Personal Statement: Career Technical Education

This report will provide the history of career technical education in the United States and relevance of legislative actions, laws, acts and policies beginning as early as the 18th century and continuing through current-day society. Chronologically documented, the primary focus is on the Carl D. Perkins Career Technical Education 2006, its origin, issues and effects of each amendment that led to important federal government legislations. For an understanding of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education 2006 Act, an introduction section will provide information on amended acts, laws, and policies that led to the present act and career technical education. Other sections will discuss time periods of local and national legislation changes in the Carl D. Perkins Act, how they affect the present and future of career and technical education. A brief conclusion of the entire research to include summary findings and references.

This study follows three cohorts of students- those who started ninth grade in 2008, 2009, and 2010 (the high school classes of 2012 through 2014)- from ninth grade through the year after they should have graduated high school. These cohorts include over 100,000 individual students and more than 350,000 student-year observations. More specifically, all of these students are enrolled in Arkansas high schools. This study includes all students in Arkansas that are enrolled in CTE courses.

As my high school career ends, I notice increasingly how much life that I have yet to live and the opportunities available to me in the years ahead. The past four years have been great preparation for my future endeavors, but college is the path leading to my full potential. In order to reach the end of this path, I utilize my most valuable trait—determination—to set short and long-term goals and achieve them. It is with this “can do” spirit—like the one my grandpa, a former Navy Seabee, evinces through his stories—that I have set my personal goals: to volunteer my time in service to others, further develop leadership skills through experiential learning, and excel at my school work no matter how challenging it may seem. Though these may

In ‘Abolish high school’ by Rebecca solnit, she writes “High school is often considered a definitive American experience, in two senses: an experience that nearly everyone shares, and one that can define who you are, for better or worse, for the rest of your life.” which means high school isn’t wonderful for many people, it has a lot of challenges for teens, maybe some of them ‘kill’ by pressure and challenges, it would affect their rest of life. The high school is not a wonderful place for everyone. People should skip it and escaped it that you would don’t be suffered by it. However I disagree with her, because I believe high school is a indispensable place for students. It is a place for students, they can find a great relationship and an unexceptionable place to learn. On the other hand, I believe the high school is the key to definitive teens who they are in an great way. For example, Teachers would shape everyone’s identity, make you strong to face challenges, and open child’s heart. For example, in my childhood, when I lived with my parents, I was happy to learn, because my parents always encourage me to learn. Also, they want me learn from mistake, because It is a way to learn. They want me to be someone. However my parents left me at 12 age, they have to work more hard to support this home. I can’t focus on learning, I was playing video games every day, because I think I was ‘release’ from my parents. I have no ideas about my future. There is no one like my parents to guide me , I feel alone and confuses. Until I was be a part of high school.The high school make me stronger and hopeful. Teachers guide me walk on the right way again, they talk to me about future and how wonderful thing would happen in high school. I

For me, the decision to become a teacher is more of a way of life than a career. I have always loved school, practicing at being school marm from a young age, and voraciously devouring every shred of education offered me in my career as a student. If it were possible, I would be a student for the rest of my life. And then I still would not have learned enough. As a teacher, I hope to instill this appetite for knowledge in secondary students. They are, after all, the future leaders of the world, and what better place to expand the minds of the generations to come than here in Appalachia where education programs, especially the sciences, which I plan to teach, are poorly funded and children’s dreams

When I think of my career goals, I ask myself what I want to accomplish in life. I know that I love helping patients and families, and I want to continue to do that. I always am changing my mind on what I want to do after my BSN. I don’t know when or if I will get my masters or continue to work at the bedside for a while. I love what I do and what I do for other people and families. Working in the critical care unit feels like home. I get to do what I love.

Who knew High School would be over in a blink of an eye? Four short years and a whole chapter of your life is over. The goal everyone was striving to achieve was completed, yet an even bigger thing was approaching “Life”. All 365 of us would venture out into the world and start new journeys hundreds of miles apart.

Typically, when someone hears ‘medical field’, automatically you think of people with white lab coats and a stethoscope around their neck ready to take your vitals. Obviously this comes to mind because these doctors and surgeons are the face of the medical field, but in reality there is so much more. There are actually about 300 different occupations one can have in the health care field. A large part of that is nurses. Nurses are the basis of the medical field; they are almost as important as the patients themselves. They have always been a major part of our lives. Nurses have been with us since we first opened our eyes, from birth to broken bones, nurses were there. They have very difficult and extensive careers, they dedicate their lives to their work and to their patients. Some nurses spend long nights away from their family and friends to help others, at times their shifts can last as long as 24 hours. In my opinion nurses are the real super heroes, for this reason I have decided to pursue a major in nursing. I still have a lot to learn and many years of schooling to go, but personally its worth the wait.

The Association for Career and Technical Education is the largest national education association dedicated to the advancement of education that prepares youth and adults for careers. It’s our mission is to provide educational leadership in developing a competitive workforce. The ACTE is the nation’s largest not-for-profit association committed to the advancement of education that prepares youth and adults for successful careers. ACTE represents the community of CTE professionals, including educators, administrators, researchers, guidance counselors and others at all levels of education. ACTE is committed to excellence in providing advocacy, public awareness and access to resources, professional development and leadership opportunities. ACTE is committed to enhancing the job performance and satisfaction of its members; to increasing public awareness and appreciation for career and technical programs and to assuring growth in local, state, and federal funding for these programs by communicating and working with legislators and government leaders (www.acte.org).

I thought the best way to go about high school was to dial down my enthusiasm for anything and everything. I didn’t care about school, I didn’t care about college, and my future wasn’t even a thought in my mind. When I got out of high school I remember getting over the excitement just in time to realize that I had no idea what I was going to do with my life.

My decision to be a teacher did not come easily to me. This choice was dependent on a reflection about what I was passionate about and how I could make a difference. I have chosen to become a teacher, as I believe teachers have the ability to provide future generations the stimulation for one of the most significant roles in life; to become a lifelong learner. Many teachers that I have had during my education have had a positive impact on my decision to grow and develop the skills that are fundamental to pursue a successful teaching career. My aim is to be a part of an honorable profession with the optimism that one day I will become an efficacious teacher who can provide future teachers with inspiration, as my teachers have provided for me. Through personal educational experiences and peer-reviewed academic literature, I am able to shape my approach to my pre-service teaching, as it will influence my future practice. As a teacher, there is not just one singular approach to educating students; there is a need for flexibility, diversity, adaptation and reflection.

This past semesters has been an eye opening experience that has changed my views on teacher. Ever since I was little, I have always wanted to be a fourth grade teacher. However after being placed in a second grade classroom my views have changed. I liked the idea of teaching fourth grade because my fourth grade teacher was my inspiration in life. When I was in Ms. Petro’s class I enjoyed being able to watch the students progress over time. Being able to see the drastic improvements in little children is very rewarding and that is why I want to continue to teach lower grades. I have learned that being a teacher requires a special someone, a person who knows that sometimes you will have to deal with tough situations leaving you exhausted and feeling like you are not able to help more. But at the same time, being a teacher allows one to be a visionary for the world and those who surround you.

It was 2016, and I was finally a senior in high school. Being a senior in high school was something that I had dreamed of since my early middle school days, and at last, I was there. It was the last year in one of my least favorite environments, and I couldn’t wait to graduate and move away from the only place I had ever known. I had lived in the same town for seventeen years, and I had gone to the same school with the same people for thirteen years. I was looking forward to something new in my life. I was most excited for my senior year because it was the year that I was going to choose where I wanted to move away to and what school I wanted to spend the next four years of my life at. As the year moved along, I slowly realized that I wasn’t moving away and that I’d be staying home to attend college, which was one of the most difficult decisions that I ever had to make.

The question “What do you want to be when you grow up?” meant so many things throughout middle childhood, adolescence, and was even relevant in adulthood. My interests varied from law, to education, and even construction for a period. It took most of my lifetime and lived experiences, up until very recently, to actually figure out, make a decision, and follow through, with my true occupational goals. This paper will examine my current career path and goals. It will investigate the results of the O*Net Interest Profiler in which I participated, and how they compare to my current occupational goals. Finally, it will discuss gained insights and further resources for future career exploration.

Yet, the education does not stop at middle school, for high school really puts all the basic skills from elementary and middle school to work as the assignments and the exams become more challenging. We do not only learn about reading, writing, history, and math, we learn about the people around us as we associate with different personalities, and as we see what we have grown up to be and what we want to be later in life. Accordingly, the high school years are a time when teachers emphasize the importance of graduating and attending college in order to have a “succesful future.”