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I
would like to explain one of the larger areas mentioned above: career
development events (CDEs) in this issue. The primary goal of the career
development events and awards is to develop individual responsibilities,
foster teamwork and promote communication while recognizing the value of
ethical competition and individual achievement.
Career
development events and awards should be an outgrowth of instruction and
recognize the value and contributions of the experiences and aspirations
of individual members.
FFA
career development events and awards should reflect instruction that
currently takes place in the Agriscience Education program, including
classroom instruction, laboratory instruction, individual instruction
and/or supervised agricultural experience. The following is an
alphabetical listing of the CDEs offered statewide to Alabama’s FFA
members followed by a brief purpose for the event.
AGRICULTURAL
CONSTRUCTION AND
MAINTENANCE
CAREER DEVELOPMENT
EVENT
Purpose:
This event recognizes students with agricultural construction and
maintenance competencies important to the modern workplace. The technical
content and required skills continue to include all traditional areas of
agricultural construction. It involves many areas of building construction
including: blueprint reading, layout, framing, electrical systems,
plumbing systems, and roofing systems.
AGRICULTURAL
MECHANICS CAREER
DEVELOPMENT EVENT
Purpose:
This event recognizes students with agricultural mechanics competencies
important to the modern workplace. The technical content and required
skills continue to include all traditional areas of agricultural
mechanics. Additionally, the operation of modern equipment, the
application of new management strategies, and the mastering of advance
technologies are increasingly emphasized.
FLORICULTURE
CAREER DEVELOPMENT EVENT
Purpose:
To stimulate the study of and the interest in production and retailing
flowers, plants, and foliage through the agricultural education
curriculum. To give FFA members an opportunity to use the floriculture
skills they have acquired in horticulture and make them aware of
horticultural enterprises in Alabama.
FORESTRY
CAREER DEVELOPMENT
EVENT
Purpose:
To stimulate interest and to promote forestry instruction in the
Agriscience Education curriculum, as well as to provide recognition for
those who have demonstrated skills and competencies as a result of
forestry instruction.
LAND
CAREER DEVELOPMENT
EVENT
Purpose:
This event is designed to help students learn more about land, difference
in soils and their capabilities, methods of soil conservation and
improvement, treatments to help in obtaining higher production, and
selection of suitable home sites.
LIVESTOCK
CAREER DEVELOPMENT
EVENT
Purpose:
To develop a student’s ability to understand and to interpret the value
of performance data based on industry standards. To measure a student’s
knowledge and abilities to: make accurate observations of livestock; to
determine desirable traits in animals; to make logical decisions based on
these observations; to discuss and defend their decisions; and to instill
an appreciation for desirable selection, management and marketing
techniques.
NURSERY
AND LANDSCAPE
CAREER DEVELOPMENT
EVENT
Purpose:
The Nursery/Landscape CDE includes all aspects of the industry in
producing, marketing, utilizing, and maintaining landscape plants (woody
and herbaceous plants and turf grasses), plus related products, equipment,
and services including landscape design. To give FFA members an
opportunity to use the nursery and landscape skills they have acquired in
horticulture and to make them aware of the horticulture enterprises in
Alabama.
PARLIAMENTARY
PROCEDURE CAREER
DEVELOPMENT EVENT
Purpose:
To encourage students to learn to effectively participate in a business
meetings and to assist in the development of their leadership skills.
POULTRY
CAREER DEVELOPMENT
EVENT
Purpose:
To stimulate learning activities related to production, processing,
marketing, and consumption of poultry products. To give FFA members an
opportunity to use the skills they have acquired in agriculture education
and to make them aware of the poultry enterprises in Alabama.
PREPARED
PUBLIC SPEAKING
CAREER DEVELOPMENT
EVENT
Purpose:
This event is designed to develop agricultural leadership through
providing for member participation in agricultural public speaking
activities and stimulating interest in leadership and citizenship.
SAFE
TRACTOR DRIVING CONTEST
Purpose:
The general purposes of this contest are: (1) to provide competitive
activities which reflect certain abilities and areas of emphasis needed in
the education of the successful future farmer; (2) to advance safety,
skill and efficiency in the use of farm tractors and equipment; and (3) to
give FFA members who are participating in the FFA Tractor Driving Contest
an opportunity to demonstrate their skill in operating a tractor and their
knowledge of tractors (SAFETY WILL BE STRESSED THROUGHOUT THE CONTEST.)
SMALL
ENGINES CAREER DEVELOPMENT EVENT
Purpose:
This event is designed to provide students of Agriscience Education and
members of the FFA an opportunity to compete and demonstrate their skills,
abilities, and competencies in Small Engines.
QUARTET
CONTEST
Purpose:
The purpose of this contest is to develop musical ability and leadership
characteristics through member participation in musical activity.
STRING
BAND CONTEST
Purpose:
To stimulate interest in appreciation of country and western music,
provide wholesome recreation, promote leadership, assist in radio and
television broadcasting, promote group participation, and develop musical
talent.
OTHER
CDEs
The
Alabama FFA is divided into three districts: North, Central, and South, as
depicted by the state map shown. Each of the three districts has
additional CDEs that are offered to FFA members. All three districts offer
its FFA members the Creed Speaking CDE. The purpose of the Creed Speaking
Career Development Event is to develop agricultural leadership by
providing FFA members in Grades 7 and 8 an opportunity to participate in a
leadership development activity by reciting the FFA Creed.
The
South District also offers its members a scrapbook contest to allow
chapters to showcase their year-round activities and compete against other
chapters in their presentation.
The
Central District offers two different CDE opportunities to its members:
Extemporaneous Speaking and Compact Tractor Driving. The FFA
Extemporaneous Public Speaking Career Development Event is designed to
develop the ability of all FFA members to express themselves on a given
subject without having prepared or rehearsed its content in advance,
therefore causing FFA members to formulate their remarks for presentation
in a very limited amount of time. The FFA Compact Tractor Driving Contest
provides a competitive activity for FFA members to demonstrate their
knowledge about the care and operation of compact or garden tractors and
riding mowers less than 20 horsepower. The contest also gives members a
chance to improve their knowledge of lawn care and safety.
Thanks
for visiting this article again. I hope you look forward to the next
edition. Don’t forget to check out the Events to Remember list and plan
to attend one of them to show your support for Alabama’s young people.
To find out more about our organization, please visit the following websites: The National FFA Organization:
www.ffa.org; The Alabama FFA Association:
www.alabamaffa.org.
Jacob Davis is the Executive Secretary of the Alabama FFA Association.
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