From being an FFA member, are you a better leader? Do you know how to talk in front of others? Can you run a meeting?
These seem like basic skills we all should know. Watch or read daily news to cringe and observe how many local, state and national leaders were not learning these leadership skills in FFA.
All is not lost, because we have future leaders learning leadership skills in our schools.
Grafton (North Dakota) FFA President Samuel Green shared with me that being an FFA member has developed his leadership skills.
“I learned how to run a meeting, how to talk in front of others, how to just be a better leadership person,” Green said.
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Green’s quote stuck with me. Agweek Editor Jenny Schlecht, who wrote this week’s Agweek cover story , included the quote in the story.
National FFA week runs February 18-25, 2023, highlighting what FFA is and its impact on members. FFA is the largest career and technical education student organization in the United States and one of the largest youth development organizations in the world.
According to the National FFA organization in 2022, membership hit a record student membership high with a 15% increase from the following year, boasting 850,823 FFA members across 8,995 chapters in all 50 U.S. states, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
In my bubble of agriculturists, we all know FFA and its immense benefits to the future of careers and skills development across a wide breadth of agriculture and leadership development. But outside of ag, there’s a vast majority not connected to or plugged into FFA.
Many of my non-ag friends interchangeably confuse FFA with 4-H or vice versa.
I wasn’t a member of either organization growing up and try my best to explain it this way.
4-H is a youth development organization, outside of schools, for ages 5-19, in clubs and programs run through your local county Extension service.
FFA is a youth organization associated with an agriculture education program within a school. FFA members are in grades 7-12 and into their early college years.
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In comparison, 4-H boasts more than 6.5 million members across 90,000 clubs in the United States. As a parent who has had kids in both organizations, I am an ardent advocate of both FFA and 4-H. Both 4-H and FFA complement one another to grow skills and develop our kids and their futures.
This week’s Agweek cover story features an inside look at North Valley Career and Technology Center in Grafton, North Dakota, and specifically at agriculture education and FFA. The CTC offers learners from six school districts in northeastern North Dakota education across agriculture, auto, business, construction, health science, marketing, and welding technologies.
In addition to the deep, long-term benefits of teaching careers and technology in our schools, we’re going to raise a stronger generation of leaders if our kids can run a meeting, talk in front of others and gain better leadership skills as an overall person.
While the accolades of contests and programs at an FFA district, state and national level gain headlines and attention, many FFA members return home without gold ribbons, and instead silver or bronze.
From personal parenting experience, I know the silver and bronze experiences of FFA teach and build up skills just as much or more than the accolades of gold or bigger trophies and recognition.
Take the opportunity to share about the importance of positive aspects you gained from FFA if you were once a member or are today.
Thank you to every school and community supporting CTE programs, agriculture education alongside local FFA chapters, advisors and members. You’re proudly developing needed skills in our next generation of leaders.
Pinke is the publisher and general manager of Agweek. She can be reached at kpinke@agweek.com, or connect with her on Twitter @katpinke.
The Trust Project
