TIFTON–For the third consecutive year, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College produced more graduates with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural education than any other college or university east of the Mississippi River.
Forty agricultural education students graduated from ABAC at the recent commencement ceremony.
“The spring 2021 ABAC cohort was by far the largest graduating class from any institution in Georgia in the history of agricultural education,” Dr. Frank Flanders, ABAC’s Agricultural Education Program Coordinator, said. “These graduates will help with the severe nationwide shortage of Ag Ed teachers that has existed for over 40 years.”
The Ag Ed graduates were inducted into the profession in a special pinning ceremony following graduation. Graduates received the ABAC Agricultural Education pin, and many received awards for outstanding leadership and student teaching.
“The pinning ceremony is an event that signifies the student teachers’ completion of a true capstone experience,” Dr. Andrew Thoron, Head of the Department of Agricultural Education and Communication at ABAC, said. “This event really holds up and recognizes those who have not only achieved a B.S. degree, but also those who went through and completed a certification program as well.”
To prepare students for the classroom, ABAC Ag Ed faculty work diligently to instill effective pedagogy, technical knowledge, and leadership skills. Graduates are prepared to teach both middle and high school Ag Ed courses.
The ABAC Ag Ed program continues to thrive with increased enrollment as well as new and innovative programs. Current enrollment is at 217 students, which makes ABAC one of the largest producers of Ag Ed graduates in the nation. Thoron said this year’s numbers were again tops for any institution east of the Mississippi River.
During the past year, an elementary agricultural education teacher program was established at ABAC, the first of its kind in America. ABAC also established a partnership with Murray State University to encourage graduates to continue their education in a master’s degree program.
“Beginning this summer, upperclassmen can take our three-course series in Elementary Ag Ed to add that endorsement to their teaching certificate upon graduation,” Flanders said.
With its specialized curriculum in the School of Agriculture and Natural Resources, ABAC is in a unique position to offer Ag Ed students coursework in selected areas such as animal science, horticulture, and agricultural mechanics.
“No other Ag Ed program that I am aware of provides the variety and the number of hands-on laboratory courses that ABAC offers,” Flanders said. “The addition of the Bachelor of Science degree in Ag Ed in 2017 at ABAC created the perfect environment for preparing agriculture teachers in both pedagogy and technical content.”
Thoron said Ag Ed graduates find a job market which is quite receptive to their skills.
“While our goal is to have students enter the teaching profession in agriculture, students and industry employers find this degree meets many needs,” Thoron said. “We develop students who are founded in agriculture content knowledge and have the teaching and people skills that make them a valuable leader and a model employee across the industry.”
Although the ABAC Ag Ed graduates will help to alleviate the on-going teacher shortage in Georgia and other states, there is still a need for more teachers.
“Opportunities abound,” Flanders said.
Prospective students who seek more information about the Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Education at ABAC can contact the ABAC admissions office at admissions@abac.edu. Fall semester classes begin at ABAC on Aug. 10.
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