The United States needs both academia and career-technical education.
I’m glad for the availability of career-technical education in the United States, and in particular the emphasis it gets here in Ohio, allowing students who may otherwise struggle academically and are getting a better shot at success, in school and work.
When I was in high school, I knew almost nothing about our vocational school. This is despite the fact that we took a field trip to Buckeye Hills Career Center and some of what they were doing looked interesting to me. I didn’t give it much thought after that. Only when I worked with career centers at CETE did I learn that CTE is an increasingly popular option for students to get practical, hands-on experience during high school. It’s beneficial both for students for whom traditional classes are boring–giving them a better chance to enjoy their education and potentially to graduate–and also for students who are doing well in traditional classes but who want to explore a vocational area early on.
Students out there are getting a great education and doing projects, such as creating IT solutions in computer classes, building houses in construction, cooking for the school in culinary, working on cars in transportation, and creating videos in digital media. Of course, it wouldn’t be possible without all our great CTE teachers. I got to meet some of these teachers in my last job, and I was really impressed by their passion for passing on their technical skills to their students.
However, here’s what I don’t appreciate: using CTE as a tool to attack academic classes or intellectuals. Take, for example, a recent comment during a presidential debate that “welders make more money than philosophers.” To the degree that the commenter supports the idea of young people going into welding, I think that’s needed. However, his choice of the somewhat esoteric field of philosophy, plus the hootin’ and hollerin’ from the audience, tells me that his statement was red meat thrown out to primary voters who are conditioned to be suspicious of eggheads, suspicious of experts who value innovation above tradition, and suspicious of fields of study that not everyone immediately understands.
I find this kind of talk counterproductive. Partly it’s because it’s populism of an ugly and divisive sort. Also, the strength of the United States doesn’t come from just one area, and there is not one single optimum educational path for every individual American. Yes, the U.S. needs more welders, machinists, electricians, carpenters, masons, and pipefitters. But the U.S. also needs to have intellectuals: writers, historians, scientists, artists, and I daresay even philosophers, if it is to maintain its cultural leadership in the world. The problem is that too many high school students have been pointed down the latter path rather than the former … but that doesn’t mean the latter path should be abandoned!
“Expert” should not be considered a bad word, and neither should “laborer.” I encourage you to support education in skilled trades as a valid path for those who are so inclined, but not at the expense of America’s academics. Make the options known to young people and help them make informed choices, and hopefully we’ll fill both areas with the best people.
If you are interested in learning more about career-technical education, check out the following:
- Ohio ACTE
- Workforce Development and Education at The Ohio State University
- National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education
- Your nearest career center or high school with CTE programs
To me, this is an interesting and important topic facing our country today. Chances are that if you have read this far through my post, you know more about these matters than I do. Please leave your contributions below in a comment!
