Project Lead the Way (PLTW) is an elite Pre-Engineering program that offers rigorous curriculums to prepare students to complete Engineering programs on a tertiary level. To date I have no objection to the program; however, my school is constantly enrolling students in the program who either lack the academics to successfully complete the courses with a minimum C- grade; or, they have no desire to pursue an Engineering career. Since when di ti become okay to place students in courses they will not be successful to complete?
Since former President Bush's No Child Left Behind Act, students who have no plans to attend college are being left behind in record numbers each school year. Are educators so wrapped up in both test and graduation scores where they fail to prepare students to earn a specific trade in which they can use after high school? My two uncles had no intention to attend college; yet, the oldest one earned certification in Masonry in high school in order to work in construction, and the youngest completed business courses to comprehend manufacturing productivity and efficiency in order to become a supervisor for a textile company until it relocated.
Why haven't educators proposed an alternate career path for students to be successful even when they have limited reading, writing and mathematics skills? Will this alternative allow them to remain successful even when robots replace their positions in a manufacturing setting?
One of the most talked about actions that school systems need to take over the next decade is to prepare students who aren't going to attend college for skilled labor positions in the workforce. While this may be talked about, the actions of these school systems seems to be lacking.
ReplyDeleteSome facts that may be relevant to this are 65% percent of all high school students who graduate attend college and only about 33% of those graduate. If we do the math, out of 100 students 65 go to college and about 22 of those actually earn degrees. The question becomes "what are the other 78 people doing?".
High school have become so focused on making our kids college ready that we seem to forget most students don't graduate from college but end up working in the job force without any type of degree past the high school level.
This is why programs like project lead the way are so great. We as educators aren't focusing on if we are getting our students ready for college, but are we teaching them a skill that can translate into either college or prepare our students will skills to enter the work force.
Dudley's CTE Department needs to establish requirements for its career paths based on the requirements for collegiate admission. Once established, one of the four PSAT/SAT vouchers should cover the expense for a freshman to complete the Myers-Briggs assessment to determine his or her top ten career choices. Such information will provide confirmation of actual vocational programs Dudley needs to provide to trade-skill students who have no interest in attending college. It all revolves around establishing high, realistic standards for students to uphold in additional to being honest with parents during a student's freshman year, no later than their sophomore year. The Myers-Briggs assessment must be a pre-requisite before enrolling into a CTE course.
ReplyDeleteHow can we prevent students from wanting to change a CTE Career Pathway after his or her junior year?
I forgot. . . the vocational trade programs must allow students with criminal records to pursue a career after high school without an problems.
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