There is an old poem/proverb that is attributed to Ben Franklin that goes like this:
“For the want of a nail the shoe was lost,
For the want of a shoe the horse was lost,
For the want of a horse the rider was lost,
For the want of a rider the battle was lost,
For the want of a battle the kingdom was lost,
And all for the want of a horseshoe-nail.”
So, what type of “horseshoe nail” was needed in Maryland in the early 1900s in agricultural education? Actually, several “horseshoe nails” were needed.
Last week we learned about the 1915 introduction of an agricultural textbook, Elementary Vocational Agriculture for Maryland Schools. This book provided technical content and recommendations for how to teach agriculture in Maryland. The book was a boon to agriculture teachers and elementary school teachers attempting to teach about agriculture. This “nail” was needed to aid in the growth of agricultural education in Maryland.
However, another needed “nail” was a plan to prepare and retain agriculture teachers.
The Teacher Problem in Maryland
By 1914 there were 20 schools located in 12 counties offering instruction in agriculture in Maryland. Most of these schools were traditional high schools. However, one of the challenges faced by these schools was in finding and keeping qualified teachers.
In describing the history of agricultural education in Maryland Stimson and Lathrop stated (1942, p. 173) “Difficulty was encountered in securing qualified men and in keeping them…” This refrain was repeated on page 174, “Difficulty was experienced by school authorities in keeping good teachers of agriculture…”.
The Citizen, a local newspaper in Maryland, recognized the agriculture teacher retention problem. In a 1914 article the first sentence reads, “One of the great problems, at present, is the retention of an efficient agriculture teacher for any great length of time in our rural high schools.” See Figure 1.
Figure 1. The Citizen (Frederick, MD), October 9, 1914.
One approach to keeping agricultural teachers was an arrangement made between local school boards and the Maryland State College of Agriculture to jointly pay the salary of agricultural teachers who assisted in developing 4-H Club work. This was in the 1916-17 school year.
Agricultural Teacher Education in Maryland
In an effort to have better prepared teachers, a Department of Agricultural Education was established at the Maryland Agricultural College (Now the University of Maryland – UMD) in 1914. J. E. Metzger was hired to head up the new Department. He had previously taught agriculture at the Fergus Falls Agricultural High School in Minnesota. Later in 1914 Metzger was appointed by the State Board of Education as “supervisor and inspector” of agricultural education in the state.
Figure 2. From The Baltimore Sun, January 11, 1914. The article that accompanied this photo and other articles about Metzger identify him as J. E. Metzger, not J. F. Metzger as is shown in the above..
The 1916-17 Maryland State College of Agriculture catalogue first listed a department of Agricultural Education. It was stated (p. 16) “The work of the Department is designed to meet the demand for men, trained in agricultural and mechanical arts subjects, to teach in the high schools of the state.” Professor Metzger was the lone faculty member in the Department but was also listed as a faculty member in Agronomy
The 1918-1919 catalogue reveals a reorganization of the College. The reorganization was probably caused by the passage of the Smith-Hughes Act of 1917. There is now a Division of Vocational Education at the University of Maryland consisting of Agricultural Education, Trade and Industrial Education and Home Economics Education. Harold Cotterman is the Dean of the Division and professor of Agricultural Education. Metzger moved to the Agricultural Experiment Station as an agronomist. In order to be admitted to the Agricultural Education major the applicant had to have a high school diploma and “farm experience after reaching the age of 14 years.”
In the 1919-1920 catalogue there is even more reorganization. There are now Schools in the College with agricultural education being in the School of Education. In addition to the three vocational areas mentioned in the previous paragraph there is now a General Education program for teachers of typical academic subjects. Cotterman is the Dean of the School and Ag Ed Professor.
For the next 70+ years the agricultural education program continued to operate at the University of Maryland. It was located in the College of Education and then eventually in the College of Agriculture. The program had a variety of names ranging from “Agricultural Education” to “Agricultural Education and Rural Life” to “Agricultural and Extension Education.” Some of the faculty members included Clodus Smith, V. R. Cardozier, Clifford (Kip) Nelson, Ron Seibel, and Elmer Cooper.
Harold F. Cotterman was a professor of agricultural education for decades and served as Department Head for more than 25 years. During his 40 year tenure at the University of Maryland he also served as state supervisor of agricultural education, Dean of Education, Assistant Dean of Agriculture and Dean of the Faculty. He retired in 1957. In Stimson’s unpublished book on leaders in the field, Cotterman is one of two entries from Maryland.
An interesting requirement was posted in the 1960-61 catalogue – “All students following this curriculum are required to attend meetings of the Collegiate Chapter of the Future Farmers of America during their junior and senior years in order to gain needed training to serve as advisers of high school chapters of FFA upon graduation.”
The establishment of agricultural education teacher preparation programs at the University of Maryland and at Eastern Shore (more about UMES later) appears to have made an impact. In 1942 Stimson and Lathrop report that (p. 175) “there are 15 Negro departments and 60 white departments of vocational agriculture in Maryland.”
The FFA Fellows Program at the University of Maryland
In 1962 Massey Fergson established an FFA Fellowship program that involved the University of Maryland and the National FFA organization. Three to four outstanding agriculture teachers from across the United States were selected as FFA Fellows annually. The fellowship involved spending a year at the National FFA Center in Alexandria, Virginia while simultaneously pursuing a graduate degree at the University of Maryland. William Paul Gray, the National FFA Executive Secretary, came up with the idea. While at the FFA Center the participants assisted with various conferences, worked on the FFA magazine, prepared an Advisors Guide to the FFA and assisted Mr. Gray. The goal of the Fellows program was to prepare the teachers for leadership positions at the state and national levels. In the 1976 FFA convention program it was stated that “graduates” of the program included two state FFA Executive Secretaries, two Teacher Educators, and two current FFA staff members. See Figure 3 for a news release for one of the FFA Fellows. This is typical of what was published in other newspapers about fellowship recipients.
Some of the teachers selected to be FFA Fellows included:
| Ernest Cullen (Maryland) – 1962
Lloyd Wiggins (Oklahoma) – 1963-64 Donald Cockroft (Colorado) – 1963-64 Melvin Somers (Vermont) – 1963-64 George Robinson (Iowa) – 1963-64 Coleman Harris (Indiana) – 1964-1965 Robert Seefeldt (Minnesota) – 1966-67 George White (Alabama) – 1966-67 |
Charlie Reed (Alabama) – 1966-67
Larry Selland (North Dakota) – 1967-68 J. D. Brown (North Carolina) – 1967-68 Dennis Torrence (Virginia) – 1967-68 Wallace Vog (Washington) – 1967-68 Lewis Brubaker (Florida)– 1968-69 Austin Bynum (Oklahoma)– 1968-69 Harry Thornton (Texas) – 1968-69 |
I have been unable to document when the FFA Fellows program ended; probably in the late 1960s or early 1970s.
Figure 3. From the Brownwood (TX) Bulletin, September 18, 1968.
The Demise of Agricultural Teacher Education at the University of Maryland
The Agricultural and Extension Education section of the 1992-1993 Undergraduate catalog states “It has been recommended to the Campus Senate that this department be closed and its academic programs be phased out.” See Figure 4.
Figure 4. From the 1992-93 University of Maryland Undergraduate Catalog
The 1993-1994 Undergraduate catalog states “The program has been closed. New students are not being admitted to the program. Current students should contact the college for advising.” See Figure 5.
Figure 5. From the 1993-94 University of Maryland Undergraduate Catalog
Why was the agriculture teacher education program closed? It was primarily a monetary decision. Money was tight and budgets had to be reduced. Each college was asked to identify programs to cut.
So where did Maryland find agriculture teachers after the program closed? Sarah Shiner, the Catoctin High School agriculture teacher (and a former NCSU student in the early 2000s) states “Most of the Ag teachers about my age went to WVU. There was a common market understanding between MD and WVU and those students received in-state tuition. There was at least one student who attended Delaware Valley College… [and] another student …went to Penn State.”
Maryland students also studied at Virginia Tech, Iowa State, Oklahoma State and several schools in Texas. But the students didn’t always return to Maryland and took jobs in the states where they had studied.
The Dormant Teacher Education Program Reemerges
In the early 2000s there were discussions about reestablishing the teacher education program in agriculture at the University of Maryland. As President of the American Association for Agricultural Education (2007-2009) I met with Dean Wei and the College of Agriculture leadership to explore the possibility of restarting agricultural education. A faculty member in Plant Science, Dr. Scott Glenn, was receptive to working on the idea and advised students who wanted to teach agriculture. Dr. Craig Beyrouty (AGNR Dean) and Dr. Angus Murphy (Plant Science and Landscape Architecture dept chair) were also instrumental in restoring the program. The College of Education became involved in the discussions (the College of Education Dean was married to an agriculture teacher). David Miller, George Mayo and other staff of the Maryland Agricultural Education Foundation met with university officials, stakeholders and the Maryland State Department of Education. The grassroots approach by Ag Education stakeholders resulted in the reemergence of the program. It took time and the effort of many people, but the work paid off.
Dr. Melissa Leiden Welsh was hired as a county level extension educator in Maryland in 2015. In February of 2018 she moved to a new position on campus with one responsibility being to formalize an agricultural teacher education program which she now leads.
The 2019-2020 undergraduate catalog lists a major in Agricultural Sciences and Technology as an interdisciplinary major about sustainable crop production at the University of Maryland. However the last sentence of the program description is “Please contact us if you are interested in Agricultural and Extension Education.” Hmm! What is going on? The paperwork to reestablish Agricultural Education was in process but had not been officially approved.
The 2020-2021 undergraduate catalog has three concentrations listed under Agricultural Sciences and Technology. They were Agronomy, Environmental Horticulture, and Agricultural and Extension Education. There is a fully developed description of the program complete with learning outcomes and requirements. There are two options under Agricultural and Extension Education – Teacher Certification and Extension/Industry.
So agricultural teacher education at the University of Maryland has reemerged.
Meanwhile on the Eastern Shore
Agriculture teachers were also prepared at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES). This institution dates back to 1886 and at various times was an academy for Negro students, a junior college, a four year institution, and today a doctoral granting university. Over time it has been known as the Princess Anne Academy, Princess Anne College (1935-1948), Maryland State College (1948-1970), University of Maryland Eastern Shore (1970-today). It is recognized as an 1890 land grant institution.
Very little information could be found about agricultural education at this institution. We know there was a teacher education program at one time, but it seems to have gone dormant. There was an advertisement in the Afro-American newspaper in 1948 for the college indicating a degree in agricultural education was available. In 1949 a newspaper article listed the graduates — Carlton Bailey received a degree in Agricultural Education.
Julius Oliver joined the faculty in 1937 and retired in 1961. Mr. Oliver had been instrumental in organizing Smith-Hughes Agricultural Clubs in Virginia and Maryland. These clubs later transformed into the New Farmers of America.
Another teacher educator was Dr. Claud Marion who was hired in 1948. A 1964 article about Dr. Marion was published in the Daily Times of Salisbury, Maryland. In 1972 he was appointed as an assistant director of the extension service directing the UMES extension programs. He received the honorary American Farmer degree from the national FFA in 1975. Dr. Marion retired in 1980. He continued to be active in and outside agricultural education circles for years after retirement
There is currently some discussion about rebuilding agricultural teacher education at UMES.
Figure 6. From The Daily Times, Salisbury, Maryland. July 2, 1964
Concluding Remarks
Teacher Education is definitely a vital “nail in the horseshoe” of agricultural education. As this Footnote documents, there has been a critical shortage of agriculture teachers in the early years of Agricultural Education. But that shortage has continued for decades, not only in Maryland, but nationally. National supply and demand studies focused on agriculture teachers have formally been conducted since 1965. The most recent data indicates that as of September 15, 2023 155 full time and 6 part time teachers were needed to meet the demand.
It is up to all of us to promote, recruit and welcome prospective agricultural teachers into the family. The future of Agricultural Education depends upon it. Hats off to the dedicated people in Mayland who fought to get the teacher education program reinstated at the University of Maryland.
References
Stimson, R. & Lathrop, F. (1942). History of Agricultural Education of Less Than College Grade in the United States. Vocational Division Bulletin No. 217. Federal Security Agency. U. S. Government Printing Office.