I don’t have experience planning or
completing an SAE since I never went through an FFA program in high school. My
experience with experiential learning is made up of my Boy Scout experience and
working through my Eagle Scout Project. Through Boy Scouts I got to explore
different activities through merit badges and working through all the requirements
as I moved through the ranks. The eagle project is a milestone of service and
is a marker of the highest rank in Boy Scouts. It consists of designing,
planning, fundraising, and execution of the project which is a service project
to benefit an organization of your choice.
My
project consisted of building 8 ten-foot wood benches for a local soccer complex.
I chose this because I knew the complex needed new benches since the area was
becoming more popular. Because of the scope of this project I needed to
fundraise and find donors which was a new experience for high school me. I
found a local carpenter who helped design the benches as well as did the metal
fabrication. With his help I was able create a materials list as well as learn how
much I need to fundraise to complete this project. That was my next task, fundraise
enough money to get the material and complete the project. I went to local companies
and talked with them about the project and having them donate to my cause. Through
this whole project I had to keep records and receipts to show the progress at
the end.
I learned many skills like
networking, how to communicate with business leaders, leading a group, and wood
working. Much of this was done on my own time when I wanted because I didn’t
have a supervisor or someone to report to. My scoutmaster would check in early
during the process to see how it’s going, but it was heavily on me to get it up
and rolling. Once we had the materials and frames made it moved quicker because
it was in the hands of the carpenter and we wanted to get them built and moved out
to the complex for the community to enjoy, (and clear up space in his shop).
Based on
my experience I do want students to gain similar experience because it allows
students to develop new skills and discover their talents. In my classroom I want
students to complete SAE’s no matter if the are or are not part of FFA. It will
hopefully just become part of the curriculum and will become part of the class
that they will need to complete so if they want to use it in their FFA endeavors
it will benefit them. There are many benefits that I see from experiences like
this because it gets students out of the classroom and doing something they are
interested in (hopefully) because it’s a project that they pick and devote time
into. With high school students if they devote outside of school time it is
something they invest in, so they can learn tools and tricks.
I plan to
learn many things from my spring placement with Larson and Hoefs in Medford. I
know that SAE is part of their classes and is required of students, so I want
to learn how they integrate it and how students who aren’t part of FFA (if
there are any) complete it. I have much to learn about the formal behind the
scenes of SAE like grants, placements, and any degrees or proficiencies that
can relate to it because that is all new to me. Other educators around my area
may have ideas or similar troubles so I plan to contact others in my area once
I find my spot and build my network of similar professionals to learn and grow from.
For those reading, what experience do you have with SAE or experiential learning?
What was difficult about the process and what were some rewards as you completed
it or moved through your experience?
Learn more about SAE from the National FFA website.
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