Blake Berry
BERRY ADDRESSES SC AGRICULTURAL COUNCIL
Blake Berry, Agricultural Education instructor and FFA advisor at Pendleton High School, addressed the South Carolina Agricultural Council in Columbia, SC, on February 11, 2010, according to John W. Parris, state director of public affairs with the SC FFA organization. Mr. Berry is a member of the council.
In his remarks, Mr. Berry referred to the passage of the Smith-Hughes Act by the US Congress in 1917 which promoted the teaching of Agricultural Education to those “who have entered upon or who are preparing to enter upon the work of the farm.” This legislation provided Federal funds to support the employment of professionals who became “the first generation of public school agricultural teachers in America”.
Berry emphasized that Agricultural Education curricula have evolved significantly over the years to become more college-preparatory oriented. Instructors and students explore the 300-plus career opportunities available to those who plan to pursue a college or university degree in agriculture.
Today’s classroom learning is complemented by “supervised hands-on-agricultural experiences” in school laboratory settings, agricultural business settings or at home. “Fully automated greenhouses, aquaculture and hydroponic facilities, outdoor laboratories and interactive classrooms have become the learning environments for twenty-first century agricultural education students,” Berry explained.
In his discussion about the agricultural education student organization, originally known as the Future Farmers of America, Berry said the name was changed in recent years to the National FFA Organization to more accurately reflect its modernization and diversity. The national organization is made up of more than 500,000 paid members representing all fifty states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Membership is about equally divided by students from rural, urban and suburban communities.
Berry announced that Agricultural Education programs in rural and urban public schools is so successful that the demand for quality agricultural educators far outnumbers the supply available. The shortage of qualified teachers to fill these new positions is creating a major dilemma. To address the need for more young people to become agricultural educators, the National Association of Agricultural Educators has designated Thursday, February 25, 2010, as National Teach Ag Day. The event is being launched as a national recruiting effort and will include special emphasis in classrooms, school assemblies and civic clubs throughout the nation.
“I encourage members of the SC Agricultural Council to support efforts to recruit some of South Carolina’s brightest minds to become agricultural educators….to inure our profession …and our future,” Mr. Berry emphasized.
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| Blake Berry (left) with FFA Alumnus Charles Wingard,
an official with Walter P. Rawl
and Sons Farms. |
Wesley Harris (left), executive secretary of the
SC Rural Rehabilitation Corporation, welcomes
Blake Berry to the SC Agricultural Council. |