Kinsley
High School
Kinsley,
Kansas
Teacher:
Dr. Galen R. Boehme
Agriculture
and Youth
By Casey McAvoy
Even
though the drawbacks of finding a location and scheduling may exist, a youth
apprenticeship program focusing upon agriculture would benefit Edwards County
students by stressing compensation, vocational training, and self-improvement.
An
agricultural youth apprenticeship program allows a student to explore future
career possibilities, gain experience in agricultural, and introduces one to
the aspects of the career. A youth apprenticeship program puts a student a
step ahead of the other students who are coming out of high school and did not
take an internship.
If
a program were proposed throughout the Edwards County area, schools would be
able to provide classes with the staff that they have. Kinsley High School has
a technology teacher and a science teacher both with over 20 years of teaching
experience. The Future Farmers of America (FFA) is a program that could be
brought to the school, for the school has a teacher who is qualified to teach
it. The technology teacher would be able to teach interested students with the
skills needed to run new machinery. Edwards County also has local grain
elevators that students would be able to explore during agricultural classes.
At these elevators, students could see demonstrations and at the same time
receive teaching from these demonstrations. Many students already work for
area farmers and many farmers are interested in having a hired hand. There
should not be a problem with finding an agricultural job.
A
student interested in a farm internship will learn a lot about the farming
environment. When working in the field, a student will learn a lot about land
management. Land management includes crop harvesting, ground breaking, and
other aspects of soil care. A student will gain knowledge of handling farm
equipment. Many dangers exist in an everyday farm job, so the student needs to
learn the safety of running farm equipment. Learning to run a tractor or
combine takes practice, work, and safety. A student will not learn everything
about the equipment in one day. One needs to pay attention to what he is doing
at all times. One will also gain personal experience from doing the
agriculture internship. What the student learns each day on the farm, he can
improve upon the whole year and become a better farmer.
A
student will begin to see benefits from doing an internship. On the job
training is provided to the student. The employer will teach the student as
best he can to help the student become a better farmer. [1]No
one is a better trainer for a student than a farmer himself who has had a
lifetime experience of farming. The student will see wages for his work. Most
employers will be willing to pay a student working as an intern because
farmers need the help. The student shouldn't expect too much pay, because the
internship is a learning experience. The student will see incentive for
self-improvement. He will want to become better at his job and will gain more
experience each day he works. As the apprentice works his internship, he will
grow upon the job and become more knowledgeable about the farm environment.
Although
a student will see many benefits from a farm internship, he will also see
drawbacks from the program. A student may have trouble finding a farmer
willing to hire a student to work for as an intern. The farmer may like
working by himself and wish for no help. A student can overcome this problem
by asking more than one farmer. Second, only going to school for half a day
may be another problem. A student may see an internship as an opportunity to
leave school in the afternoon. If a student is not interested in that
internship but goes anyway, he may miss out on valuable education. To overcome
this problem, for it is a problem for the school and the student, that student
should be required to attain a 3.0 grade point average throughout that whole
year. If a student is willing to maintain that G.P.A., then he will be willing
to do the farm internship. Compensation is another problem that a student may
encounter. Will the wages that the student is paid be enough to cover his
transportation expenses? If the wages are not enough, the student should
consider asking for a pay raise. A student should overcome this problem by
understanding that he is working as an intern and interns do not have to be
paid. He must also realize that he is working to receive training for his
future, not pay.
In
conclusion, if agricultural internships were available throughout our school
districts, more students would become interested in farming and learn many
aspects of the farming environment.