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INTRODUCTION AND SYNTHESIS: WHAT WE MEAN BY ALL ASPECTS
OF THE INDUSTRY AND WHAT IT MEANS FOR YOU
by Lauren Jacobs
Center for Law and Education
I teach carpentry and have my own contracting business. I'd like to
retire soon, but I'm worried. My kids are great carpenters, but they have no
idea how to raise capital, deal with zoning and contracts, or manage a
business. Looking at my students, I'm realizing that they wouldn't be prepared
to take on those responsibilities, either.
As a language arts teacher, I've been working with the vocational teachers to
integrate language arts with such subjects as food services, auto mechanics,
and carpentry. I've had students do some business correspondence and
descriptive writing, but I just don't see a way to move it much further. I'd
like to because where I have integrated learning, students have been more
engaged.
There are very few businesses and . . . jobs [are scarce] near my school. I'd
like to bridge the gap between what my students are learning in school and the
reality they are facing every afternoon when they leave the building.
I teach in a Hotel and Restaurant Careers program. My students' parents have
been holding meetings to close down the program. The parents criticize the
program as preparing their kids for menial labor and tracking them away from
college options.
I used to teach in private school. Now at public school, I really appreciate
the rights that being a union member brings me. Before my students graduate, I
want them to understand some of the current labor issues in the U.S. and be
able to look at them from different perspectives.
My students want the American Dream. They want to be successful, to make lots
of money, and run the show. They know job skills alone aren't going to get them
there.
I teach World History and U.S. History. I am now expected to integrate my
curricula with vocational education subjects. I don't see how.
Our high school is built on the belief that there are two kinds of students:
those who have "the stuff" to go to college, and those who don't. We're looking
for a way to reorganize to give all of our students the skills and knowledge
both for work and for college.
These are some of the perspectives
that have prompted educators to implement All Aspects of the Industry (AAI)
reforms--that is, to provide students with strong experience in and an
understanding of all aspects of the industry they are preparing to enter,
including planning; management; finance; technical and production skills;
underlying principles of technology; community issues; labor issues; and
health, safety, and environmental issues. Efforts to provide students with this
experience and understanding are often abbreviated to "All Aspects of the
Industry" or "AAI."
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