Vocational and Traditional Schools— Differences in Employment
The general consensus is that to get anywhere in life, in this day and era, you need a good education. Thus, students are pressured to do their best and excel in academics early on in order to get accepted into nice big schools and get the best education possible. Not just in high school; students are pressured in middle school, even elementary school, to do well. You need a good college education in order to get a good job, so they say, so you'd better shape up as early as possible.
Not to say that there's anything wrong with wanting to do a good job in school, but sometimes this pressure can be counterproductive. The fact is, as many children with IEPs (individual education plans) will testify, traditional schooling is “not for everyone.” Some parents will stress over this, declaring, “My child is competent, but she's a more hands on sort of child.” Maybe the student just isn't good at research papers, paper exams and book reports. Does this mean that a student's employment future looks grim?
This is where vocational schools— also known as “trade schools”— come in.
To put it simply, it breaks down to this: traditional schooling is academics, socialization with a bit (or more, depending on the individual) of physical education mixed in. Read, learn, practice. Rinse and repeat for four years, then apply for college and do this again for however long is necessary. Students complete their exams, gather some fond memories and proceed to attend public or private college until they reach their mid- or late twenties. This is essentially the same thing, only longer, harsher and less forgiving. After obtaining a certain degree, they find a reliable place of employment— ideally. For many, this pans out well enough.
Vocational schools are different. Some elements are shortened and compacted, although the same basic level of education is still completed. In vocational high school, students attend class and have their usual breaks, also spending a portion of the day receiving training and working with “hands-on” equipment. Vocational college, a step above, is also different from regular college— because this is education at a college level, there is less rigidity. However, whether it be high school or college level, vocational education is still more interactive and focused on helping students acquire specific, practical skills. One might even go as far as to consider vocational college level a college experience full of hands-on “labs.”
Vocational institutions, in general, have gained a certain level of notoriety in recent years— in the last ten years, the number of students earning awards from “for-profit” vocational schools has increased by about fifty percent. Similar numbers have emerged among students attending community colleges, where students earn a lesser degree more quickly, using credits many students acquired while pursuing their vocational education in high school.
This process of getting into a vocational program in high school is a bit complicated. At Chicopee Comprehensive High School, for example, the screening process begins not long after the kids leave elementary school. The children are screened in middle school, and if referred by the school's guidance counselor (this step is unavoidable) they are given a career assessment and are allocated to the program which best suits them. Of these, three of the more popular programs are in the culinary and electric fields, and health care program fields. The process of getting into vocational college has its differences, as well. Students must take matters into their own hands, but references are still a significant part of the process.
Having said that, in order to remain in the program, students must fulfill the same academic prerequisites as their traditional school peers. If they fail basic academic or “shop” classes, they are ejected from the program. Although many vocational schools consider their programs “alternative educations,” that does not mean they are necessarily easier. Of course, there is a limited number of seats in the program, to begin with.
What are the benefits of enrolling in a vocational education program? As previously stated, not all students do well in a strictly “traditional” education plan. Vocational school does not exempt students from having a complete education, but rather allows them to approach academics from a different angle. Not only that, vocational education at the high school level usually does not require additional tuition, and the prices of community and vocational colleges are a fraction of what traditional four-year schools cost. These schools also specialize in specific skill-training, not general lecture education. Statistics show that many technical jobs that involve high-level computer skills consciously seek out students who have attended vocational school in their field, as they believe these students will have more practical knowledge and experience. In fields such as this, students may actually have a higher rate of success in finding employment.
Drawbacks in attending vocational schools as opposed to traditional schools, on the other hand, are few and far between. Most difficulties that occur when it comes to sending children to vocational schools center around the individual. If a student (high school or college) doesn't have any desire to make an effort in traditional classes or at vocational school, the program simply isn't going to work. Students who view vocational school as a way to put in less effort will not benefit from the program, and many of these individuals make the program difficult for other students. The structure of the day is different when a student opts for vocational training instead of regular schooling, but this does not mean their day is any less productive.
What comes after an individual's vocational education ends? Ideally, each student graduates from high school, where the student's vocational program began, and from the vocational college they attended and continued their vocational schooling— had they chosen to do so. Many continue to hold the part-time position which they secure while proceeding through their vocational education. However, it is also true that a vast majority move on to two- and four-year colleges after their high school training ends, using credits they obtained while attending vocational high school programs. To put it simply, no student who enters the vocational program ever stops learning. The transfer is simply one from a more practical, “hands-on” education to one which will help them function in society with an even better set of tools. These vocational programs, which are ultimately a “plan B” for students, do not go unappreciated. They contribute a significant amount to society, and account for a significant amount of the hard-working, competent workforce of today.
In the 1990's the "Americans with Disabilities" act was passed by Congress. Basically, it was drafted to prevent employees from facing discrimination because of their disabilities. It was tweaked on January 1st, 2009, a year after it was amended to give a broader scope for what qualified as a "disabled" worker. It also took back some previous court rulings that Congress decided were too restrictive. By doing this, Congress succeeded in opening doors that had previously been slamming in the face of uncovered individuals with "lesser." Furthermore, disabled people could now work in jobs they'd given up on, which they'd been convinced they were too disabled to function properly in, in the first place.
This leads us to the question: what exactly is a "disability"? Like so many other definitions, these days, the concept of what a real disability is is getting hazier. Thus the need for recalling some previous court decisions, as mentioned, before. According to the ADA's current definition, a covered disability is, "a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity." These major life activities include, but are not limited to: eating, breathing, working and functioning in school.
What of chemical reactions? Allergies? Asthma? According to recorded statistics, roughly fifteen percent of all Americans suffer from chemical sensitivities, and one of every four Americans have allergies and/or asthma.
Allergies can cause extreme puffiness of the eyes, difficulty breathing and outbreaks of painful hives, and chemical sensitivities are even worse. These sensitivities, which are generally triggered by paints, pesticides, disinfectants, fabric softeners, detergents and so on damage a person's immune, nervous, digestive and endocrine systems and can lead to secondary— you guessed it— asthma and allergies. Considering the meaning of "disability" in its rawest sense, all of these are covered under this broader meaning of what it means to be disabled.
Chemical sensitivities cause difficulties in the workplace, as well as allergies, whether it be for the people doing the work with the sensitive products or the people who will be striding around the finished product. The most eloquently-painted portrait can still trigger a severe reaction from someone with a chemical sensitivity to paint substances. Some people, with the most severe forms of chemical sensitivities and/or allergies become prisoners in their own house.
Having said that, employers are obliged to provide certain accommodations for people with these conditions. In some cases, this is a painful and difficult process. For others, there are simple fixes that require just an extra bit of thoughtfulness. In the end, the structure of the ADA and the extra bit of effort from supervisors allows all workers to function properly, and get along just fine.
There's Jane Rogers' Cleaning Service, for instance. Jane Rogers spearheads a small cleaning group which covers (according to her website) dusting, sweeping, mopping, walls, windows, carpet cleaning, floor care, painting, lawn care and general "handyman" services. But if what you want isn't listed, she assures the reader, just ask. They're probably capable of handing that, too. Jane's business works with a multitude of buildings: cubicles, dentists offices, apartment complexes, and so on. If it's got walls and a floor, Jane's service can tackle it.
About twenty percent of the clients who ask her to clean up these spaces are chemical sensitive and need special accommodations, she says. Jane's service is not only thorough, but creative. To remedy various clients' sensitivity to chemical smells, which seems to be the primary sensitivity she has on her hands, Jane adds a bit of lime juice to the mixture, which negatives the chemical smell and lets everyone go about their usual work day unperturbed.
According to her, this does just the trick and prevents any unpleasant reactions from the people working.
Jane's cleaning service provides a particularly interesting cure to the issue of chemical sensitivity in the cleaning products they use, but it is not the only one, and they aren't the only group going the extra mile.
Other organizations provide different alternatives, different solutions to the chemical troubles which plague the employees working day-by-day in the space and those who work cleaning it up when the sun goes down. Offering spaces for people to "detox" for a certain length of time, alternative working spaces away from the places which trigger allergies and chemical sensitivities, special air filters and so on are technology which can help the employees work successfully.
Every employer is encouraged, if not required to give these people what they need to work, and to live. After all, who will do the work if there are no employees?
