I am a fan of what we're calling Career and Technical Education (CTE) these days. My old district has been part of a consortium running what we used to call a Vocational Technical School in the county for sixty years, and I am a huge fan. For most of my career, I taught students who split their day between core classes at their "home" school and vocational classes at the Vo-Tech, learning to be welders, heavy equipment operators, beauticians, home health care workers, and a host of other solid blue collar careers.
Ah, Peter, you're slightly guilty of a false dichotomy. The Vo-Tech experiences are far from just practical skills. They teach physics, mathematics and a visceral understanding of how everything in the world works. Every student should have these experiences whether headed for a career in plumbing or philosophy.
In ours, it depends on the area of specialization. Learning how a computer works requires electronic knowledge but very little in the way of Newtonian mechanics.
Amen, amen, amen!! I worked for the State in assessment and standards for 20 years. I saw the beginning of testing and CTE and the corporatization of education. Education is the opening of a mind; it's not training, which prepares you for work. Students need BOTH!
Our county has a CTE center that most of the school districts utilize. (The largest district with the largest budget does not.) When my son took up the computer tech (hands on circuit boards) course, the teacher of the special English course for those students decided he didn't belong in that course and arranged for an independent study under the tutelage of the most senior teacher in the department. After getting a degree in physics from the nearby Enormous State University, he passed through a number of "any income is better than nothing" positions before the convenience store manager recommended him for a position with the parent company of the chain and he is now the person who provides most of the technical support for customers of an ISP.
I like our local CTE programs, too. The balance you mention is definitely part of the appeal. Another problem I see with linking a school to a specific industry or business is that students are forced in that direction. Health care is not the right career for me, so I would hate to be forced into training for that career. The great thing about the CTE programs I’ve seen is that there are so many choices. Students will be more motivated if they are choosing the career that they want to pursue.
Ah, Peter, you're slightly guilty of a false dichotomy. The Vo-Tech experiences are far from just practical skills. They teach physics, mathematics and a visceral understanding of how everything in the world works. Every student should have these experiences whether headed for a career in plumbing or philosophy.
In ours, it depends on the area of specialization. Learning how a computer works requires electronic knowledge but very little in the way of Newtonian mechanics.
Amen, amen, amen!! I worked for the State in assessment and standards for 20 years. I saw the beginning of testing and CTE and the corporatization of education. Education is the opening of a mind; it's not training, which prepares you for work. Students need BOTH!
Our county has a CTE center that most of the school districts utilize. (The largest district with the largest budget does not.) When my son took up the computer tech (hands on circuit boards) course, the teacher of the special English course for those students decided he didn't belong in that course and arranged for an independent study under the tutelage of the most senior teacher in the department. After getting a degree in physics from the nearby Enormous State University, he passed through a number of "any income is better than nothing" positions before the convenience store manager recommended him for a position with the parent company of the chain and he is now the person who provides most of the technical support for customers of an ISP.
Vo-Tech works.
I like our local CTE programs, too. The balance you mention is definitely part of the appeal. Another problem I see with linking a school to a specific industry or business is that students are forced in that direction. Health care is not the right career for me, so I would hate to be forced into training for that career. The great thing about the CTE programs I’ve seen is that there are so many choices. Students will be more motivated if they are choosing the career that they want to pursue.