<p>I stole this from city data. Lol </p>
<p>Anyway do you think schools should have more vocational or trade classes as in auto body, wood work, tech etc. In addition to AP and Honor courses.</p>
<p>Yes, absolutely. A significant portion of students from our school district went on to vocational paths like radiology tech. From both a career standpoint, and for general knowledge, learning how to use your hands is not bad. </p>
<p>I for one would like schools to offer a choice on whether a student wants to know what Bismarck did or learn how to change a flat or brake pads.</p>
<p>If there’s enough interest to fill the classes, then yes. If not, then no. </p>
<p>At my old high school we had “career and technology” courses that were required for graduation. It was, without a doubt, the most worthless requirement. A class like wood work or cooking applies to the careers of very few people. It was a waste of valuable class space and had no bearing on my future plans. Definitely shouldn’t be a requirement. If people are interested then it could be a fine elective.</p>
<p>High schools used to have cooking and wood work but lately I only see automotive, etc…</p>
<p>Shouldn’t this question be in the HS Life forum?</p>
<p>It’s a good thread for this forum, too, if the OP wants some parents’ opinions.</p>
<p>I know that in the town next door to mine, if you want to be a firefighter/police officer/prison guard you go to a special high school that has courses that prepare you and has tougher physical education classes. You have to give up some things (they don’t have band there) but if you know what you want to do, it can really give you a head start. I think there should be more of these classes or schools.</p>
<p>One problem with offering VT classes is that even when they’re offered, we’re always told not to take them because to be attractive to colleges we need to take academic classes instead. My high school has a lot of them like Auto Shop, CAD drawing, Home Building (where they actually build a house during the course of the year), Hospitality, Hairdressing, and a few others I think. But not so many people who intend to go to college take them.</p>
<p>^ ^</p>
<p>Not only does my urban public magnet offer some of these types of classes, we’re REQUIRED to take at least two of them on top of the academic requirements in order to graduate. </p>
<p>I took metal shop and engineering technology (Built a larger jet plane model out of plastic and metal). </p>
<p>That’s also not including the 1 year drafting requirement which was considered a sophomore year rite of passage for all students. Still remember those T-squares.</p>
<p>These sorts of classes are taught at the Community Colleges in my state - it seems that it would make the most sense to send high-school students to our local Community Colleges if they want this career track. It doesn’t solve the problem for districts that don’t have Community Colleges nearby though.</p>
<p>Schools in our large urban/suburban sch. district offer some “vocational” classes.<br>
Every school doesn’t offer the same classes though. Both my kids took drafting as an elective class. Some schools offer culinary arts, horticulture, auto shop,cosmetology, fashion design.<br>
I think it’s a good idea. Every kid isn’t preparing for a four year college. These classes give them a good introduction to careers they might be interested in.</p>
<p>Interesting points. My school is split up into houses there’s the humanities house which would e undecided, then liberal arts with concentrations in cosmotology, welding, carpentry,auto shop, cooking (cosmotolOgy, auto body bth have degree granting programs for assistant jobs); In AARTS academy there’s drama, fashion an theatrical design (fashion girls create outfits and har a fashion show 2 kids were awarded scholarships from here) then there’s the health and human services which is 180 CNA course, day care center (teen and tots and no it’s not for students kids). Law and security prepares you for either NYS trooper, NYPD or security guard examination and them there’s communications. </p>
<p>I think in general it works out well or my school because I am in an inner city & high poverty area so those who can afford college are rare. And ny everyone is a CC type of student who will get scholarships so this helps out a lot. </p>
<p>That school with the increased phys Ed programs sound cool but as to other ppls schools I wouldn’t make these courses mandatory at all.</p>
<p>We combine with a few counties to offer some programs. Computer networking, EMT, preschool, cosmetology, automotive and law enforcement are some of the classes. Several people get jobs right out of high school. Unfortunately, because of the high concentration of people with these certificates, it is still difficult to get a job in these fields without moving. </p>
<p>Automotive in hs barely covers all that is necessary to work on the cars, so mechanics still need a few more years of study. What we are lacking is electrician, plumbing and building trades in our area, though our local industries hire hs grads in the apprentice program (though it is normally if you are a relative of an existing person).</p>
<p>HS students in our area have this option through a local vocational/technical school. They can take courses for half days their junior and senior years and graduate from HS with both a HS diploma and a technical certificate. The vocational/technical school has an articulation agreement with state community colleges and also with a local university and they can take additional designated classes to earn their associate’s degree, or transfer in the certificate hours with credit toward a four-year degree.</p>
<p>My S started HS early and was way ahead of his graduation requirements. I suggested he might want to learn something “practical” through this program. Would have been nice to have someone in the family with skills in automotive, plumbing, electrical, construction, etc.</p>
<p>Our school offers auto shop, drafting (CAD), Home-ec classes, etc. There are also opportunities for kids to take classes in the morning and go work at jobs in the afternoon and earn credit for those jobs-office jobs, nursing assistants, etc. Most of the high schools around her offer courses like that or opportunities for those courses at the community colleges.</p>
<p>Of course they should! Ok, CC is full of kids at private schools and “top/ranked” publics, but the rest of the population attends more average schools, where half the students won’t go to college, let alone a “top” college. Yes, vo tech classes are vital, and to serve the average hs population, should be at least as if not more plentiful tha AP classes. The high schools in my district offer classes in automotive, CNA certification, computer (not programming), bookkeeping, etc. One can also take some life skills type classes. D2 took culinary arts. Great class. Wish d1 could have had time for it.</p>
<p>The votech classes in our area are at a different building and kids that participate in votech leave the high schools in the afternoon to take the votech classes junior and senior year. It works the same way that college_query writes in the earlier post. In our area the opportunities are there for kids to pursue what they want to pursue. It is also not unusual for top students to take votech classes during the spring of senior year as enrichment to what they may be doing in college.</p>
<p>I think that there is a real dearth of excellent vocational education in many US school systems.</p>
<p>Ditto above “Of course they should”.</p>
<p>My son took three years of Project Lead the Way pre-engineering courses (all that were available at his school) and those are hands-on courses that I believe should be available to every student at every school.</p>
<p>For those that say that wood working or cooking or home building don’t apply to your future careers, I would challenge you to tell me how ANY high school course applies to a future career (with perhaps the exception of some high level math that some students get the opportunity to take as upperclass students). Even for those who take a journalism course that are intending to study journalism or those that take a science course because they are intending to study science a high school course is at such a basic level it provides little more than an introduction to the material that may apply to your future careers.</p>
<p>But there are skills that are present in those courses that can and do apply to all future careers - problem solving, team work, project planning, understanding and following instructions, etc, etc</p>
<p>But it is not just more vocational courses that should be present at schools, there should also be more fine arts which provide different perspectives and require different thought processes to be successful. In fact to obtain an academic honors degree in Indiana you are required to complete a minimum of one year of a fine art (which includes music and theater arts).</p>
<p>There should also be more emphasis on global studies and the introduction of foreign language at early ages. At my son’s high school he got a choice between Spanish and French, other high schools in our rural area don’t even have 2 selections to choose from.</p>
<p>But with school budgets being what they are currently and being cut and reduced each and every year, tough choices have to be made and schools have to decide which of those skills is most essential, currently for most schools, that is core acadmic subjects.</p>
<p>Our school system had a program called “College Experience”. Juniors and seniors could take classes at the CC and the classes also counted toward their h.s. credit and were figured into gpa as honors classes. The school system paid for tuiton and books. It was fanastic deal. S2 took two classes there when he was a senior. He left h.s. at 12:30 every day (which he loved). One of his CC classes was a 3 hr.night class once a week. The other class was T/Th 3:30-5:00. Both courses transferred to his state u. when he went to college. It was a great deal. He wished he had done it his jr. year too.</p>