Erin Duckworth

Prof. Presnell
English 1103
23 Oct. 2014
Evaluated Works Cited: FFA
An Interview With Larry Case, National FFA Board Chairman. Techniques: Connection
Education & Careers. 85.7 (2010) : 14-15. Academic Search Complete. Web. 14 Oct.
2014.
1. This interview is with the National FFA Board Chairman himself, Larry Case. In the
interview he states that the reason for having agriculture is the same reason why there
should be agriculture education. Larry Case discusses how he wants the organization to
include over 300 occupations in science and math departments. This resource is relevant
to my research because I do not want my paper is about the history of FFA and it
continues to make history every day. This is just adding to the timeline. Also, this is a
good way to show how FFA has changed from 1917 to present, how it has become more
than an organization for farm boys who are dedicated to farming.
2. This article helps me understand that FFA is not the organization that is used to be and
that it does not fit into the common stereotypes associated with it. The kind of change
represented in this interview is the technical and occupational side of FFA. FFA has
branched beyond the farmlands and has come to encompass a variety of career paths.
This shows that though FFA is traditional in essences it is also adaptive.
One of my goals for my inquiry paper is to show the evolution of FFA and how it is more
than its stereotype. This interview will go along with the personal interviews I will
conduct on past members to compare perspectives and the change.
3. The publisher of the article is Association for Career & Technical Education. Their
description is to provide news about legislation affecting career & technical education.
It is their mission to provide educational leadership in developing a competitive
workforce. The official website for the publisher is https://www.acteonline.org.

National FFA Organization Records, 1916-2008, IUPUI University Library Special Collections
and Archives, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.
1. This source is a Philanthropy Archive that is located at Indiana University-Purdue
University Indianapolis. In the archives are a collection of minutes, newsletters,
publications, repots, audio cassettes, video cassettes, and photographs pertaining to The
National FFA Organization. From this source I can gain relevant information about what
went on in the organization since the beginning. Immediately from clicking on the link,
there is an abstract that gives a brief history on how FFA came to be. In the abstract it
mentions that FFA was formally known as Future Farmers of America and was founded
in 1928 by local farm boys. This information matches with the information provided on
the FFA website and from the Official FFA Manual. Knowing that the information is the
same in various sources gives me confidence that I will not have to look everywhere to
find the information I am looking for and possible find out things I never initially
intended to find.
2. Knowing that there is a whole archive pertaining to nothing but FFA and its entirety
makes me excited but, it also makes me nervous. There is a lot of information, sources,
and media for me to pick from that will lead me where I need and want to go. Luckily,
they have broken down their archives into categories and each one is geared towards
specific information. For example, there is a section that is dedicated to all of the past
national officers. This includes who they were, what chapter they were from, and detailed
descriptions about what each one did while in office. In this section, it also includes
minutes and specifics about the issues they discussed at National Convention. That could
be useful in determining some of the problems the organization was presented with at the
time and how it has affected the organization today. Another section the archives include
is the actual history about the organization. It includes things such as articles that have
included FFA and the personal journals and writings of members. The only challenge to
this source would be of having too many things to pick through and getting frustrated
from the overload. If worse comes to worse I will use this as a starting point on a specific
detail and look to another source to find more information on it.
3. From the about page of the IUPUI University Library they state that their mission is to
inform, connect, and transform. They want to inform the IUPUI campus and community
by connecting them to their resources; transforming their lives with newfound
discovery, creativity, and learning. The library also endorses the American Library
Associations Library Bill of Rights.

National FFA Organization. Official FFA Manual. Alexandria: National FFA Organization,
2012. Print.
1. This source is a book reference and contains information about the history, by laws,
constitution, and much more information related to FFA. Many of the information in this
manual can be found in the archives or on the FFA website. However, there is a hand full
of information that I am looking for that is contained in this book. For example, the book
contains information on what the symbols on the official jacket mean and the meaning of
each symbol that represents an officer position. It also contains historical information
about when blacks and women were first allowed into the organization. The little
excerpts provide information on what blacks and women did before they were merged
into FFA officially.
2. The manual definitely provides the technical research I am looking for. By technical I
mean the hard facts that could possibly be asked as trivia questions. From what I have
read so far, FFA holds symbols in high regards because specific symbols represents the
ideals of the organization and responsibilities of its members. This will be one of my
important and most used sources when writing this paper. I will also use it as a reference
point and when I find a bit of information I want to expand upon I can use my first
source, the archives, to find more. This will be helpful because instead of searching
aimlessly through the archives, I can pinpoint where exactly I need to be.
3. Considering the author and publisher are both the National FFA Organization their
validity and credibility is proven from the mission statement and motto that can be found
both in the book and on their website. (ffa.org). It contains the proper copyright
information and the official FFA seal of approval. This means that this is a genuine book
produced by the organization.
Steffes, Tracy. "Smith-Hughes Act (United States [1917])." Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Encyclopedia Britannica. Web. 14 Oct. 2014.
1. This source comes from the online encyclopedia of Britannica. This entry is about the
cause for what FFA is today and that cause is the Smith-Hughes Vocational
Education Act of 1917. The Smith-Hughes Act was passed for the purpose of
providing vocational education in high school. It was a way to solve the skilled-labor
shortage in an industrializing society. Steffes entry about the act includes information
about the historical background. From what I have gathered so far from this
encyclopedia entry is that the Smith-Hughes Act was established around when
America was first getting into the industry business. The workforce was in need of
skilled workers and the government was trying to find a solution to the

unemployment of its citizens. Thus, the act was created to provide vocational training
to students in high school and college.
2. Though FFA was not officially established until 1928 any of the historic timelines,
whether it is posted in the manual, the archives, or the official website, all of them
begin with the Smith-Hughes Act. So I became curious to know what exactly was the
act, who proposed it and why? Understanding the fundamentals of this act will grant
me a deeper insight of the organization that was created because of it.
3. The author of this entry on the online encyclopedia is Tracy L. Steffes. From the
biological information offered Steffes is an assistant professor of education and
history at Brown University. She is the author of School Society, and State.

Tracy_Steffes@brown.edu
"Welcome to the National FFA Organization." FFA. National FFA Organization. Web. 14 Oct.
2014.
1. The official website of FFA contains various links that provides information about their
past history as well as current events. To focus on one section in particular, it is titled
Issues in FFA and consists of articles written by members about some of the
improvements they want to be made to the organization. One article in particular is title
Engaging Non-Traditional Students in FFA by Deloss Jahnke. From just reading the
title I understood that FFA was trying to break from the stereotype of their membership.
Which answers my group mates questions about if the organization is accepting of gays.
Considering being gay is non-traditional that question can be answered with, yes FFA
welcomes gays.
2. I plan on using this site to help me find information on the contemporary FFA because
the site offers its history, but as previously listed I already have enough sources dealing
with FFAs past. When I first started my research the National FFA website was my go to
source. If I needed a place to start, then the site was the perfect place to do it. It was there,
I became reacquainted with the historical timeline of FFA. After writing down years of
important events I wanted to look up, I began to explore the website. During my
exploration, I found this section title Issues of FFA. One article that caught my eye was
Getting Non-traditional Members Involved. The article described how a member of an
FFA chapter was trying to reach out to the other students in his school and get them
involved in FFA. He describes how he tries to come up with new events that would

interest the diverse population of his school and make the club more appealing. This
made me excited because it showed that FFA is traditional in essence, but does not mean
its members are the traditional white farmers. This article is proof that FFA is much
more accepting and has changed its views since 1928.
I also, like the website as a source because it can tell me about the current events of FFA
and what it has planned for the future.
3. Right from the websites home page is the mission of FFA. The website is created by the
National FFA Organization and can only be edited by designated individuals.