What do I mean by CTE? It’s short for Career Tech Education. Or, in anti Common Core language, it’s ‘adult common core’. Since I began my blog, each Thursday has given you solid evidence of how far and wide the CCSS Machine has gone to pump up the alignment to support the ‘cradle to career’ rhetoric. Today’s post looks at a few ways the CTE is being sold to our students to make it look attractive. Nothing says 21st Century Skilled Workforce like a CTE aligned student.
The YouTube CTE Channel:
If you visit the popular channel much, you’ll know how it works. Go to www.youtube.com, type in the search bar what you’re looking for, and boom. Instant gratification! Right? Well, many marketing campaigns are on YouTube as well…especially in promoting CCSS, CTE, or whatever other alphabet soup name the agenda is going by these days. When I typed in “Career Tech Education”, one of the first results which appeared was from the ACTE (Association for Career and Technical Education)
Dr. Matula’s Pitch to Leaders:
From the “Build Your Future”, Dr. Anne Matula speaks to those in charge of education about how exciting a ‘national resume’ will be. Notice this is for not only adults, but will reach back to ‘junior high’ (aka: middle school)Note how she’ll share that these trained workers will earn more than those people who have completed their masters degrees!
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LEwLH4dp2Q&w=560&h=315]
If you’d like to see a pfd of a presentation supporting Dr. Matula’s presidency of the CTC of the Coastal Bend (Craft Training Center of the Coastal Bend). I’ve provided it for you. Be sure to note on page 7 that EVERY completed ‘module’ for this program is tracked NATIONALLY. In other words, data mining in action. See: 3.1 Dr Ann Matula (*Note: in 2014 Goodwill Industries named Dr. Matula as Chief Education Officer. See: http://www.goodwillsa.org/the-good-news/247-goodwill-announces-dr-anne-matula-as-new-chief-education-officer) In a testimony before the Texas Senate, Dr. Matula had quite a bit to add about CTE. Notice which publisher is providing the course textbooks. Hint: Pearson. See: 0410-AnneMatula-1
Next Up? Parent Touts the CTE!
In this next video, also provided by Build Your Future, is a parent named Mary McQueen. McQueen is also the Executive Director of Development at DelMar College. DelMar College belongs to a “BoldFuture” Community Initiative. What’s so ‘bad’ about that? When looking beneath the sales pitch (again, that ‘collective’ mindset of ‘we’re all together in this’) Take a look at the education component of the 6 part project. The goal appears to be pumping up the TX Work Force! That document: 06profile_educ (to see any updates in the project, click on the update tab, under the “Final Phase”. http://www.boldfuturecoastalbend.org/publications.html
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vF0Rz_sC_MI&w=560&h=315]
A Beginning?
This 12 minute video expresses the ‘life changing’ aspects of CTE as its sales pitch. Not quite sure how effective the message is when you hear one of the speakers state something along the lines of ‘you get to apply what you should of learned in school’. Note the amount of promise each speaker mentions, the self discovery. Note how a particular person with special needs is featured.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erMMxnMNpqQ&w=560&h=315]
The Student’s PSA videos:
The ACTE has a contest encouraging students to submit short videos promoting CTE. Here’s one of the winners from 2013, not his use of fun, vibrancy. From a young person’s viewpoint I can totally understand how I might want to log on and learn more.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ar7DfORqnrk&w=420&h=315]
There’s More!:
ACTE’s YouTube channel has many more videos. If you want to see the other Student videos selling your kids on CTE, visit: https://www.youtube.com/user/actecareertech
A Final Video:
From the 2014 CTE Policy Update, a 50 minute video detailing how all the states using CTE are faring in implementation.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdKONnTn_s4&w=420&h=315]
To get the pdf version of the report (which is a ‘must have’). StatePolicyReview_PPT_2-5-15_FINAL
My Other CTE Articles:
If you’d like to access my other CTE articles (you can also search by Career Pathways, Career Clusters) here’s the link for several previously published articles detailing CTE.
https://www.commoncorediva.com/?s=career+tech+education
There are at least 6 pages of articles, so if you are gearing up to fight CCSS in the post-secondary realm, you’ve got plenty of fact based evidence!
Closing:
Please note that I’m not against careers, post secondary education, or allowing a student to be able to discover where they fit in society. I DO, however,think it shouldn’t be through the CCSS aligned programs. The thinly veiled ‘workforce’, ‘talent supply’, ‘human capital’ goals we’ve heard all too many times when it comes to careers nowadays. We should be more focused on each student attaining the BEST education for them. Not every student can or will ever fit a mold, look at those of us now out of school. We didn’t fit molds, so why are so many willing to help promote all the ways in which our students ARE being placed into career molds? Remember, where CCSS is concerned, NOTHING is as it appears on the surface. There is much more underneath.
