Students from across the state of Tennessee gathered together at the 6th Annual TeachAg Signing Day at the 96th Annual State FFA Convention on March 26 o sign letters of intent to become agriculture teachers with their respective universities. Leilah Crawford of the Stone Memorial High School FFA Chapter will enroll as an agriculture education student at the University of Tennessee at Martin this coming fall. Crawford plans to become an agricultural education teacher upon graduation from UT-Martin in 2028.
Agricultural education teachers educate students about agriculture, food and natural resources. Through these subjects, agricultural educators teach students a wide variety of skills, including science, math, communications, leadership, management and technology.
Agricultural Education uses a three-circle model of instruction. These are classroom and laboratory instruction, leadership development, and experiential learning. The successful integration of each of these three components results in a strong program that produces well rounded individuals who are prepared to be leaders in agriculture, business, and industry.
It is estimated that there will be hundreds of unfilled positions across the United States this year, simply because not enough students are choosing to be agricultural educators, so it is imperative that we encourage our students to enter the classroom.
This Teach Ag Signing Day event is a component of the National Teach Ag Campaign, an initiative of the National Council for Agricultural Education, led by the National Association of Agricultural Educators. It is funded by the CHS Foundation, DuPont Pioneer, and Growth Energy as a special project of the National FFA Foundation. The National Teach Ag Campaign raises awareness of the need to recruit and retain quality and diverse agriculture teachers, encourages others to consider a career in teaching agriculture, and celebrates the positive contributions that agriculture teachers make in their schools and communities. For more information about the National Teach Ag Campaign, please visit www.naae.org/teachag.