C.T.E. -- Career Technical Education -- IMPORTANT TO ALL OF US
Our recent, and not so recent, educational history has seemingly been sadly highlighted by the zeal of educators and well meaning parents, who universally appear to believe that all of their children are manifestly destined for college entrance white-collar careers.
School Boards, Administrators, and Teachers for years have been trying to please parents by punching up students’ academic test numbers, while indiscriminately destroying programs that would train carpenters, electricians, auto mechanics, para medical professionals, and other vital workers.
The slow eradication of Career Technical Education Programs (CTE) coupled with the political pressure to raise test scores, surely has had a wrong headed depressive and clearly detrimental effect on California's high school career and employment opportunities. While at the same time contributing to an increasing dropout rate, which already is much too high, by channeling all students into college tracks.
Some - CTE teachers, parents, and other observers believe, that it has been a decades long conspiracy, of sorts, to cleanse the schools of those students who are vocationally, rather than academically, inclined.
Ironically, California has never had a greater need for workers with mechanical and/or technical abilities, a need so vast that employers are raiding each other, and even importing skilled workers from other states to fill vacancies.
Governor Schwarzenegger signed Senate Bill, S.B. 70, into law this past September, 2005. This Bill will rightfully expand and finally rebuild California’s Technical Educational (CTE) offerings, while strengthening connections between secondary schools, community colleges, industry, and employers.
He is the first governor, in recent decades, to make CTE a public priority, mentioning it during his State of the State address to the Legislature last January, 2005, and then including $20+ million dollar allocation to improve CTE at high school and community college levels in his 2005-06 budget.
Schwarzenegger described CTE – accurately – as: "a first-class ticket to high-paying jobs and solid careers, and improving California's economy" . He further added, that: "For too long this has been neglected, and has been forgotten, and there is no respect for this kind of education."
But if his and our personal and most necessary support for CTE is to become a long-term and effective commitment, resulting in a permanent change in our State’s Educational trends and provide more and sustained open career opportunities, then a firm change of public attitude is clearly needed.
Those who improperly denigrate job-oriented education, while still powerful in both the education hierarchy and politics, denigrate themselves, as well. These intentional and/or naïve attitudes and their resultant destructive inhibitory actions, towards our children’s opportunities, and California’s economy must stop.
Support Vocational Education, it is our proud future too, and not an educational outcast.
It is an Economic Promise for our children and our families.
ATTRIBUTION
School Boards, Administrators, and Teachers for years have been trying to please parents by punching up students’ academic test numbers, while indiscriminately destroying programs that would train carpenters, electricians, auto mechanics, para medical professionals, and other vital workers.
The slow eradication of Career Technical Education Programs (CTE) coupled with the political pressure to raise test scores, surely has had a wrong headed depressive and clearly detrimental effect on California's high school career and employment opportunities. While at the same time contributing to an increasing dropout rate, which already is much too high, by channeling all students into college tracks.
Some - CTE teachers, parents, and other observers believe, that it has been a decades long conspiracy, of sorts, to cleanse the schools of those students who are vocationally, rather than academically, inclined.
Ironically, California has never had a greater need for workers with mechanical and/or technical abilities, a need so vast that employers are raiding each other, and even importing skilled workers from other states to fill vacancies.
Governor Schwarzenegger signed Senate Bill, S.B. 70, into law this past September, 2005. This Bill will rightfully expand and finally rebuild California’s Technical Educational (CTE) offerings, while strengthening connections between secondary schools, community colleges, industry, and employers.
He is the first governor, in recent decades, to make CTE a public priority, mentioning it during his State of the State address to the Legislature last January, 2005, and then including $20+ million dollar allocation to improve CTE at high school and community college levels in his 2005-06 budget.
Schwarzenegger described CTE – accurately – as: "a first-class ticket to high-paying jobs and solid careers, and improving California's economy" . He further added, that: "For too long this has been neglected, and has been forgotten, and there is no respect for this kind of education."
But if his and our personal and most necessary support for CTE is to become a long-term and effective commitment, resulting in a permanent change in our State’s Educational trends and provide more and sustained open career opportunities, then a firm change of public attitude is clearly needed.
Those who improperly denigrate job-oriented education, while still powerful in both the education hierarchy and politics, denigrate themselves, as well. These intentional and/or naïve attitudes and their resultant destructive inhibitory actions, towards our children’s opportunities, and California’s economy must stop.
Support Vocational Education, it is our proud future too, and not an educational outcast.
It is an Economic Promise for our children and our families.
ATTRIBUTION
posted by don regan at 5:05 PM
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