Welcome to the third multimedia edition of ASBJ. In 2017, we experimented with adding video and other visuals to our articles in the October issue. The experiment allowed us to widen and deepen our storytelling. We are able to bring you, the reader, closer, so you can meet the people we interview, and you can hear their words and see them in their own spaces.
In 2018, that combination of words, video, and photos brought us into a difficult place, as teachers at a school in Missouri attended a workshop on unconscious bias. We showed the intimate setting and the emotions of both the teachers and the trainers as they grappled with this important and emotionally draining topic and work. (To read and experience “What Lies Beneath,” go to www.asbjsocialjustice.org.)
For this issue, we widened our vista to find out how perception and practice of career and technical education (CTE) were evolving. I got the chance to visit two stellar CTE programs: The Polaris Career Center in Ohio, and Greenville County Schools programs in South Carolina.
Both programs, while different, served their students and their communities while keeping their facilities and curriculum focused and up-to-date.
From talking to the students in both places, I realized that many elements of a good CTE program also would be good for every school. I asked the students what they liked about their CTE classes. Their answers were strikingly similar: They appreciated the smaller classes and the chance to learn by doing something, rather than passively sitting in their seats. They felt connected to their teachers, who, they said, got to know them personally.
Later, I interviewed Kate Kreamer, the deputy executive director of Advance CTE, who told me that, in the case of CTE programs, “You can hear about it, but it’s better to see.” I agree, and I hope you’ll take the opportunity to go to our website and view the multimedia elements of our CTE articles at www.nsba.org/asbj.
Until the next issue...
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