Showing posts with label CO-OP. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CO-OP. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Other options

Today I read a the blog called Educational Technology Guy, in my newly discovered Google Reader, and found an interesting article that goes along with my previous post: "Should we force students to learn? or How can we change schools to engage students?"

In his posts he was talking about how there are so many students taking classes that don't interest them, therefore, they put their heads down, stare out the window, doodle in their notebooks; they do everything but pay attention. Many classes should be required because everyone needs, at the very least, a basic knowledge of English, math, science, history, etc. However, this blogger asks, if the students need to be left struggling in upper level classes? Schools should offer more vocational classes. Not every student wants to be an English major, mathematician, or historian. If more vocational classes were offered, it might make children actually want to go to school. Students would be learning about subjects they believed would benefit them and wouldn't feel like they were wasting their time.

My high school actually offered these types of classes. If I remember correctly, by junior year we had the choice to go join a CO-OP Program for the second half of the day. They offered cooking and restaurant management classes, car mechanics, flower arrangement, graphic design, etc. I, actually, wasn't a student that was particularly interested in the program's courses, but a lot of my peers jumped at the the chance to join.