CTE Philosophy of Education

Transcription

1 CTE Philosophy of Education Stephanie Rintala My core philosophy came from the teachings of John Dewey. I, like him, believe that school should not only teach students the three R s, but also help them to become productive citizens. After completing Intro to Career and Technical Education I look again to Dewey, who believed that the goal for The Technical School is to, not only, teach students to become productive members of society but also to train them to be successful in the work field. The initiative 21 st Century Skills, is the integration of skills, such as; critical thinking, problem solving, and communication into the core academic subjects ( I agree with this initiative, not only does it make sense from a productive citizen standpoint but it also strengthens the technical schools goal; of training and preparing people to become part of a successful workforce. I believe that Dewey would agree with this initiative based off his belief that education should use a critical democratic approach to raise student consciousness about values, attitudes, and worker responsibilities. (Dewey, 1916, pg. 32) Role of CTE Career and Technical Education is not only concerned with the current job trends but also with the future; predicted job demand. They strive to educate their students about the future of work and careers, they do not just teach to what is currently happening in the workforce today. I believe the best way to produce successful CTE students is to get to them

2 before they enter the technical schools. By working with the high schools, teachers can guide students toward a successful career path. This can be done several ways; first a career interest survey can be administered to early high school students, which brings attention to possible career options. Next, a meeting with the guidance counselor (or possible Techincal school rep) to talk about those career options (interests). The Guidance counselor and student would then make a career pathway sheet. This maps out the courses (this can be done all the way to the graduate/masters level) that are needed to be trained in one of those career options. Role of the Technical Educator Creating a partnership with the high school is an important role for the CTE teacher, as well as forming a partnership with the universities. These partnerships have many benefits; it promotes both the technical and universities programs, it provides knowledge on a variety of careers; it provides the workforce with better prepared and trained workers, provides focus, motivation, and career options for the high school student. The relationship between the CTE teacher and the career world has many benefits as well, not only can employers look to the Technical School for future employees they can also help keep the CTE curriculum up to date and detailed/job specific. Technical Schools have always strived to educate their students in practical terms, by providing them with hands on experiences. By pairing classroom based learning with hands on experiences CTE provides students with a holistic education. This allows students to put into practice what they have learned in the classroom. If the goal of the Technical school is to prepare students for the workforce, then by educating them through as realistic means as

3 possible, achieves that. The CTE teacher needs to tie their curriculum with current and future job trends. By keeping abreast of what the future hold for the workforce they can lead their students in those directions. The partnership between the CTE teacher and workforce, I talked about earlier, will make this a lot easier. Role of the CTE Student The CTE student is most likely a motivated student who already knows what type of career he wants to get into. So, I believe the CTE student should be an active learner. He needs to take responsibility for his learning by, being involved in his class work and what is happening in his chosen career field. When the student is still in high school I believe that they have a responsibility to research as much as possible (including taking classes and/or doing job shadowing/ co-op) about careers to make the best decision for themselves. I have always been a hands-on-learner, but it wasn t until I attended a Technical School (MATC) a few years back that I was able to excel at school. The hands on/practice approach they used allowed me to not only do well, but finally make the connection between curriculum and the real world. When I attended the Technical School, it was from a six year hiatus from school. I had been working in the real world, and decided to go back to school. In the classroom I was able to take my work experience and tie it to the curriculum. The instructors

4 understood the classroom/work environment and were able to teach to both. This was so helpful in my understanding of the concepts and allowed me to expand off my work knowledge and critically think about other course concepts. I look forward to being part of an educational system that believes in making the connection between course content and life and work skills.

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