was hired by Norway’s Ministry of Education to train vocational education teachers some years ago . Having myself attended a comprehensive high school where vocational students were those who couldn’t make it academically it was eye opening to be in a country where vocational education had high prestige, was well funded, and included students who could have gone to medical school if that had been their preference.
I was reminded of this experience recently when Tony Wagner, the author of The Global Achievement Gap and, most recently, Creating Innovators, spoke with educators and parents in my community and noted that in Finland’s highly successful educational system, 45% of the students choose a technical track, not an academic track, after completing their basic education.
I’m sure that most of you who teach high school have had some students confide that what they enjoyed doing most was working with their hands, whether on car engines, electrical circuits in the house, hair, or doing therapeutic massage. I bet that many of these students also confided that there is no way they could tell their parents that they’d rather pursue one of these occupations than go to college to prepare for a professional or business career.
We live in a society that places a high value on the professions and white-collar jobs, and that still considers blue-collar work lower status. It’s no surprise that parents want their children to pursue careers that will maintain or increase their status. In high socio-economic communities this is even more evident. And for most teachers, if a student is academically successful, this will be seen as a “waste of talent.”
The same dilemma often exists for students who are being helped to overcome the achievement gap. Most schools that are effectively helping kids to overcome this gap and achieve academically also place a premium on college admissions, often the mark of success for these schools. And kids who are the first in their families to graduate high school appear foolish to “throw this all away” by choosing some alternative to college.
This bias against vocational education is dysfunctional. It is destructive to our children. They should have the opportunity to be trained in whatever skills their natural gifts and preferences lead them to, rather than more or less condemning them to jobs they’ll find meaningless. To keep a young person with an affinity for hair design or one of the trades from developing the skills to pursue this calling is destructive.
It is also
Related Documents: High School and Vocational Education Essay
fdh g fd ahe Turkish education system is divided into three levels which make up 12 years of compulsory education. The first level in the education system is primary school education consisting of four years (1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th grades). The second level is middle school education consisting of four years (5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grades). The third level is high school education consisting of four years (9th, 10th, 11th and 12th grades). 1. PRIMARY EDUCATION Primary education is composed of a four-year…
Unit 8 Vocational Education “Strengthening Today’s Workforce Brent Malone Kaplan University BU484 – 01N A shift in the way the United States prepares students for life after high school is long overdue. The U.S. education system currently fails to prepare many young Americans to lead successful adult lives because our preparation strategy is narrow, focused on readying students to attend four-year colleges and universities. As a result, many youth…
Mixson Anderson 2813 Willow Wood Circle Valdosta, GA. 31602 229-245-9766 manderson@gocats.org Special Education My professional career reflects more than 8 years of education, training, administration, program management and development in the unique and challenging environment of Special Education. I have successfully demonstrated the ability to create individualized education plans for students and raise teacher performance levels. I have built and continue to cultivate positive working…
help and support you throughout. 14-16 Your College are working in partnership with several high schools in the region and offer vocational qualifications to school students aged 14-16, enabling curriculum choice at key stage 4. By working in partnership with schools they have given students the opportunity to help choose a career pathway and support a seamless transition into post 16 education and training and employment. Parents evenings are held throughout the year to provide feedback on…
School of Excellence in Education 1826 Basse Road San Antonio, TX 782L3 210-431-9881 APPLICATION FOR EMPLOYMENT School of Excellence in Education is an equal opportunity employer PLEASE PRINT AND COMPLETE DATE AVAILABLE: IN DETAIL PERSONAL DATA ./V(0i Last Name First Name ilttr< Present Address bf'w+# q+.il .)/'t irs,-- ,"'_ Middle Initial 'Avat Zip Code Zip Code ra -k'52r, Phone Number City/State \rv,")\.(- C,Vf C\,be!< Permanent Address…
In high schools throughout the United States, students are encouraged to follow college-prep tracks as the traditional route to career success. Vocational education, on the other hand, is often treated as an option for those deemed at an academic disadvantage, a second-best choice. With rising college tuitions and difficulty finding employment after attaining a college degree, vocational training might be the best chance at a solid career. While the benefits of college are known, going to college…
get an education, so they would be able to improve their economic situation and would be able to finally receive equality amongst the whites. His movement made him a legacy in the eyes of people from all walks of life, not just African Americans. He was born in a Virginia slave hut on 1858. His mother was a slave as well and his father was rumored to be a white man. He was a well behaved boy and always strived for an education. He had a few obstacles trying to achieve an education as a young…
women make up more than two-thirds of the world's illiterate adults. When it comes to education, girls worldwide get the short end of the stick. In other words, the number of women who accepted higher education is much lower than men who accepted higher education. There are three reasons are listed as followed. Firstly, girls may be kept out of school to help with housework. Secondly, they may be pulled from school if their father deems it's time for them to marry. Thirdly, there may only be enough…
Research (NCUR) 2009 University of Wisconsin La-Crosse La-Crosse, Wisconsin April 16 - 18, 2009 Prison Culture, Education, and Recidivism Rates Caleb L. Fry and Lauren T. Rios Department of Anthropology Lake Tahoe Community College One College Drive South Lake Tahoe, California 96150 USA Faculty Advisor: Daryl G. Frazetti Abstract Given the number of inmates in the prison system and the high level of recidivism, it is important to seek out possible solutions to this growing problem. By implementing…