r3C2 ^UnWersWUO^'V STATE OF OHIO STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURE COLUMBUS VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURE IN THE HIGH SCHOOL A Bulletin of General Information By W. p. Stpwart Pfofessor of Agricultural Education State Supervisor of Agricultural Education Bulletin No. 3 May, 1920 OHIO STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION Columbus Dean Alfred Vivian, President The Ohio State University, Columbus Supt. Vernon M. Riegel, Secretary Supt. of Public Instruction, Columbus Asst. Supt. A. C. Eldredge Cleveland Supt. R. J. Condon Cincinnati Mrs. Kent W. Hughes; 1231 Lakewood, Lima Hon. S. J. McCune Brilliant Supt. W. S. Edmund Sandusky CBl -^""f ■/ DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION College of Agriculture The Ohio State University W. F. Ste*art Professor of Agricultural Education, Columbus Ray Fife Assistant Professor of Agricultural Education, Columbus H. W. Nisonger .... Assistant Professor of Agricultural Education, Columbus F. H. McMillen Instructor in Agricultural Education, Columbus A. C. Kennedy Instructor in Agricultural Education, Worthington, Ohio Harry Atwood . . ." Instructor in Agricultural Education, Hilliard, Ohio R. D. Kauffman. .Instructor in Agricultural Education, Canal Winchester, Ohio H. G. Kenestrick Instructor in Agricultural Education, Grove City, Ohio W. F. Bruce Instructor in Agricultural Education, Lockbourne, Ohio PREFACE The development of departments of vocational agriculture has assumed such form, and interest in the operation of the state plan has become so awakened, that a general statement of the operations of the plan, the pro- cedure in securing and maintaining departments, and factors associated with their success, has seemed advisable. This bulletin has, therefore, been pre- pared to furnish its readers with information concerning the actual working conditions of the Ohio plan and with general information on instruction in vocational agriculture. If a complete exposition of vocational teaching were prepared, it would be necessary to reproduce, in part at least, the federal act providing for vo- cational education and the Ohio plan for carrying out the provisions of that act. As this information is available from other sources (Public Document No. 347, Sixty-fourth Congress, and The Ohio State Plan for Vocational Ed- ucation), the content of this bulletin will be confined to a discussion of topics which are in part outgrowths of the state plan and more closely related to actual working conditions in the high schools. In the discussion of many phases of the work, the field will not be covered with sufficient thoroughness to acquaint teachers of vocational agriculture with the details of their as- signed duties. Such information may be secured from special courses for the training of teachers of vocational agriculture. But a general survey of the operations of the Ohio plan, in so far as they apply to instruction in vo- cational agriculture, will be made for the benefit of boards of education, super- intendents, principals, and others interested in the promotion of agricultural instruction in the. state. VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURE IN THE HIGH SCHOOL A BULLETIN OF GENERAL INFORMATION ' Instruction in vocational agriculture has made marked progress in Ohio since receiving impetus in 1917 from the acceptance of the Act for the Pro- motion of Vocational Education. During the year 1917-18 seventeen depart- ments of vocational agriculture were approved for the second semester. In 1918-19 forty-three departments received approval. This year the number has been increased to sixty-two. The number of new schools applying for departments each year has been about fifty. This growth has been made in the face of wartime conditions, which cre- ated a marked shortage of teachers. With a return to more nearly normal con- ditions, and the benefit of a better understanding of the work over the state, more rapid progress may be expected in developing departments. In fact, there are indications at present that schools realizing the value of such instruc- tion are planning to develop departments independently, if necessary, of fed- eral-state aid. The administration of vocational education in this state was placed under the direction of a State Board of Education by the legislature at the time it accepted the provisions of the Federal Act. This Board consists of six mem- bers appointed, by the Governor for six years and the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, ex officio. The plan for developing vocational education in this state has been prepared by this Board with the approval of the Federal Board for Vocational Education and is available for distribution from the Department of Public Instruction as "The Ohio State Plan for Vocational Education." When vocational instruction was first undertaken in this state, no schools applied which were already meeting the requirements for vocational teaching. It thus became expedient for all schools desiring the approval of the Stat* Board of Education to take such steps as were necessary by providing equip- ment, apparatus, etc. This condition, along with the straitened finances of most school treasuries, made it desirable to assure schools in advance that if they would meet the requirements of the State Board of Education they would receive approval and reimbursement as provided. Consequently a plan of pre-approval was adopted, as will be explained later, which is still in use. How Approval Is Granted Schools seeking approval file their applications upon blanks furnished them by the state supervisor or the State Board of Education. Applications should be filed by March 1 if it is desired to have the departments ready for final approval in July or August. In order to begin work the second semester applications should be filed in November. On account of the greater number of qualified teachers available in June, a much larger number of schools is approved at that season than in the winter. Each application is placed on file and receives consideration after local conditions are studied. Additional information bearing upon conditions in each school applying may be obtained, if needed, by the state supervisory staff, members of the State Board of Education, members of the Department of Public Instruction, or other agencies having reliable information concerning the schools in question. With this information at hand, the State Board of Education selects the schools in which they de6m it most desirable to support departments of vocational agriculture. These schools are then notified that pre-approval has been granted them. By pre-approval is meant that the as- surance of the State Board is given to all schools receiving such notification that they may proceed to meet the prescribed requirements by hiring a quali- fied teacher, equipping classroom and laboratory, providing apparatus and reference books, and organizing a curriculum for vocational pupils, knowing that when these requirements have been met and reported to the State Board, final approval will be granted by that Board and contracts issued. All con- tracts expire at the close of the fiscal year, but are renewable so long as they are not violated. Several important factors are considered in granting pre-approval for vocational instruction. A vocational department cannot ordinarily be a suc- cess in a community where those who are farming are more interested in cer- tain trade and industrial opportunities than they are in the real duties of the farm. With such people farming might be termed an avocation, and mining or shopwork or teaming their vocational interest. Also whole-hearted com- munity support is necessary for the assured success of a department. Fac- tions are not assets, no matter from what cause they may arise. A commu- nity where town and country are cooperating, where local differences do not segregate the people, and where the majority are working for the commu- nity's common good, is a favorable environment where a department -will thrive. Again, a desirable community in which to locate a department is one interested in the improvement of the rural-minded pupils and not given to a smug satisfaction of "ancestral worship," in which a feeling seems to assert itself that "whatever was good enough for me is good enough for my children," and "the kind of farm practice which I use is good enough for my boys." Freedom from such community conditions and individual types gives assur- ance that vocational instruction will be profitable both in the classroom and on the farm where the pupil may enter into the application of his instruc- tion with parental cooperation. In the board of education a successful department demands an informed, sympathetic, and interested membership. When members do not acquaint them- selves with the plan for vocational education, misunderstandings will arise in the development of the department. When they have no sympathy with or interest in vocational education, the requirements for maintenance -will not be willingly met, so that without these qualifications progress is quite impossible. Also a board of education with one, two, three, or four active members does not equal a board of five active, informed, progressive members, whose inter- ests have the welfare of the entire community at heart and not the desires of a particular group. Aside from the vocational teacher, the superintendent is the surest indi- cation of the success or failure of a department. It is, therefore, especially necessary that he be in sympathy with vocational education. More than that, he must be a believer in vocational education and not so steeped in classical learning that he can see at the end of a high school course only entrance to a college curriculum. Without the direction of a superintendent possessing ac- tive sympathetic interest in vocational instruction, the success of a depart- ment would be questionable from the very beginning and, therefore, approval is not encouraged. Even from the superintendent with the vocational view- point, there is need for special assistance in the organization of the agricul- tural curriculum by providing proper coordination in the several departments. Opportunity for such cooperation is found in the linking of the science courses — Biology, Chemistry, and Physics — and, in a less degree, the other subjects of the curriculum with the interests of the vocational pupils without detract- ing from the value of these courses to other pupils in the classes. Also the superintendent must not be a slave to a system in which the pupils pay the price, but .rather he must recognize in vocational teaching, instruction of a different type and requiring greater variation and more informality than the customary classroom courses. Absence of classes for field trips, farm labora- tory practice, and other forms of out-of-school instruction will be understood as necessary for the best results and quite superior to any program whereby the teaching of agriculture might be attempted entirely under schoolroom conditions. Finally, the superintendent must be acquainted with the duties of the agricultural teacher, and with the needs of the teacher and the depart- This township school, built at a cost of $150,000, provides ample quarters for the high school and the grades, departments of Vocational Agriculture and Home Economics, a Farm Shop, an Auditorium equipped with 500 opera seats, stage, scenery, etc., and a Gymnasium of ample size, with dressing rooms and shower baths In connection. An ideal center for the promotion of all good things, socially, educationally, and agriculturally, for the betterment of rural life. Bethel Township School, Miami County. ment. He may be of great assistance in developing the work in its many phases, assuming that the teacher with special training will be qualified to direct the instruction and solve the technical problems in his special field and to pass judgment on the qualifications of pupils who may wish to enroll. Pupils interested in agricultural instruction and qualified to meet the re- quirements for supervised farm practice, which will be explained later, con- stitute a most important essential for a successful department. Especially while the work is new should the emphasis be placed upon the number of qualified pupils who may be expected to elect the course. While there is nothing to prohibit any pupil from electing the course who can satisfy the require- ments for supervised farm practice, the so-called home project under farm conditions, nevertheless, there is only one standard for practical work and all pupils must meet this standard. For this reason girls and town boys must realize that it will require special efforts for them to meet the entrance re- quirements, particularly in arranging for farm practice of satisfactory scope. Also without depreciating the possibility and desirability of certain town- reared boys eventually engaging in farming, nevertheless it is very evident that the farmers of tomorrow will come, for the most part, from the farms of today, and, therefore, great emphasis is placed upon the number of farm boys who are attending school as the most reliable basis for judging the possible enrollment in a department. For the benefit of pupils who cannot meet the vocational requirements or who are not interested in agriculture from a voca- tional standpoint, a course in general agriculture is recommended. In material things, adequate classroom and laboratory space for housing the department is essential. The size and the location of the room or rooms may vary somewhat, depending upon the number of pupils in the department and the general plan of the room. For a department of thirty or thirty-five pu- pils, a room with 600 or 750 square feet of floor space will usually prove ade- quate. A small room for additional storage space is an added advantage. In some old school buildings it is quite impossible to find satisfactory rooms available without the outlay of considerable money for alterations and repairs. In more modern buildings very satisfactory quarters are frequently found in the "above-ground" basement, preferably with a direct outside entrance avail- able and with a southern exposure. Equipment consists of such facilities as cabinets (for the storage of ap- paratus and laboratory and illustrative material), blackboards, recitation tables, laboratory tables, chairs, water, light, gas, etc., provided in such amount and arrangement as will serve best in the presentation of agricultural infor- mation. Likewise, apparatus and reference books are also necessary and are required in such quantity and variety as meet the needs of the department for efficient work in the particular community in which it is located. For a more complete discussion of this subject, see Bulletin I, Rooms for a Department of Vocational Agriculture, Their Location, Plan, and Equipment. For equipping and maintaining a department, for the salaries of teachers of non- vocational subjects, and for paying the salary of the vocational teacher uVtil reimbursement is made, local funds must be available. It is, therefore, evident that the department is not a gift, nor is vocational legislation in- tended to provide an opportunity to save the salary of a teacher. Instead, it is simply a provision whereby an education for a particular vocation is offered a group of pupils with similar interests. A teacher with special training is required for the technical instruction, as is hereafter explained. 8 Apparatus, Equipment, and Reference Books When a board of education receives notification from the State Board of Education that their application has been granted pre-approval, they should then proceed to hire a qualified teacher and secure approval of his qualifica- tions and salary from the State Board of Education. Necessary apparatus and reference books for the department must be ordered at once, in order that these supplies may be received, and thus assure final approval, before the opening of the school year. Likewise, the equipment for the room or rooms to be given to vocational agriculture must be installed as planned by the su- pervisor at the time of his visit. Most of the equipment may be constructed or installed' locally. Members of the supervisory staff are always willing to advise with the local board of education and the teacher of agriculture vnth reference to the kind and amount of apparatus and equipment to be provided and also the choice of library reference books. The policy of the state depart- ment with reference to orders for apparatus is that the choice of the commer- cial house from which the apparatus will be ordered is left to local authorities for decision, while the services and suggestions of the members of the de- partment are available only for the purpose of helping local boards secure satisfactory apparatus most economically and promptly. Several commercial houses furnish apparatus in whole or in part for agricultural departments. A few carefully selected reference books with several copies of those used most frequently are recommended, rather than the extensive ordering of agri- cultural books without regard to content or application. Forty or fifty books with duplicate copies as suggested will usually suffice. A suggested list o:^ reference books is included in this bulletin. The Teacher The teacher of vocational agriculture must possess the following quali- fications : 1. He must be a graduate in agriculture of a college of agriculture, or offer equivalent training. A graduate in the scientific course of a non-agricultural college may qualify as a vocational teacher upon the completion of fifty-four se- mester hours of carefully selected courses in technical agriculture in a College of Agriculture. This is equivalent to a summer session, a resident year, and a second summer session at the Ohio State Uni- versity. 2. He must have had at least two years of farm experience since reaching the age of fourteen. '^^ 3. He must have completed professional educational courses sufficient to enable him to be certificated as a teacher of vocational agriculture. (For the present, eighteen semester hours are required for a life cer- tificate without examination.) 4. He must possess such personal qualifications as are desirable in teach- ers in charge of high school pupils. The teacher is hired for the fiscal year with a vacation not to exceed four weeks at a time when his services are least needed. The hiring of teachers is in the hands of the local boards of education, with the provision that ap- proval of the qualifications and salaries must be granted by the State Board of Education. If requested, the Department of Agricultural Education will recommend candidates whenever qualified candidates are known. 10 In considering the employment of a teacher, the following duties of the agricultural teacher should be kept in mind : 1. He must teach the agricultural classes, using as agencies the recita- tion, laboratory, and home farm, as the subject matter demands. He may teach Farm Shop if qualified to do so. 2. He must organize and supervise the pupils' farm' practice or home projects in connection with the subject matter studied. For this, ade- quate transportation is required. 3. He must provide an abundance and a variety of useful illustrative material as an aid in visualizing instruction. 4. He must arrange a winter short course for farm boys who are not in school or for farmers, whenever it is possible. 5. He must conduct community work as available time permits, in which he cooperates with the local agencies in promoting the best agricul- tural interests of the community, with the county agent and the leaders of boys' and girls' club work, and in such other ways as his services may be of value for the betterment of rural life. With these duties in mind, the local board of education should be able to consider applicants with a view to selecting the one who is best qualified for the position. Approval of the qualifications of the applicants and the salary towards which reimbursement will be made must be secured from the State Board of Education. Following the granting of such approval, the State Board of Education issues contracts covering the agreement for the fiscal year. Reimbursement After a local board of education has paid the salary of the vocational teacher monthly, reimbursement will be made semi-annually to the school treasurer, on January 1 and July 1, upon proper filing of an affidavit by the clerk or treasurer. This affidavit will be mailed to the clerk about ten days before date of filing. Heretofore reimbursement has been made for eighty per- cent of an approved salary up to $1800; for the portion of a salary beyond that amount, no reimbursement has been paid. Effective July 1, 1920, reim- bursement will be made for eighty percent of an approved salary up to $2000, and for fifty percent of the portion of an approved salary between $2000 and $2500. It is quite possible that reimbursement may revert to the former plan when legislation is enacted, providing relief for schools, in order that the funds may be distributed among a larger number of schools. The Agricultural Curriculum In preparing a curriculum in vocational agriculture for a first-grade high school, several factors must be kept in mind. The most important of these is that the curriculum must be designed to "meet the needs of persons over four- teen years of age who have entered upon or who are preparing to enter upon the work of the farm." Briefly this means that the course must serve a group of boys whose aim in high school education is to prepare themselves for the vocation of farming, rather than merely provide agricultural instruction gen- eral in nature and of equal value to the group who may be preparing for pro- fessional life and further education of college rank. At present only one teacher of vocational subject matter is available. This is due to the scarcity of quali- 11 12 fied teachers, to the desire to distribute the benefits of the work into as many schools as possible, and also to the fact that one teacher is adequate so long as the enrollment in any department is small and combination of classes and alternation of courses is possible, particularly in the junior-senior group. In the presentation of vocational units, a vocational period of ninety minutes is required. On account of the limitation to one teacher of vocational subjects, the foundation science courses — Biology, Chemistry, and Physics — must be offered separately rather than with the vocational subject matter, and therefore, must be taught by the teacher of science rather than by the voca- tional teacher. The science courses should be presented logically as a prepara- tion for the application of agricultural science. This makes it necessary to offer the fundamental science preceding or concurrent with its application in agricultural subject matter. Recognition of this fact also provides for co- ordination with the psychological development of the pupil. Thus Biology should be offered with Farm Crops, Chemistry with Soil Fertility, and Physics with Agricultural Engineering. Non-vocational subjects should be offered for the purpose of developing well-rounded training for efficient citizenship, after desirable agricultural courses have been provided for ; or, in other words, while the agricultural sub- jects are the most important to the agricultural pupil, nevertheless some con- sideration should be given to the selection of a variety of additional subjects that will aid in the all-around development of the pupil. In some instances consideration must be given to what is already offered in a school or to what text books are available, rather than to what is desired. For instance, it is probable that a year's work in Mathematics, covering the essential parts of Algebra, Geometry, and the elements of Trigonometry, could be combined effectively into a one-year course in high school Mathematics. But as such a text is not available at present, those pupils wishing such information must of necessity elect the present courses in Algebra and Plane Geometry. Con- ditions somewhat similar arise with reference to science courses. Rural Eco- nomics, and Rural Sociology. It is very probable that improvement will soon be made in available text books. Agricultural units must be varied to suit local community needs. The community in which Horticulture is a predominating interest should sched- ule its agricultural courses to provide well for this subject. On the other hand, the community in which general farming predominates would place less emphasis on Horticulture. But in this connection it should be recognized that certain agricultural studies such as crop production, animal husbandry pro- duction, dairying, and soils, should receive at least a minimum amount of at- tention because no farm boy should be considered trained in an agricultural course of even secondary grade until he has completed at least an introductory study in each of these important divisions of agricultural subject matter. They should, therefore, receive definite consideration in every vocational cur- riculum in Ohio. Psychological factors must be considered in organizing the work. Farm Shop, as a course of interest to the pupils at a period when activity and ma- nipulation are predominating instincts, should be scheduled in the early years of the course. Likewise, Farm Crops offers the best basis of instruction for developing the pupil's mind from the known to the unknown, from the easy to the more difficult, and should be scheduled early. Animal Husbandry ranks nearly as high as Farm Crops in this measurement. Of the more complex 13 subjects, Chemistry and Soils in like manner deserve consideration later in the curriculum when the student's mind is more mature and his imagination is keener. The varying individuality of pupils deserves consideration, particularly with reference to the offering of electives. If any considerable number of vo- cational pupils should be unable to master certain non-vocational courses such as Algebra, Geometry, or General History, provision should be made whereby electives in manual courses such as Farm Shop may be made. With these various factors receiving consideration, the following curricu- lum in vocational agriculture is suggested : Freshman Year - English 1 unit Biology 1 unit One vocational unit Farm Crops 1 unit or Farm Crops and Horticulture 1 unit or Fann Crops and Dairying 1 unit Elect one unit Farm Shop 1 unit Algebra 1 unit y Junior Year - Chemistry 1 unit One vocational unit Dairying 3^ unit Soils and Fertilizers ^ unit Horticulture 1 unit Elect two units English 1 unit Commercial Law l^ unit Commercial Geography % unit Advance Farm Shop 1 unit Sophomore Year English 1 unit One vocational unit Animal Husbandry 1 unit or Animal Husbandry and Poultry. ... 1 unit Elect two units " Geometry 1 unit Farm Shop and Forge 1 unit General History 1 unit Physiology and Hygiene y^, unit Senior Year Physics 1 unit American History and Civics 1 unit One vocational unit Farm Engineering % unit Farm Management and Accounting. % unit Soils y^. unit Elect one unit Economics % unit Sociology % unit Reviews % unit Business English ^ unit At least one unit of Farm Shop must be elected during the course — preferably in the Sophomore year. Each vocational unit when offered must be offered a double period daily. Combination of Freshmen and Sophomore classes, and of Junior and Sen- ior classes and alternation of their courses is recommended when a class en- rollment of not more than 20 or 22 would result. The Department in the High School From the type of curriculum that is suggested above, it is evident that the vocational instruction is presented as a department of the high school rather than as a separate organization functioning independently of the exist- ing school system. The classes in non-vocational subjects and related sciences for vocational pupils will be the same classes in which other pupils in the school are enrolled. In some schools it may happen that such classes will be divided into sections, in which case one section might well consist of the vo- cational pupils. But in general the non-vocational and the vocational pupils will be grouped in the same classes in all of these subjects. 14 B|j^ v^H^^v^