STEM or CTE? College focus or job focus? What's the balance? Is there a balance? Most educational effort in public schools is to get students ready for college. Indeed, the pressure to attend college is high with depression if the student can't or doesn't want to make the effort. So are there really good paying jobs for high school graduation students with solid education and some technical skill training? This article from NPR says...YES!!! Give it a read and share it with others. Heck...contact your school district and ask them to make CTE:STEM 50:50. "In a new report, the Washington State Auditor found that good jobs in the skilled trades are going begging because students are … [Read more...]
Study: Vocational Classes Keep High School Students Interested
We've long suggested that the emphasis on STEM be better balanced with more Vocational (CTE) courses and certification programs. A study at the Thomas Fordham Institute provides detailed information on the value of Vocational courses not just on the skills learned...but on graduation itself. Why? Perhaps because having practical hands-on course work seems more real and useful to students? We were made aware of the study via Intellectual Takeout in a story they published. We share their story below. Last year, Intellectual Takeout posted a popular quote from Mythbusters star Adam Savage on the need to reinstate shop class. Savage said: “If you want the kids’ test scores up, bring … [Read more...]
Vocation Training – The Pressing Need
So much of K-12 education has been focused on getting kids "college ready" we've ignored the real need for real jobs filling the needs of everyday people. We've been calling for a refocus of K-12 education with a complete and equally important focus on "career ready". Maybe the noise is starting to generate some attention and mostly importantly action. We found a commentary that does a good job of addressing the topic and needs as well as opportunities. This article was posted at Investors.com Even as politicians argue over how to create or keep "good jobs" in the U.S., a recent National Federation of Independent Businesses survey reported that the percentage of small businesses … [Read more...]