Do You Have a Vision for Transition?

Overview & Synopsis

A review of the issues of "Agricultural Education Magazine" published during the 1982-1983 school year indicates that, even then, the vocational agriculture profession was experiencing considerable change while continuing the long-held philosophy that vocational agriculture programs must include the interrelated components of classroom/laboratory instruction, the Future Farmers of America, and supervised occupational experience. Recent conversations with agriculture teachers indicate that most are simultaneously concerned about the future of agricultural education in public schools and excited about future opportunities to serve different client groups in new ways. Increased calls for accountability in public education mean that agricultural education must find ways to support the growing movement toward helping all students master higher levels of skills without jeopardizing enrollments in agricultural programs. Vocational agriculture teachers must develop a vision for transition and find new ways to accommodate the new realities of society and schools. In Pennsylvania, the transition appears under way in such areas as articulation of secondary and postsecondary programs and tech prep program development. Agriculture teachers must now find new ways to meet the school-to-work transition and community service obligations of the educational system through its student organizations and supervised agricultural experience. (Contains 10 references.) (MN)