Getting off the bus, walking into vocational school and sitting down. The instructor greets the class as you chat with your friends, no more lecturing for the day. Only hands-on learning with your favorite trade.
Vocational school provides opportunities for students who don’t enjoy bookwork and lectures, giving them opportunities to learn and ease them into the world of trade. There are many different things to learn at vocational school and everybody does different things.
Senior Gueric Naberhaus, in the carpentry trade, said: “I love it. It’s great for anyone who has trouble with bookwork and not being able to sit still, not even just that if you just don’t like traditional schooling it’s a great option.”
It’s very easy for students to walk into vocational school knowing that they have a great instructor who will make the school day enjoyable. Even with great instructors, they are struggling to find enough of them. It can be hard for a person with a well-paying job and stable income to sacrifice that just to teach it to others.
Naberhaus said: “Most of the teachers are retired professionals and coming to be an instructor is less pay so it’s less appealing to teachers.”
Even with this issue going on, not everyone knows about the instructor’s issue. Senior Olivia Clark-Tipton, who is in health and science, said: “I’ve had one but I know there was one before her that had left to pursue more in their career.”
Even students who aren’t directly affected by the inability to find enough instructors are starting to notice.
Clark-Tipton said: “I don’t know why they are having problems finding instructors but I do know that recently there have been substitutes and replacement teachers for some.” Being forced to frequently have substitutes and replacements is a sign that the school may not have the situation as much in control as we thought.
Even with these issues going on, students are still being recommended to go to vocational school. Counselors can see what students enjoy and are strong with, as well as what they struggle with which is how they can be chosen to be offered the option; though they can also just request to go themselves.
Counselor Ann Listerman said: “Through either their counselor but also the kids can kind of- we let the kids know the opportunities it has and some kids will come to us with the interest.”
The school can not force students into vocational school but they will recommend it to those who fit the right criteria.
Listerman said: “Students who are more of a hands-on student and students who traditional school may not be their cup of tea and it’s giving them a different option because vocational school lets them focus on more of one trade and can go into the trade for a company following high school.”