My first impression is that Nebraska seems to be more on board with Cooperative Education than Arizona. They are getting kids as young as the 5th grade involved. Arizona's plan is to start them at 16. In my opinion one would have to look at any data from Nebraska that would point to the successes of starting kids from the 5th grade. Arizona's approach makes a little more sense to me because they are hitting young adults that are actually starting to think about their future. Not to say that Nebraska isn't doing the same thing they are just starting at a much younger age. I think we are missing something as a nation by making our kids choose what they want to be when they grow up at such an early age. I'm not on board with this concept. I look back at our predecessors and their achievements and wonder why we think that robbing our kids of their childhood and teen years is a benefit to them. It seems to me that many of the great minds of the past were allowed to explore the world naturally and not be pushed into make such life decisions until they were ready; not when society says they should be ready. We wonder why or kids in general are suffering from adult illnesses and addictions. It is because we have put them there with our desire for them to have a plan for their life before they have even had a chance to experience life. Enough of my soapbox about our desire to force our kids into careers way before their time.
On to the rest of Coop Education. I look at the requirements for the teachers and both want them to have a Coop Endorsement. Nebraska on the other hand requires much more of their teachers before they can get their endorsement. That says something about how serious they take the program. I do not have any new information to add to this as Cooperative Education is not an option in my district. I really can not say which is more beneficial having no experience with Coops.
Based on the reading it appears that running a Coop requires a full time teacher. In my district we do not run on block. We have experimented with block scheduling but found that it reduced our numbers in the CTE department. Mostly due to the continued added academic requirements handed down by the state. Winslow is a railroad town with very littel to offer in the way of industry. Coops for anything other then child care would be very hard to implement in this town.
From Sean...
ReplyDeleteVery interesting comments. I believe that we shouldnt pigeon hole our youth, I still dont know what I want to be when I grow up. I do like the work ethic aspect of things. The younger we start them, the more potential they will have. I am talking exposure here, not picking their career. There is something to be said for that. When I did my part one, I made the comment that I felt Arizona's program seemed more simple then that of NE. You brought up some aspects I hadnt thought about; more strict educator hoops to jump through and such. This all being said, there is a defined positive here; maybe the program is superior by the journey that the teachers must take prior to being eligible for the endorsement. As you put it, they take it serious.