The video, Profile of a Graduate (2016), made me ponder, what has been the most important thing I have learned in the past few months from my classes in the Educate VA program. The first thing that comes to mind is that today’s teachers have a lot of work to do to get the students ready for the real world. I believe the most crucial part of education is convincing students that school is for them. It is for their future selves, their future choices, and their future lives. School is preparing them for the workforce and higher education if they choose to take that path. I think a lot of students see school as something they need to get through to get to adulthood. I think our education system needs to work harder on exploring ways to show kids that what they are learning today will be useful when they leave the classroom. According to Urquhart and Frazee (2012), “employers rank reading and writing as top deficiencies in new hires” (p.xi) and the fault lies within the school systems by making K-12 reading texts easier while “college and workplace texts have become more complex” (p.xv). Improving the literacy skills of all of our students is important. Unfortunately, according to a brief I read from the Association for Career Technical Education (ACTE) (2009), achievement in literacy in the United States drops dramatically after the fourth grade. It is worse for “minorities, students with disabilities and English language learners” (CTE’s Role in Adolescent Literacy, 2009, p.1) who fall even further behind the average student. This insufficiency in literacy skills can affect a person’s entire life. The secondary education focus of reading is on fiction text to develop the student’s literacy skills. Sadly, this is mismatched to what is needed to succeed in the real world. Carol Larkin is quoted in the above brief saying that approximately, “80% or more of 21st Century Workers’ reading, and writing will involve the nonfiction tasks of reading and responding to quantitative information and documents while 80% of high school focuses on fiction” (CTE’s Role in Adolescent Literacy, 2009, p.3). Again, we need to work harder on giving our students what they need to succeed post-graduation.
The 2019 Framework for the Future: Workplace Readiness Skills in Virginia Report (Crespin, 2019) showed that employers need students and entry-level workers who have completed a hands-on work experience, have had a greater emphasis placed on their work ethic, has acquired enhanced interpersonal skills, and can present themselves with more initiative and confidence. Implementing 21st Century Workplace Readiness Skills for the Commonwealth to all students with an emphasis on critical thinking, creative thinking, communication, collaboration, and citizenship will help our students be successful after high school. Being in the Career and Technical Education (CTE) Department as a Family and Consumer Science teacher, I am required to teach these skills and many others to prepare my students for the workplace. I wonder though if a student is not enrolled in these courses do they receive the same emphasis in their other courses. The only course I know that all Virginia Public High school graduates must take that incorporate workplace readiness skills is the Personal Finance and Economics Class. And since this course is under the CTE department they are required to take the Workplace Readiness Skills assessment exam; I wonder if this is enough without actual work experience. I think a lot of mindsets need to shift before we have succeeded in truly providing all students what they need to succeed. I agree with the conclusion from the video that more hands on experience with internships, externships, and summer workplace jobs should be created to prepare our students to be what these employers need. I am glad I am part of the curriculum that focuses on life skills and workplace readiness. I plan on putting an emphasis on reading, writing and technology during my required lessons so I can help produce workplace ready employees.
REFERENCES
Crespin, K. P. (2019). (rep.). Framework for the Future: Workplace Readiness Skills in Virginia. Retrieved from https://www.ctecs.org/sites/default/files/files/WRS%20Summary%20Report%20FINAL%202-15-19.pdf
CTE's Role in Adolescent Literacy. (2009, November). Association for Career Technical Education (ACTE). https://www.acteonline.org/issue-briefs/.
Google Docs. (2019, November). 2019CompPlanUpdate11_11_19_final.docx. Roanoke County Public Schools. https://docs.google.com/viewerng/viewer?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rcps.us%2F%2Fcms%2Flib%2FVA01818713%2FCentricity%2FDomain%2F1505%2F2019CompPlanUpdate11_11_19_final.docx.
Virginia Department of Education. (2016). Profile of A Graduate. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAkALn4mF1g.
CTE's Role in Adolescent Literacy. (2009, November). Association for Career Technical Education (ACTE). https://www.acteonline.org/issue-briefs/.
Urquhart, V., & Frazee, D. (2012). Teaching reading in the content areas: If not me, then who? (3rd ed., pp. 1–31). ASCD.