My Mantra - The Purpose of CTE
In my state there has recently been much discussion and debate about electives--parents want more choices in middle school, and so all the arts, PE and Health are on the chopping block for required classes. This also affects our 7th grade class, College & Career Awareness, which is required for all 7th graders in the state. Parent choice is a big deal, but I don't believe many parents are well informed on what some of these classes they want to get ride of truly are. In an effort to defend this class and all of CTE, I wrote my Mantra--and posted it on social media. This is why I teach CTE and why I think it is important. Please read! Thank you!
With all the controversy going on right now about education and choices and electives and requirements, as a middle school teacher I thought I’d write out my own mantra on this from the prospective of a 14-year teacher of CTE—which stands for Career & Technical Education. Be prepared…this is long…:)
First of all, in my view, there is or should be one main over reaching goal for K-12 education: That by the time a student graduates, they have a career plan in place. They know their next step because they have been following it for the last six years. Any student who graduates with no idea what they want to major in or study or what industry they want to pursue…kind of missed the point. Ultimately, our goal is to prepare these students to be functioning, productive members of society who can support themselves and a future family. My own personal goal, stated simply: “I want to teach you something YOU. WILL. USE.”
And that is precisely what CTE does. CTE classes are the application of all the abstract things they learn in their base classes of math, science, history, language arts. CTE tells them WHY they need to know it, and how they can use it with hands-on, practical application. CTE points them in a direction and gives them real-world experience. In Utah, 7th students take College & Career Awareness—also known as CTE Intro and TLC in the past. The class has been in place for over twenty years—I took it myself. The purpose of this class is to let students explore careers and pathways they have never thought of before or considered. It widens their perspective and allows them to recognize interests and talents they didn’t even know they had. This introduction is crucial. It gives them experiences they simply cannot get any other way. We teach them about engineering—and let build something. We teach them about information technology—and have them code something. We teach them finance—and they balance a checkbook. Interested in science? Here are 50 science related careers and what they do and how much they make and what training you need to get there. You want that $500,000 home? Here’s how much you’d need to make to afford it and here’s what your bills would look like with this lifestyle, and here is a list of careers that make that much money. Everything is hands-on and real-world and applied directly to specific careers.
Once they have had this class, they should have at least a general idea which career pathway they want to pursue. Throughout the next five years, they take related classes in this pathway, deepening their knowledge and helping them know—before they have to pay for it—if this is the right path for them. By the time they graduate, they have a much better idea of what they want to do. They get training and education in their industry (not necessarily a 4-year degree) and do not spend so many years wandering, waiting, and wasting time and money. They gain marketable skills that set them apart from the crowd and gives them the ability to make a reasonable wage. And no matter what life throws at them—they are prepared to meet it because they know how to do something that is needed and they can be paid well for.
But without that base class—taught right—they can miss the point. That is why it is so important that this class is not removed as a requirement for our students. I don’t care if your student gets A’s in every class, speaks fluent Chinese and is super brilliant—that is NO GAURANTEE they will have a successful career. The world is full of brilliant people without direction, just as it is filled with C-students who make millions.
For myself, I am so glad that this class was not removed. As a 7th grader, if I had been given full choices I would have taken nothing but arts classes—which is great and all—but I would never have even considered taking a business class. It wouldn’t have crossed my mind. Looking back, I find that TLC was the basis for my entire career. I took TLC in 1991, and loved the computers in the business section—I was fascinated by them. I continued taking computer and business classes all through middle and high school, and by the time I graduated, I knew I wanted to major in business. My knowledge wasn’t perfect—I wasn’t exactly certain what I wanted. But at least I knew where to start.
Today one of my 8th graders came up to me after our lesson in Excel, eyes sparkling, to tell me how excited he was about Excel and how he just wanted to learn all he could. I had him in College & Career Awareness last year and watched him figure out that he’s good at business—he had no idea. This year he took my Exploring Business & Marketing class, and he’s on FIRE. He is loving it. He said to me, “I always thought I’d be a police officer or a construction worker—I didn’t know I was good at this.” I smiled and said, “Those are both wonderful careers—but you my friend…you could be a millionaire! You could be an accountant, or an entrepreneur, or a CFO. This is what you are good at.” This is the power of CTE. CTE is what GIVES STUDENTS CHOICES. If parents truly want choices for their students, they will not deny them this first step on a pathway full of choices. It will open their mind up to avenues they might never have seen otherwise.
I am in no way trying to put down any other class that students can take, because in a way all classes are part of CTE. I believe all classes have value and while some are directly on a student’s path to a career, other classes can give skills that will shape them as a person and give transferable skills that help them to be a better employee, a better family member, and a better person. The choices students and parents make should be informed and full of purpose and direction, and be along a pathway that will lead them to greater success. Studies show that students who “concentrate” in CTE courses—meaning they take CTE courses along a chosen path—are not only more likely to graduate, but are more likely to be employed after graduation with a higher pay rate and attend higher education. (https://edexcellence.net/…/career-and-technical-education-i…)
I know this was long winded, and if you got this far, you are my hero. Thank you so much for reading. You may not agree with everything I believe, but I think we can both agree that student success should be our goal whether we are the teacher or the student or the parent. I guess it’s a matter of defining what “success” is, and getting all A’s, to me, is not the only or even the most important measurement of success. Knowing who you are and where you are going is. Thank you so much for reading!
First of all, in my view, there is or should be one main over reaching goal for K-12 education: That by the time a student graduates, they have a career plan in place. They know their next step because they have been following it for the last six years. Any student who graduates with no idea what they want to major in or study or what industry they want to pursue…kind of missed the point. Ultimately, our goal is to prepare these students to be functioning, productive members of society who can support themselves and a future family. My own personal goal, stated simply: “I want to teach you something YOU. WILL. USE.”
And that is precisely what CTE does. CTE classes are the application of all the abstract things they learn in their base classes of math, science, history, language arts. CTE tells them WHY they need to know it, and how they can use it with hands-on, practical application. CTE points them in a direction and gives them real-world experience. In Utah, 7th students take College & Career Awareness—also known as CTE Intro and TLC in the past. The class has been in place for over twenty years—I took it myself. The purpose of this class is to let students explore careers and pathways they have never thought of before or considered. It widens their perspective and allows them to recognize interests and talents they didn’t even know they had. This introduction is crucial. It gives them experiences they simply cannot get any other way. We teach them about engineering—and let build something. We teach them about information technology—and have them code something. We teach them finance—and they balance a checkbook. Interested in science? Here are 50 science related careers and what they do and how much they make and what training you need to get there. You want that $500,000 home? Here’s how much you’d need to make to afford it and here’s what your bills would look like with this lifestyle, and here is a list of careers that make that much money. Everything is hands-on and real-world and applied directly to specific careers.
Once they have had this class, they should have at least a general idea which career pathway they want to pursue. Throughout the next five years, they take related classes in this pathway, deepening their knowledge and helping them know—before they have to pay for it—if this is the right path for them. By the time they graduate, they have a much better idea of what they want to do. They get training and education in their industry (not necessarily a 4-year degree) and do not spend so many years wandering, waiting, and wasting time and money. They gain marketable skills that set them apart from the crowd and gives them the ability to make a reasonable wage. And no matter what life throws at them—they are prepared to meet it because they know how to do something that is needed and they can be paid well for.
But without that base class—taught right—they can miss the point. That is why it is so important that this class is not removed as a requirement for our students. I don’t care if your student gets A’s in every class, speaks fluent Chinese and is super brilliant—that is NO GAURANTEE they will have a successful career. The world is full of brilliant people without direction, just as it is filled with C-students who make millions.
For myself, I am so glad that this class was not removed. As a 7th grader, if I had been given full choices I would have taken nothing but arts classes—which is great and all—but I would never have even considered taking a business class. It wouldn’t have crossed my mind. Looking back, I find that TLC was the basis for my entire career. I took TLC in 1991, and loved the computers in the business section—I was fascinated by them. I continued taking computer and business classes all through middle and high school, and by the time I graduated, I knew I wanted to major in business. My knowledge wasn’t perfect—I wasn’t exactly certain what I wanted. But at least I knew where to start.
Today one of my 8th graders came up to me after our lesson in Excel, eyes sparkling, to tell me how excited he was about Excel and how he just wanted to learn all he could. I had him in College & Career Awareness last year and watched him figure out that he’s good at business—he had no idea. This year he took my Exploring Business & Marketing class, and he’s on FIRE. He is loving it. He said to me, “I always thought I’d be a police officer or a construction worker—I didn’t know I was good at this.” I smiled and said, “Those are both wonderful careers—but you my friend…you could be a millionaire! You could be an accountant, or an entrepreneur, or a CFO. This is what you are good at.” This is the power of CTE. CTE is what GIVES STUDENTS CHOICES. If parents truly want choices for their students, they will not deny them this first step on a pathway full of choices. It will open their mind up to avenues they might never have seen otherwise.
I am in no way trying to put down any other class that students can take, because in a way all classes are part of CTE. I believe all classes have value and while some are directly on a student’s path to a career, other classes can give skills that will shape them as a person and give transferable skills that help them to be a better employee, a better family member, and a better person. The choices students and parents make should be informed and full of purpose and direction, and be along a pathway that will lead them to greater success. Studies show that students who “concentrate” in CTE courses—meaning they take CTE courses along a chosen path—are not only more likely to graduate, but are more likely to be employed after graduation with a higher pay rate and attend higher education. (https://edexcellence.net/…/career-and-technical-education-i…)
I know this was long winded, and if you got this far, you are my hero. Thank you so much for reading. You may not agree with everything I believe, but I think we can both agree that student success should be our goal whether we are the teacher or the student or the parent. I guess it’s a matter of defining what “success” is, and getting all A’s, to me, is not the only or even the most important measurement of success. Knowing who you are and where you are going is. Thank you so much for reading!