teachers and everyone, have you seen this TED talk?

I love him. I took a workshop with him like 20 years ago. Been a huge fan ever since.

I saw him live a couple of years ago... still amazing

Thank you for sharing this!

I have felt for a long time that insisting every student be on the college prep track was a bad idea. Having really good vocational training for our students is really important. While my own sons did well in high school, my youngest son realized in college that he was more cut out for something in the vocational realm. He got his certification in electricity at a tech school. He is now working in Atlanta doing electricity, construction and painting of sets around the city for theaters and commercials. He is very happy.

The biggest block to vocational training is not the teachers or the school....  it is the parents!  I have talked to students about vocational school if 1.)  they were not really interested in school and were just wasting their time  and 2.)  if I knew that they were really interested in something that our vocational school  offers..For instance,  students interested in becoming a fireman can get the training for free that is very costly for adults to get...  but parents can be downright insulted if it is suggested that vocational school might be a good fit for their child. 

scrapaddie, at one time I would have been insulted by vocational classes for my son as well. Some schools have vocational classes on their campus and that makes things easier. The district I teach in has one vocational campus and students can go there for either the first half of the day or the second half. Each of the 3 high schools in the district is allotted a certain number of slots. Some of the programs fill up quickly. The big problem with this system is that it can be hard for students who are also academically minded to fit in AP courses and vocational courses.

My opinions about vocational programs have changed in the last few years in part to a Mike Rowe talk that I heard. Mike Rowe speech

The speech helped open my eyes to how wrong I have been.

I agree with him as well!!

I've really changed my opinion of education during the past year or so. My son is attending an "alternative" high school program. It's self paced. Students can take longer to complete their courses or they can speed ahead and finish it early. They can sign out of classes and work in a quiet area by themselves or in a group. He can take a class online, work in the commons area at school and receive assitance from a teacher at the school. It's super flexible and well suited for him. I just couldn't see him at a traditional highschool. His learning style has always been different. He did graduate grade school with honours and he's done pretty well this year although I haven't received his final report card yet.

My dd thrived in a traditional school and just finished her first year of university in a demanding program. She has lofty goals and is a hard worker. I really can't see my son in that type of rigid program.

I agree with Donna, we need to stop telling our kids that they have to go to university and be academics. In Canada, the push is always for university. University is different than college here. For university entrance, the student has to be taking advanced courses and have a decent average to be admitted. The cutoff for many programs is crazy high. It's stressful, expensive and you may not get a job. My dd is a barista during the summer and most of the staff are university graduates working full time at the coffee shop trying to pay back student loans.

I really think the goal for children should be to grow up, get a decent job and be happy. I want my son to carefully look at his options for post secondary in terms of a trade, community college and university. Take a look at the employment statistics and the average wages. Every college in Ontario has to produce a graduate report providing this info. He has chosen a few college programs where the graduates are in demand and well paid. Ds is still in the academic program so he can still attend university if he wants but I can't see him away from home writing in depth essays on his own. He has ADD. As my dd says "it isn't university if you don't have a nervous breakdown at least once a week".

We should also be helping students who choose to go directly into the workplace from highschool. Lets give them the skills they need to be successful.