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AEP Online |
Vocational Education Classes Beginning to Enjoy a RenaissanceAs legislators in North Carolina and Florida revive programs gutted long ago and California has approved a state budget that includes $100 million for expansion in the area, vocational education seems to be experiencing a renaissance across the country. Now called career technical education courses, these programs hit their peak in early 1980s and experienced a sharp decline as standardized tests became more popular. "We have a generation of students that can answer questions on tests, know factoids, but they can't do anything," said Jim Anschwaden, executive director of the California Agricultural Teachers Association, in a recent Associated Press report. Now Congress has voted to reauthorize $1.3 billion for career-based courses, and high schools around the country are being transformed into career academies or adding smaller vocational schools within their buildings. While it will take much work for the programs to reach the status they held before - three-quarters of high school technology education programs have disappeared in the last 30 years - this latest movement illustrates how the academic world is beginning to realize the importance of the trades.
Questions, ideas, or in need of more information? Please contact Stacey Pusey at 856-241-7772. |
"Rebuilding
shop classes in U.S. high schools"
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