Applying Formal Education Matter to Career Classes
When working with students that are in a career college setting I have found that a majority of them do not apply the same focus to general education matter (history, math, etc.) as they do to the subjects that they see will directly impact their career.
In order to combat this issue, I have altered my teaching method, and to some extent, the subject matter in order to illustrate to the students that general education is nothing if not paramount in their career. The math skills that they will need will reflect their bottom line. The fact that without an understanding of the history of a specific ingredient (as this is in a culinary setting) you cannot truly appreciate or capitalize on the flavor of that ingredient. How economic times and trends will shape your business plan.
What are your thoughts?
Hi, Jeremy,
I teach a technical curriculum to students who have graduated from high school. Many of them were not engaged in their own education process or in the course materials until now when they have a practical goal in mind. It is my job to tie their classroom and career proficiency to all the "background" knowledge, such as math and language, that they may hardly realize they have.
Hi Jeremy,
I agree with you about student perceptions about the value of the general education courses. I teach required courses like this and I work very hard to show relevance and application of my course content to their career areas. So the more you can do to create a connection between general courses and career courses do it. Examples and case studies help to do this as well as keeping the students interest levels up.
Gary
