many options for career choices. We need to promote and encourage the hiring of Ag teachers as well as continue to applaud them for the thankless job that they do.

Advocacy- National Association of Agricultural Educators

Are you new to the agricultural education program or would just like to discover more information about what agricultural education means? The National Association of Agricultural Educators (NAAE) website is just the place for you! The NAAE is devoted to visionary leadership, advocacy, and service across the nation. According to the NAAE website, there are over 7,800 members across the United States who are devoted to promoting agricultural education. This website goes well with the Ag Blast’s theme of spreading agricultural information as well as how to get agricultural educators connected and involved.

http://www.naae.org/teachag/teachag_day.cfm

The NAAE website provides a clear description of what the organization is about, why agricultural education is important, and how agricultural supporters can get involved in raising agricultural education awareness. In addition, the NAAE website holds a link to the Teach Ag Campaign. Through the link agricultural supporters can find information about their region and why the lack of agricultural teachers is a problem. For example, according to the Teach Ag Campaign website, North Dakota is in Region III of the United States and there are currently 97 agricultural education positions that need to be filled and 20 new positions that have recently been started. This website can be helpful when trying to find an agricultural education job in your area.

The NAAE website has a very organized look to it. The website provides tabs to view each of its main topics followed by bullet points and photographs to illustrate the important information. There are also headlines along the side of the webpages with updates about agriculture and new information being posted on other NAAE social media outlets. The color scheme of the NAAE website is two different shades of blue which makes for a very neat look. However, if I were to change anything, I would have the links or other important information in a different color so that they would stand out and be easier to see. Overall, the website has a nice, clean look to it. It is easy to navigate to the articles and the articles are easy to read and understand. Please check out the National Association of Agriculture Educators to see how you can get more involved in agriculture!

America's Heartland - Agricultural Diversity

                                        

America’s Heartland is proud to present an episode on agriculture, education, FFA, soy powered buses, cheese, and sewer in its December 2014 edition. This episode fits perfectly with the Ag Blast’s theme of promoting agriculture and discovering where your food comes from. According to the America’s Heartland website:

America’s Heartland has given hundreds of farms and ranch families across all 50 states the opportunity to share the diverse story of agriculture with consumers. Their stories forged common ground to unite through values and needs- more than about just the essentials like food and shelter- but about our love for our families and generations to come, an appreciation for the land and caring for the environment.

This is important because stories are what make people more relatable. According to the American Farm Bureau Foundation, in the article Story Telling: An Important Tool for Ag Literacy, "Telling stories has been a way for us to learn about our history, our traditions, and our heritage. They have been passed down from generation to generation to teach us so many different lessons." If agriculturalists can share their knowledge of agriculture-what makes it important; that farming isn’t just about growing plants, it is a lifelong career; and that there are many benefits of agriculture-then more people will be correctly informed and will be able to make educated decisions when it comes to agriculture. They will learn the life long lessons and valuable knowledge that agriculturalists have obtained.

During the America’s Heartland video, Rob Stewart interviewed several people from across the nation on the diversity of agriculture. He talked to high school students from California about agricultural education, FFA, and animal production; elementary students from New Jersey about biodiesel and ethanol; and middle schoolers from Minnesota about natural resources and sewers. There was also a Farm to Fork portion of the episode where Sharon Profis shows viewers how to make cheese as well as cheese and chive flavored biscuits. 

People who are looking for a fun and creative film about a variety of different agricultural topics will enjoy this video. You can also go to the America’s Heartland website and watch more informative videos about agriculture!