Back at the end of July I had the great experience to go on five SAE visits (at three different locations) with my cooperating teacher, Gretchen Dingman, from Tri-Valley High School. All five students had dairy beef steers that they were going to show at the Schuylkill County Fair and one of the students additionally have hogs. Here is some information about my SAE visits, what I learned, and how I can use this experience to become a better student teacher.
Visit 1:
Date: July 20, 2017
Time: 10:30am
Location: Student's Farm
Type of Supervised Agricultural Experience: Ownership/Entrepreneurship
Beef Production
Visit 2:
Date: July 20, 2017
Time: 11:30am
Location: Student's Barn
Type of Supervised Agricultural Experience: Ownership/Entrepreneurship
Swine Production
Visit 3:
Date: July 20, 2017
Time: 2:30pm
Location: Student's House/Farm
Type of Supervised Agricultural Experience: Ownership/Entrepreneurship
Beef Production
Questions Asked by Mrs. Dingman (some I came up with to ask as well)
1. Have you tapped your animal lately?
2. How much does your steer/hog weigh?
3. How many times have you walked your animal?
4. Have you used the show halter and show stick yet?
5. Do you have all of your records in AET up-to-date?
6. How often have you washed him?
7. Are you going to/when are you going to clip the required areas before the show?
8. When was your animal born?
9. What kind of feed ration are you giving him?
10. Have you tried calculating his average daily gain?
At these SAE visits, it was really great to see how involved Mrs. Dingman was able to get with the students by showing them how to tape their steer, helping them with showmanship, and giving the students tips to improve in the show ring. Additionally, it was equally great to see the involvement from the student's parents' when we arrived. They came out to talk, get our opinion of their animal, and to show their support for their child.
As I was also an FFA member, I was always on the other side of the SAE visit and record book. Thus, it was really interesting to see the other side of the coin and how the agriculture teacher takes time to really invest in their kids and provide help/assistance with any and all questions or problems.
It is so important to use this aspect of the three-circle model as an extension of classroom curriculum and skill sets learned in the FFA. The development of student pride, confidence, and ownership are priceless as these students take on more responsibility and truly work hard for their success.
As I look forward to student teaching and beyond, it is important not to let SAE fall to the back burner and become the forgotten aspect of the three-circle model, as it is arguably the most important part. The contextualized and experiential learning that takes place through an SAE is an authentic and real-world application that will better prepare students for the workforce of higher education after graduation.
In the image above, Mrs. Dingman (left) is teaching Chasity (center) how to use the heart girth measuring tape to estimate her steers weight. Chasity won lightweight grand champion at the Schuylkill County Fair.
Here Mrs. Dingman is seen looking at the Tri-Valley FFA president's hogs for the Schuylkill County Fair.
Agriculture students and FFA members return the dairy beef to their pen after practicing showmanship skills.
Working on getting those feet set up. Work those show sticks!
Some one-on-one help with a first-time dairy beef showman.