CTE Educators

CTE Teachers Are Needed

What do you want to be when you grow up? 

That’s a question that we have heard all throughout our childhood and continue to ask our children. 

Well, do you know what you want to do?

   Students across the country have the opportunity to participate in Career and Technology Education (CTE) courses that provides students with the academic, technical, and employability skills and knowledge to pursue post-secondary training or higher education and enter a career field prepared for ongoing learning. The problem that we are facing in education, besides the teacher shortage, is the lack of qualified CTE educators to properly service all of our students. 

   Our University of Hawaii (UH) at Manoa used to have a great CTE teacher program for secondary education that produced outstanding teachers in Industrial, Technical, Business, and Family Consumer Science areas. Unfortunately, it was discontinued nearly a decade ago. In this program, CTE teacher candidates had to minor in a specific trade (or a variety of trades) in addition to the education courses. They also had to take courses in shop/lab management, grant writing for funds, project based education, and the history of Vocational education. They would observe CTE teachers at various schools followed by a semester of CTE student teaching before being awarded their bachelor’s in secondary education degree. 

   Since then, our Hawai'i Department of Education has tried to put people with industry experience in the classrooms and finding that they have the industry skills, but they couldn’t teach it to students. How are we going to prepare our students in Hawai’i for a 21^st century job market when we are having a hard time providing qualified CTE teachers?  “Today’s life and work environments require far more than thinking skills and content knowledge. The ability to navigate the complex life and work environments in the globally competitive information age requires students to pay rigorous attention to developing adequate life and career skills.” 

   Leeward Community College (LCC) has a wonderful teacher certification program for those wanting to enter the education field, but what is a qualified CTE teacher now and are we doing a disservice to our children? Are we preparing our children for college or to tackle a profession? “Today’s economy demands a better educated workforce than ever before, and jobs in this new economy require more complex knowledge and skills than the jobs of the past.” 

   The UH Manoa College of Education should reestablish the bachelor’s degree in secondary CTE education to successfully prepare our children for their passions of tomorrow. Our high school students will face the question of what do they wan to be with wide eyes and an optimistic outlook thinking that their diploma will get them into college and an outstanding job. We should be prepared and better qualified to help them answer that question.

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