CTE Shop Class: Now It’s High-Tech

By Mike Porcelli

Each year we start off September by celebrating Labor Day, the day set aside to honor the contributions of working people.

But few people know that it’s also Workforce Development Month, and the third Friday is known as National Tradesmen Day.

Last week I attended City & State’s Future of Work Summit, where leaders in workforce development explored how to produce the labor-force of the future.

A major focus of the day was the role of education in developing that workforce — something I have been promoting for decades.

The event featured many local and state officials, who spoke about the importance of training young people to fill jobs our economy needs — particularly trade jobs.

Like last month’s Education Summit, each speaker acknowledged that our schools are not producing enough graduates with trade skills.

We must correct that deficiency by expanding Career and Technical Education and guiding students into the careers they are best suited for. That must become our most important education priority — before it’s too late.

The theme of the day seemed to be, schools must provide training that is paired with students’ talents and abilities, something this column has repeatedly stressed.

The alignment of training that fits the needs of both students and industry must be the goal of our education system.

After decades of reducing trade training programs, leaders of government, education and industry are finally recognizing the error of that policy and actively seeking to correct it.

It was very encouraging to hear many of the speakers reiterate what I have been preaching for years, but there seemed to be a lack of awareness about how to achieve balance in the programs that schools offer.

I was greatly disappointed that none of the speakers were aware of the https://www.march2success.com/ program discussed here last week, even though it was featured at last month’s Education Summit, but pleased that several of the speakers promised to investigate how March2Success could help schools align their offerings with students.

In this month of recognition of the value of all workers, especially those who work with their hands and high-tech minds, with the skills to maintain the modern technology we all rely on every day for our very existence, it’s time to remember how dependent we are on their skills and honor all tradesmen as earlier societies did.

Every day should be Tradesmen-Appreciation-Day. They are among our most essential workers. Show them the respect they deserve and join the CTE Revolution to produce more of them.

Schools must develop each student’s individual natural abilities and talents – whatever they are.

Academic & Trade Education are Two Sides of a Coin. This column explores the impact of CTE programs on students, society, and the economy.

Mike Porcelli: life-long mechanic, adjunct professor, and host of Autolab Radio, is committed to restoring trade education in schools before it’s too late. https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-porcelli-master-mechanic-allasecerts/ 

CTE Shop Class: Now It’s High-Tech

By Mike Porcelli

Reactions to this column continue to pour in. All have been extremely supportive of increasing CTE opportunities for those students who can get the most benefit from them.

Why then are there not enough CTE openings for all students who would like them?

Another important question is: how do students know what they are best equipped to study?

As I have stated many times, schools do a good job of skills assessment in the athletic departments, but not other areas.

Fortunately there is a program that helps parents, students and educators determine what aptitudes and abilities young people possess.

For decades, the largest training organization in the country, the U.S. military, has used a series of aptitude tests to place recruits in the jobs they are best equipped to handle.

From those years of experience, they have developed a program to help young people find their best path in terms of schools and careers. The program is: https://www.march2success.com/

Through a series of assessment tests and tutorials, the program helps users know their natural abilities and aptitudes, thereby helping them determine their best career path.

March2Success is a FREE website providing users access to online study materials to help improve their scores on a variety of standardized tests, and self-paced study programs in math, English and science, as well as college readiness courses that include pre-assessment tests which help to generate a custom learning path for each student.

The learning path includes interactive lessons, quizzes and additional practice tests. Also included is information to help students navigate the college application process of admissions and financial aid, as well as college application and acceptance planning guides.

The benefits of March2Success for students cannot be overstated. It is the best tool available to match students with their ideal training programs.

At the Education Summit I attended last month, the local Army recruiting command gave presentations on how March2Success can help students and schools achieve their best educational matches.

I hope that the Department of Education leadership at that conference learned how beneficial the program can be, and will use it to help students determine their best educational paths.

That would be a huge win-win for students and schools. The next step needed is to make sure that there are enough CTE openings for all students who are best suited for them, based on their skills assessments.

For the sake of all students, let’s all do everything we can to ensure that the Department of Education can achieve this goal. Join the CTE Revolution!

For our economy and society to continue to prosper: SCHOOLS MUST DEVELOP EACH STUDENT’S INDIVIDUAL NATURAL ABILITIES AND TALENTS – WHATEVER THEY ARE.

Academic & Trade Education are Two Sides of a Coin. This column explores the impact of CTE programs on students, society, and the economy.

Mike Porcelli: life-long mechanic, adjunct professor, and host of Autolab Radio, is committed to restoring trade education in schools before it’s too late. https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-porcelli-master-mechanic-allasecerts/ 

CTE Shop Class:  NOW – IT’S HIGH-TECH

By Mike Porcelli

Welcome to the second chapter of “The Other Side Of Education,” a title that was inspired by my appearance last month on my friend Frank Morano’s WABC radio show, “The Other Side Of Midnight,” because trade education is the OTHER alternative to the academic education path that’s promoted by most secondary school systems.

Since the time my high school tried to discourage me from taking shop class 60 years ago, I’ve known that trade education, now CTE, is a viable alternative to the costly, “college is the only path to success,” that’s been promoted by the education establishment.

Career and technical education is not only an equally effective route… for students with the aptitude and desire, CTE offers opportunities for faster entry into high-paying, very satisfying jobs that are in high demand — with little or no debt.

Last week I again appeared on Frank’s show to discuss the extremely positive feedback we both received from our first discussion on education.

Many of his listeners called or wrote to express their support for restoring trade education. Some reported their own regrets about not being offered CTE programs. Others expressed their support for expanding those programs for current students, and their dissatisfaction with the slow pace of bringing shop classes back for those who want them.

Some people reported that because they were denied the opportunity for trade training in high school, they were forced to seek out and pay for career training on their own.

In all cases, that training provided them with highly successful careers, often with higher earnings than their classmates who were burdened by college debt.

Reactions to the first chapter of this column were much the same… great support for expanding CTE programs now, and regrets that they have been diminished for half a century.

The two sides of the education coin, academic and trade training, are NOT mutually exclusive. I took advantage of both while in high school and college.

Many others have also enjoyed the benefits of the two sides of education and gone on to earn all levels of college degrees during their careers — mostly without debt.

Others who went directly to college and could not find satisfying employment, later turned to trade schools to learn useful skills, providing them with successful careers.

For our economy and society to continue to prosper: schools must develop each student’s individual natural abilities and talents — whatever they are.

Academic & Trade Education are Two Sides of a Coin. This column explores the impact of CTE programs on students, society, and the economy.

Mike Porcelli: life-long mechanic, adjunct professor, and host of Autolab Radio, is committed to restoring trade education in schools before it’s too late. https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-porcelli-master-mechanic-allasecerts/ 

It’s Not Your Grandfather’s – It’s High-Tech

By Mike Porcelli

Shop Class is coming back…at least I hope it is.

Last month I attended the City & State Education Summit, featuring some of the leading voices on education in New York.

In his keynote address, School Chancellor David Banks announced his intention to bring back CTE – Career & Technical Education programs – the modern version of trade education, or what I call: ‘the other side of education,’ by saying, ‘It’s Not Your Grandfather’s CTE.’

His phrasing immediately got my attention, because the reference to grandfathers in the title of this column, was selected a week before the conference.

When I heard Chancellor Banks stress “It’s not your grandfather’s CTE,” I immediately thought, he understands modern CTE must necessarily be high-tech, because all trades now use technology extensively.

At least, I hope he understands, and acts accordingly.

Everything the Chancellor said, indicated he understands the importance of trade training for students who are suited for and desire it, and he has plans to make shop classes available to all who can benefit from them.

He indicated that the destruction of trade training programs over the past six decades, was misguided and destructive to many students.

It absolutely was, resulting in millions of students being under-educated by schools that deprived them of the training they needed.

Hopefully, the restoration of CTE will reduce the number of students forced into programs that don’t match their talents, desires and ambitions, leading to their poor grades, high drop-out rates, low employability and high frustration.

This combination of low skills and high frustration in students deprived of their best options, is a major cause of mental, emotional and economic distress.

When students do not have the opportunity to develop their natural talents, they will be less employable, less productive and less satisfied than those allowed to develop their potential.

Our education system is obligated to provide all students the best training options based on their abilities and needs.

Hopefully, Chancellor Banks and his administration can increase the availability of CTE programs, so that all students who need them can take advantage of them.

The goal of restoring CTE poses a commendable challenge for Banks.

For the sake of his students, I hope he is successful – but he must be held accountable.

Academic & Trade Education are Two Sides of a Coin.

This column explores the impact of CTE programs on students, society, and the economy.

Mike Porcelli is a life-long mechanic, adjunct professor and host of Autolab Radio.

He is committed to restoring trade education in schools before it’s too late.