Supervised agricultural experience
Encyclopedia
A supervised agriculture experience, or SAE, is required before obtaining a Chapter FFA Degree for the United States National FFA Organization
. An SAE can be anything from raising livestock at your school farm, or a plant project. According to the 13th addition of The Official FFA Student Handbook, there are eight types of SAE projects. They include: entrepreneurship, placement, agriscience research, agricultural service learning, exploratory, improvement, supplemental and directed school laboratory. SAE projects are often exhibited at county and state fairs, whether it is showing livestock or displaying a project. An SAE is one of the three components of Agricultural Education
, the other two being FFA and classroom instruction.
A significant level of debate centers on the meaning of the word "agricultural" in SAE. Meanings of the words "supervised" and "experience" are widely agreed upon. The meaning of the word "agricultural" is less agreed upon by educators. Some define "agricultural" as pertaining to farming, while others define "agricultural" as any career loosely connected to food and natural resources.
Students must conduct an SAE program to be able to earn the Chapter FFA degree. Data shows that a significant number of FFA members beyond the Greenhand degree do not conduct a supervised agricultural experience program.
Students sight the following as challenges to conducting a SAE program: 1) I do not live on a farm. 2) It is not possible for me to raise crops or livestock. 3)It is not possible for me to secure a farm-related work experience.
National FFA Organization
The National FFA Organization is an American youth organization known as a Career and Technical Student Organization, based on middle and high school classes that promote and support agricultural education...
. An SAE can be anything from raising livestock at your school farm, or a plant project. According to the 13th addition of The Official FFA Student Handbook, there are eight types of SAE projects. They include: entrepreneurship, placement, agriscience research, agricultural service learning, exploratory, improvement, supplemental and directed school laboratory. SAE projects are often exhibited at county and state fairs, whether it is showing livestock or displaying a project. An SAE is one of the three components of Agricultural Education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
, the other two being FFA and classroom instruction.
Controversy
SAE is a high school agricultural education program approach to experiential learning. Many people believe that the FFA motto ("Learning to do. Doing to learn. Earning to live. Living to serve") was created in reference to the intrinsic value of experiential learning involved in supervised agricultural experience programs.A significant level of debate centers on the meaning of the word "agricultural" in SAE. Meanings of the words "supervised" and "experience" are widely agreed upon. The meaning of the word "agricultural" is less agreed upon by educators. Some define "agricultural" as pertaining to farming, while others define "agricultural" as any career loosely connected to food and natural resources.
Students must conduct an SAE program to be able to earn the Chapter FFA degree. Data shows that a significant number of FFA members beyond the Greenhand degree do not conduct a supervised agricultural experience program.
Access
Application of experiential learning in agriculture programs has changed a great deal since FFA was established in 1928. In the early 1900s, a much higher percentage of high school students lived on farms. SAE programs commonly focused on farm-related activities. In 2010, far fewer high school students live on farms and far fewer students have easy access to farm-related experiential programs.Students sight the following as challenges to conducting a SAE program: 1) I do not live on a farm. 2) It is not possible for me to raise crops or livestock. 3)It is not possible for me to secure a farm-related work experience.