EDU Trending: CTE a.k.a. Real-World Learning Has Arrived.
It has been a long time coming, but CTE (Career and Technical Education) is finally getting its due. In general, college enrollments have been in serious decline for the past 10 years. But colleges which specialize in CTE programs are seeing rapid growth in registered students: https://www.realcleareducation.com/articles/2022/07/11/college_enrollment_is_down__but_theres_a_silver_lining_110743.html Also, in high school, increasingly, students sign up for CTE programs or compete for placement in CTE alternative schools (https://www2.ed.gov/datastory/cte/index.html).
Conclusion: The times they are a-changing (Bob Dylan).
The question is why? The answers are basic: Business trends, tuition costs, and return on investment (ROI) - both financial and personal.
In high schools, research suggests that CTE courses are meaningful to students, motivating them to graduate, obtain lucrative employment, and even pursue post-secondary education and opportunities. (https://www.chalkbeat.org/2018/4/19/21104795/one-big-upside-of-career-and-tech-programs-they-push-more-kids-to-graduate). As for college students, unless they are majoring in science, medicine, business, or education, many students (and their parents) can no longer justify the crippling long-term debt of an expensive traditional college education. In fact, 40% of graduates with a Bachelors or Masters degree find themselves “underemployed” – a euphemism for not being able to find a job (and commensurate salary) in their chosen careers. Check out the June 15, 2022, opinion piece: https://www.newsweek.com/forget-college-skilled-trades-are-future-us-economy-opinion-1715361#:~:text=Skilled%20Trades%20Are%20the%20Future%20of%20t.
In today’s competitive world, both high school and college students want their studies to make them career-ready to climb a lucrative ladder of success in a 21st century growth industry, doing something they love. There is everything right with this. More and more high schools and colleges are listening and responding with CTE programs - including real-world internships - that are relevant to students and are on trend with market demands. Validating CTE and the future it offers students in no way devalues the wonderful experiences and opportunities all of our wonderful colleges and universities provide. CTE is one more option, one more possibility. The times are, indeed, changing, and for the better.
News and Views: Left v. Right: A Losing Proposition.
It is not news that education has become politicized in school districts throughout the country. The flashpoint is Critical Race Theory. Some on the extreme right and some on the extreme left are in a tug of war to control the narrative of our history, our democracy, and our future. Caught in the middle of fierce culture wars are the students. Our children will be left not knowing what or whom to believe, forced to harbor an uneasy mistrust of ‘The Other.’ They are not the only collateral damage. Teachers, too, are victims of the fray.
Politically, there is misrepresentation on both sides.
The right claims that the history of slavery and racism are divisive and should not be taught with language that makes children feel badly. For example, in 2015, an approved social studies textbook in Texas referred to African slaves as “workers.” This year, also in Texas, some educators suggested that the word ‘slavery’ should be changed to ‘involuntary relocation.’ The Texas State Board of Educators asked that the language be revised, one member noting, “Young kids can grasp the concept of slavery …Tell children the truth. They can handle it.” (https://www.texastribune.org/2022/06/30/texas-slavery-involuntary-relocation/). Not everyone accepts this view.
Texas is not the only state to adopt what some believe is revisionist history. To date, 23 states - which equate the story of slavery and racism with Critical Race Theory (CRT) – have banned the tenets of CRT from their curricula, or are considering doing so. These states are not only in the deep South. Some are in the Mid-West, and two are in the Northeast (https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/states-that-have-banned-critical-race-theory ). It is important to understand why.
The left believes that children deserve an honest, factual account of our history. This is true. But the high profile 1619 Project misspoke when it advanced the premise that the United States was founded in large part to preserve slavery. This is the perception of the authors, but it has been roundly refuted as historical fact by Black as well as white historians(https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/03/06/1619-project-new-york-times-mistake-122248). Some damage has been done.
Slavery and racism are embedded in our history, but some hold that the unnecessary overstatement by the 1619 Project is the left’s attempt at revisionist history. As such, it undermines the credibility of the Project, stokes or provides a rationale for some of the opposition noted above, and defers the acknowledgment of slavery as a key component in our country’s story. There is no need for this.
Attempts of either side to misrepresent the truth do a disservice to our students and our country. The fallout extends to our teachers who are squarely in the eye of the storm. According to The Washington Post, in the past two years more than 160 teachers were fired or resigned either because they tried to address controversial subjects in class or because they expressed their own views outside of class. (https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/caught-in-the-culture-wars-teachers-are-being-forced-from-their-jobs/ar-AAYx). The same article predicted that more teachers will leave, adding to the mass exodus during and post the pandemic. The reasons are the same: Teachers are stressed, fed up being blamed for what they do and do not do, and what they say or do not say.
Teachers do not need to be scripted. Parents do not want Stepford children. It is time to talk with each other - adult to adult.
Question of the Day: Leadership in Education.
Who said, “The real role of leadership in education is not and should not be command and control. The real role of leadership is…creating a climate of possibility.”
President John F. Kennedy
Gloria Steinem
First Lady Dr. Jill Biden
Sir Ken Robinson
Oprah Winfrey
For the answer, please go to https://www.merleschell.com/reflections/and read “My Head Hurts.”
Introducing a new segment for Unpacking Education to be published when something happens that meets the single criteria found in its name: You Can’t Make This Up. Articles will feature serious, smart, well-intentioned people doing something that is silly, laughable, or even frightening to the rest of us.
You Can’t Make This Up: Catnapping in the Clouds.
Given the stress of over-long flights, Air New Zealand is doing its part to ease the weary minds and bodies of economy (and premium economy) travelers. Welcome to Skynest, sleeping pods, featuring bunk beds, stacked three-high, coming to Air New Zealand customers in 2024.
Don’t be too excited about getting a good night’s sleep during those extended flights…
… (some as long as 17 hours). Passengers will be able to book a bunk for only a four hour “nap” before being wakened to turn the bunk over - freshly sheeted, of course – to another air traveling insomniac. Does this qualify as half a good night’s sleep?
There may be other issues. According to a June 28, 2022 article (https://onemileatatime.com/news/air-new-zealand-skynest-economy-bunk-beds/), the bunks are only 23” wide. By contrast, 36” is the narrowest bunk bed sold at retail in the U.S. So, it is conceivable that if you are an adult of average proportions, you may not fit comfortably. And although you will be strapped in, imagine what could happen if you toss and turn. Let’s not even think about air turbulence.
One more thing. Sky napping comes at a price, which a current educated guess (See source above) puts between $300 to $400. I don’t know about you, but economy travelers will have to decide if the $100 per hour surcharge for a sleep interrupted – albeit on a real mattress - is a value-added expense.
It is easy to poke fun at an innovation that still needs to be refined. We sincerely applaud Air New Zealand for their efforts. It is good business as well as good customer relations to improve their passengers’ comfort. Hopefully, by 2024, to nap or not to nap won’t even be a question.
From Me to You: Put the Fun Back in School.
So say parents who have noticed what many teachers have long known: School stops being fun by middle school (https://nypost.com/2022/06/24/parents-believe-school-could-be-more-fun-for-kids/) At this educational juncture, in too many U.S. schools, students’ curiosity is replaced by compliance.
Think about it. From daycare to fourth grade (or at best through elementary school), learning is all about fun. Kids explore, discover, follow where their curiosity and imagination take them - examining bugs and plants, looking through a microscope, or painting a piece of original art. They learn how to be nice to each other, to work and play together, and to be part of a community.
Children come home excited, eager to show off what they did that day, chattering about what they saw and learned, and the friends they made. They are happy, engaged, looking forward to tomorrow and the surprises in store. School is a continuous, wide-eyed adventure in a world filled with possibilities.
The closer students get to middle school, the more the focus shifts from child-centered, hands-on learning to a state-mandated checklist of goals to be mastered in each grade. Except for occasional projects, learning through life experience is largely replaced by skill-and-drill, teacher directed instruction. Where’s the fun in that?
The closer students get to middle school, the more the focus shifts from child-centered, hands-on learning to a state-mandated checklist of goals to be mastered in each grade. Except for occasional projects, learning through life experience is largely replaced by skill-and-drill, teacher directed instruction. Where’s the fun in that?
There isn’t any. Not for the students. Not for their teachers. They and parents agree that when children take active part in their own learning, their confidence, curiosity, and interest are naturally engaged. So why is this scenario not the pedagogical approach that teachers and schools follow? Why should fun be reserved for after-school activities? How do we return joy and motivation to students and understand that creativity and fun are not antithetical to success, but at the heart of it?
Meet Sir Ken Robinson, visionary educator and creativity expert, whose numerous TED talks have become legend. With wit, warmth, charm, and humor, Dr. Robinson clearly denotes the contradictions and problems in American education. He is equally direct in detailing the three things we must do to turn things around, and explains why educational systems, like Finland, are role models for transformation. Thanks to YouTube, his wisdom and humanity will always be with us.
How to Escape Education’s Death Valley. (TED Talk, 2013)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wX78iKhInsc&ab_channel=TED
Do Schools Kill Creativity? (TED Talk, 2006) https://www.ted.com/talks/sir_ken_robinson_do_schools_kill_creativity