This morning I’m finishing up an online lecture about the history and development of the fields of Agricultural Education and the Cooperative Extension System. One of the perhaps little-known facts about the history of Agricultural Education that I love is the pendulum shift that represents the focus of the field. Many folks might think of the Smith-Huges Act of 1917 as the creation of agriculture classes in schools. Actually, students were learning about agriculture well before that legislation. When agriculture classes were first introduced in the classroom (as early as mid-1700′s), a science-based approach was used. In fact, both private and public schools offered classes in agricultural subjects and both boys and girls were students in such classes.
With the passage of the Smith-Hughes Act, agriculture classes became vocational in nature and was prescribe for boys in public schools. That gender bias continued until the 1960′s. The program was described as vocational agriculture until the 1980′s, when a push for agri-science broadened the approach used in the classroom.
Fascinating how our forefathers began such instruction as science-based, legislation focused it as vocational, and we have now moved toward a science-based approach again.
Interesting facts: In 1900, about 400 high schools offered agriculture classes. When the Smith-Hughes Act was passed, more than 4,000 high schools offered agriculture classes to nearly 90,000 students. Tennessee was the first state to require agriculture instruction in public schools.
