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Friday, November 14, 2008
Career exposure in school
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Gwinnett school leaders announced Thursday that its Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science and Technology will offer classes in 48 different career pathways.
Students will still take their core classes, but they will also have courses in specific areas such as education, engineering and computer science.
Gwinnett is not the first district to offer such classes. They can be found throughout the metro area and one of the most successful is the Central Educational Center in Coweta County.
Whenever I visit one of these programs I often leave impressed — the teachers are excited and the students appear to be learning and having fun while using some very cool gadgets and machines.
These programs allow students to earn some college credit and industry certification before leaving high school. They also promote those “21st century skills” educators, politicians and business leaders say are so important.
But few students enroll. Teachers often tell me they could take in more kids but few are willing to sign up. Guidance counselors say parents still think of these classes as the old vocational programs for weak students.
What can be done to make technical/career education more attractive? Is it time for schools to make some of the classes mandatory?
