Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Do any of your kids' schools offer these programs for students where they can rotate between classes and work? My high school has what is called "Vo-Tech" where students rotate between classes and taking up trades such as child care, culinary arts,etc. Not sure if anyone else preferred this method of learning verses sitting in school for 8 hours a day. I think it could be a good tool.
I am not sure if you mean rotate when you feel like it or rotate when the bell goes. Most high schools rotate classes when the bell goes.
I went to a school for a year that was into what they called open plan self paced learning.
The idea was that on mondays you sat in classes and were taught and were given your work for the week and then you worked on it for the week at your own pace and handed it in the next monday. During the week, the idea was that if you felt like doing maths you went to the maths class room if you felt like doing science then you went to the science room and so on. Took us kids about a millisecond to relaise that if you felt like doing nothing then nothing was what you did.
Personally I do not think kids have the self motivation to do this. I also think it does not set them up for the real world where they will most likely, at least for the first few years in the owrk force have a boss that is telling them what to do. If they have been used to doing what they want when they want, they may not take too kindly to being told what to do and when.
I think kids need structure and encouragement and a bit of push from time to time.
My kid's high school offers this. I think it is a good alternative for the kids who won't necessarily be going on to college. Not everyone is college-bound. I think it is good for these kids to learn a trade that they can use when they graduate. Some of these kids can expand on what they have learned, if they choose to, after high school.
My kid's high school offers this. I think it is a good alternative for the kids who won't necessarily be going on to college. Not everyone is college-bound. I think it is good for these kids to learn a trade that they can use when they graduate. Some of these kids can expand on what they have learned, if they choose to, after high school.
This.
My only issue with it is that it can track kids that might not be ready to choose one track vs the other. Money problems existed in my family when I was in high school, and while I did end up in college, and should have gone to college based on my academic abilities, I would have jumped on the opportunity to go on a vo-tech track because to me that sounded more practical and would lead to a job.
I am not sure if you mean rotate when you feel like it or rotate when the bell goes. Most high schools rotate classes when the bell goes.
I went to a school for a year that was into what they called open plan self paced learning.
The idea was that on mondays you sat in classes and were taught and were given your work for the week and then you worked on it for the week at your own pace and handed it in the next monday. During the week, the idea was that if you felt like doing maths you went to the maths class room if you felt like doing science then you went to the science room and so on. Took us kids about a millisecond to relaise that if you felt like doing nothing then nothing was what you did.
Personally I do not think kids have the self motivation to do this. I also think it does not set them up for the real world where they will most likely, at least for the first few years in the owrk force have a boss that is telling them what to do. If they have been used to doing what they want when they want, they may not take too kindly to being told what to do and when.
I think kids need structure and encouragement and a bit of push from time to time.
I've never heard of "open plan self paced learning" before. I don't know if I agree with this method either. I think alot of kids today would take advantage of it. What I was referring to was how some schools have vocational or co-op programs where the student has full class schedules on some days but on other days they bus them to a community college or something (at least that's what they did at my hihg school) and they are able to work in culinary arts, welding, etc. Where as the co-op program, I believe you're basically working and going to school.
Vo-tech was/is an option where I went to high school. Kids could take anything from masonry to cabinet making to auto-body-repair to taxidermy...there were a dozen or more options and students who were not college bound made good use of the program. I recently looked again and they have updated the programs since I graduated but kept the same skill building educational concepts.
Where we live now there is a magnet school that has 6 academic programs. Some allow you to graduate with certifications or credits towards certifications, college credits, etc. There is also an Early College program where high school students complete a 2 year associates degree along with their high school diploma.
IMO, we need a lot more of the programs like vo-tech, early college or even the magnet schools with specialties built into the coursework.
Yes, we have a tech school in our area also. My DD is enrolled in the health care program. It is not just for kids who are not college bound. My DD plans on becoming a surgeon and starting this semester they are right in the hospital. She was so happy to get the option she wanted which was being in the operating and recovery rooms.
Our neighbor's daughter attended vo-tech for health care and she is now a professor at Harvard. She is a certified pediatric plastic surgeon.
My daughter attended our local vo-tech for environmental conservation. A few of her friends attend for culinary skills because they want to become either chefs or bakers.
We have two vo-tech schools that our local high school uses. They have wonderful programs and turn out excellently skilled kids, whether they are going on to college or trade school.
Yes, we have a tech school in our area also. My DD is enrolled in the health care program. It is not just for kids who are not college bound. My DD plans on becoming a surgeon and starting this semester they are right in the hospital. She was so happy to get the option she wanted which was being in the operating and recovery rooms.
Quote:
Originally Posted by NoExcuses
Our neighbor's daughter attended vo-tech for health care and she is now a professor at Harvard. She is a certified pediatric plastic surgeon.
My daughter attended our local vo-tech for environmental conservation. A few of her friends attend for culinary skills because they want to become either chefs or bakers.
We have two vo-tech schools that our local high school uses. They have wonderful programs and turn out excellently skilled kids, whether they are going on to college or trade school.
That I like. I think the ability to combine the votech with an academic track that still prepares one for college can help kids get a better idea of what they wish to major in (or not major in, if they find they don't like it!).
I think it's a great idea precisely because, as others pointed out, not all kids are cut out to be academic. Forcing non academic kids into an intellectual style of education only frustrates them and lowers their self esteem. I think we should return dignity to occupations that are "hands on," craftsmanship oriented or creative, etc.
I hear what Lisdol is saying on the one hand, about children from poor or uneducated families feeling pressured to choose a vocational track but I think by highschool, most kids are either motivated and inspired by academics or they are not. Also, just because one is not academic in highschool does not mean they can't develop that ability or interest later (it happens -- a lot, actually). Some kids would be better off learning a marketable skill and working for a few years and then going to college in their mid 20s instead of at age 18. When I was a freshman in college, about half my dorm didn't return for sophomore year! They just weren't ready to buckle down and study. Maybe they never would be, in which case learning to be a carpenter or a seamstress would be better for them (and these occupations should NOT be considered "less than" just because they don't require a college education.)
Not trying to make everyone completely equal -- that's a PC thing and not my style at all. Just saying that we should be able to acknowledge that some people are suited for academia and others are not, and everyone has something useful and important to contribute if they will only apply themselves and work hard. Someone who has the stamina to attend 8 years of higher learning and 6 years of residency to become a surgeon should be lauded for their intellectual ability, but someone who apprentices for a few years to become a carpenter should be respected for their craftsman and creative abilities.
In highschool thus far, we've only rewarded one type of intelligence. That has been disastrous.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
