Answering
a Question
What are the benefits of attending a vocational or technical school versus
attending a traditional high school and university? It really depends one ones
career choice, and the time at which a decision is made to what that career may
be. Many students who are in their freshman or sophomore years in high school
may have a good idea of what they want to do when the get a job. Some may want
to be teachers, dentists, or mechanics. These careers fields are examples of
some programs available for students in vocational schools to prepare for
their careers.
While attending a traditional high
school, students attend classes such as English, science, social studies, math
and some electives that could include physical education and a foreign
language. These classes are meant to strictly teach students to go on to
further education, providing very little hope of a career straight from high
school. They provide no training which is career focused. Many students do not like school because of
this format. They see no point in what they are learning and see no way it
could possibly help them in their future. Some students drop out of school and
try to find work, which is difficult.
By the time students reach the age
of attending high school, they probably have a pretty good understanding of
what they would like for a career. These students can choose to attend
vocational schools, and experience real world work experience in their field of
choice while still attending high school. Any student who is unsure of their
desired career could enroll in a program which explores all of the career
fields offered and gives the student a better understanding of what he or she
may like. Once a decision has been made, they can enroll in their career field.
One program offered at the Delaware Area Career Center is the Power Sports and
Diesel Technology program. This is a course which is taken during one’s junior
and senior years in high school to learn various job traits related to mechanical
components on various pieces of equipment. Some of the topics which were
covered included hydraulics, diesel fuel systems, gasoline fuel systems, final
drives, Power Take Offs, transmissions, and shop safety. The course consists of
four class periods of forty five minutes each. One period was spent in a
related class room taking notes or doing class discussions or tests on topics
which were being worked on. The other three periods were spent in the lab area,
which is a shop that allows students to actually work on the equipment they had
been learning about. This is a very hands on program. Other programs often
operate in the same format. But the learning doesn’t stop there. The lab
programs are only half of the school day. The rest of the school day is spent
at either their career center, in academic classes, which include government, phycology, math, physics and english for example, or at their traditional
high school. This insures that students continue in their academic learning
along with learning their trade. Often times student enjoy school more when
attending a vocational school. They may feel like the topics that they are
learning about are relevant to their lives. Grades typically improve due to the
liking of school. Vocational schools offer more for high school students.
Although vocational schools promote attending college, it is very easy for
students to find a job that they like without attending any college. These
schools may team up with local colleges or local businesses to ensure that what
is being taught is up to date and what the work force needs. This helps for an
easier transition to college as well.
In conclusion, vocational schools
offer more benefits to high school students than a traditional high school
student. They will be better prepared for the work force from gaining real life
job experience while still attending high school. They also may be better
prepared for college from the connections that vocational schools have with
local colleges.
Work
Cited
Lucas, Jeff. Steve Lust. Power Sports and Diesel Technology lecture
notes. Delaware Area Career Center. Delaware Ohio, 2011-2013.
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