Who are the leaders in the agricultural education program, and why are they the leaders?

One of the most peculiar characteristics of agricultural educations are the dynamics surrounding their success or failure. Why do some agricultural education programs succeed where others fail? What set of circumstances evolve to create conditions by which programs grow and prosper, and which conditions evolve that suffocate and extinguish formerly good programs?

One of the key factors in the success or failure in any agricultural education program is its leadership. John Maxwell, a noted author on the subject of leadership, often says that the capacity for growth and success in an organization cannot exceed the leadership ability of the leaders. Experience informed me that good leadership causes positive growth in an agricultural education program. While leadership ability is a distinct necessity for agriculture teachers, leadership of the agricultural education program is not confirmed solely to them. This lesson introduces you to the individuals who can provide leadership and management for successful agricultural education programs.

Visit the National FFA Organization's web site and familiarize yourself with Local Program Success. LPS is perhaps the best resource for teacher ever created by the National FFA Organization.

Click here to read part of the lesson for the week - the agriculture teacher as FFA advisor

Advisory committees, both formal and informal, can be a major help to agriculture teachers and programs. Visit the following links to learn more about advisory committees. Many of the these handbooks and manuals can be found online at http://www.ffa.org/index.cfm?method=c_aged.practice.

• The nature and purposes of advisory committees
  • Read Section 18 "Working with the Advisory Committee" from the Ag Teacher's Manual published by the National FFA Organization
• The process of organizing an advisory committee.
  • Read section 2-13 to 2-14 on advisory committees out of Getting Connected: The National FFA Organization's Partners Handbook.
  • Read the handout on the example of an advisory committee's plan of action. This provides many samples of topics that your advisory committee can focus on.
  • Samples of initial correspondence with advisory committee members.
  • Sample of meeting agenda
• The roles and limitations of advisory committees.
  • Read the section on advisory committees from the paper titled Professional Development of Beginning Vocational Teachers: Implementation System.
  • Review the handout on functions of an advisory committee.
• The charter and bylaws of an advisory committee.
  • Review the template for establishing a constitution for local FFA chapters. This will give you some guidelines for writing a constitution for your advisory committee.
  • Review the National FFA organization's bylaws.
  • Review the bylaws for New York State local advisory councils.

Readings, Discussion, and Assignments

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