Introducing Industry Certification: Exploring why a one-size-fits-all approach to education is flawed.

The school in which I teach has been an ‘A’ rated school in our state for seven years- a contrast from the scores my former school has “earned.” On both ends of the spectrum I personally observed a need to offer more skill training for students who seek a post-secondary path. But the political philosophies of the past decade- which had their genesis in the well-intentioned but catastrophic No Child Left Behind legislation- have perpetuated the pedagogically flawed notion that every person should go to college.

My philosophy is at odds with that political ideology. We must consider that perhaps not every student will find college a suitable choice for their career needs and that is okay. It is our jobs as the adults in society to ensure that every student has viable options for post-secondary school life. Consequently, I have discovered that a certain segment of our student population, while perhaps not completely excited about a traditional academic course-load, do become actively engaged in these useful (and potentially lucrative) programs. Though Industry Certification is a program not included in most School Improvement Plans and is generally unknown to many school’s faculty members (much less the general public,) it is significant for students enrolled or interested in so-called “industry” courses, such as TV production, photography, computer software, or computer programming.

Many schools have Industry Certification in our state but these programs have not garnered the headline-grabbing attention of other issues to this point. But as the formula for calculating the ever-important school grades (I’ll leave my rant on that for another time) found in our Florida statutes now includes participation in Industry Certification, it has to become a focus for school leaders.

While almost all of my AICE and AP students will attend college, I coach several players in two sports who are seriously considering some other track for post-secondary life. While these student-athletes possess tremendous work ethics and other skills that will make them successful in a workplace, such as punctuality, teamwork, adaptability, resiliency, and so on, they are comparatively weaker in some academic areas. For these students, Industry Certification can offer vital training in an area where they may find something other than menial work. These young people have all the personal tools to be positively contributing members of society with personalities and habits that will make them highly valued at their place of employment- assuming they possess a skill that will allow them to be hired.

Industry Certification addresses school needs in addition to those of the students. The school needs to demonstrate improvement in this area for the school grade, while students will grow from the learned skills. Morally and ethically, it has always been my great desire to see my players find a niche in life in which they can succeed. Since my first year coaching in the early nineties, I have seen former players with limited academic success go on to own businesses, make a fortune in finance, or drift from job-to-job or end up in prison. In nearly every one of these instances, the ones that succeeded had a skill they were able to parlay into a stable and productive life while the ones that had to improvise their way ended up in trouble.

While the intentions of those in political office (that for the past decade have been driving the pedagogical mindset of education toward the idea that all students must go to college) might be good (rather than the alternative, that politicians have made these policy issues to capitalize on voters’ sympathies), the reality is that a disservice has been done to those students who want to enter the workforce immediately. Years ago, it was noble to carry one’s lunch pail and earn bread for the family with an honest wage. Sadly, that measure of one’s self-worth has been deteriorated by the political aspirations of the day. Neither of my grandfathers attended college. Neither finished high school. They couldn’t do algebra or physics or read Latin. They worked with their hands- and raised and fed their children in the process. They were good men; the kind America used to value, the kind that served their country in time of war, the kind that were our society’s backbone- and the kind that our politicians no longer need.

Our ability to address Industry Certification exists but has serious doubt cast on it by the governor’s current budget proposal. That budget wants to hack three billion dollars over the next two academic years from a system that is already one of the most underfunded in the country. Today’s economic situation is admittedly more dire than in recent years but when compounded with a passion among many politicians to attack budget issues by going after education (or perhaps more sinisterly, by seizing an opportunity to dismantle public education permanently so that charter schools may replace them) it casts doubt of the efficacy of these programs.

Additionally, the current economic clime has crashed headlong into a political movement in this country to hand down a seemingly never-ending array of unfunded or underfunded mandates and an assessment of indemnities for schools and districts that inevitably fall short. The governor’s current budget proposal, if passed, will make it necessary to cut jobs in areas outside of the core academic areas and that could well include teachers that might suit these programs. This is not hyperbole; my school released 20 teachers in 2009 (at the initial onset of the recession) and my district is currently facing a staggering projected twenty-three million dollar shortfall for next year. Our neighbors in Duval have it worse.

In a better economic clime I would propose that turf management, plumbing, carpentry, and metal shop classes, should all return. We will always need landscapers (especially in Florida- think of the golf courses and planned communities,) shop workers, truck drivers, service industry workers, and so on. It is a shame that in an effort for politicians to appear to have high standards and fairness that they adopt a façade that is undermining the ability of these young people- and our society- to offer a fuller and more pragmatic array of skill training at the secondary level. In the process we have undermined the pride Americans’ have traditionally had in honest, blue-collar work and that it is a shame for which we all pay a stout price.

This is not the most important issue. It is simply emblematic of a larger array of interconnected factors that are negatively impacted by meddling politicians that have no idea what the reality of classroom life is like (I would love to see Governor Scott or Senator Thrasher or Rep. Wise spend a week in any public high school in a lower quartile population getting the kids fired up about U.S. government- invite me to that one.)
I am tired and frustrated with policies that are the opposite of common sense and I can't help but think that the general public has bought into the boondoggle handed down from Tallahassee.

Some common sense is in order, but so is a little spending. Education is a complex and often expensive matter. I'm not suggesting that you can throw money at it and fix its issues. But I do know that by financially strangling the districts and attacking the livelihood of a professional class of educators who have elected to serve our children is not the way to a better tomorrow. Let's change the things we can control and let's begin by jettisoning the one-size-fits-all curriculum and reintroducing some pragmatic programs that students will enjoy and actually be able to use to employ themselves and become positively contributing members of our society.

We've all heard Chris saying these things for years but we can't let him be the lone island of sanity in this bureaucratic sea of nonsense. The educational system in this country needs some vocal advocates.

Roger Dailey, National Board Certified Teacher