Focusing on the History of Agricultural Education and Rural America
The Smith-Hughes Act of 1917, the act providing federal funds to support the teaching of agriculture in public schools, had a requirement that (Section 10) “…schools shall provide for directed supervised practice in agriculture, either on a farm provided for Continue reading The Birthplace of Supervised Agricultural Experience Programs (4/4/2025)
This week we continue our exploration of agricultural education in Maryland. According to the 2023-2024 FFA Manual Maryland has 50 FFA chapters with 2,225 members. Maryland was the 9th state nationally to receive a charter from the National FFA in 1929. Continue reading Agricultural Education on Steroids – The Maryland Agricultural Education Foundation (3/28/2025)
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 Continue reading For the Want of a Horseshoe Nail (3/21/2025)
Was it something new or something borrowed? I know it was not old (at that point in time) or blue. Even though the title of this Footnote refers to a wedding tradition for brides, it could apply to the introduction Continue reading Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue (3/14/2025)
In this Friday Footnote we start exploring agricultural education in Maryland. We are going to visit the first high school to teach agriculture in Maryland. The reason for focusing on this school is based on four unique aspects (or oddities) Continue reading The Oddities of Maryland’s First Agricultural High School (3/7/2025)