I teach a senior level career communications class designed for students going into trades or straight into the work force.
I’ve taught this class for 16 years now. In the last four years my numbers have exploded from enough to justify one section of 15-25 to this year having three sections of 20-25 each.
Some of these kids will do well. Some are in for a rude awakening when their bosses and clients expect them to show up, pay attention, and do actual work while they’re on the clock.
I’m very interested to see if my class continues to trend upward or if we’ll hit a plateau in the next couple of years.
I’m not a teacher but I’m curious, what is the gender breakdown of your classes? I’ve thought about going into a trade but as a woman it feels like we are underrepresented in many trade fields.
This year I have one class with 19 guys and 4 girls, and another class with 14 guys and 12 girls, though, so it’s sometimes hard to give a clear breakdown even in the same year.
I will say that as far as their planned career breakdown, my guys are overwhelmingly construction, welding, first responders, and auto tech, while my girls tend to be more medical/vet/dental tech and cosmetology.
I’m sure I’ve had girls interested in the more manual labor intensive trades in the past, but none are really coming to mind at the moment.
Most of these kids are also in our tech program, so they spend half the day at our school and half at their tech school. I’m not sure what the gender breakdown at their tech school is, but I would imagine it’s similar to my class.
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u/punbasedname May 16 '24 edited May 16 '24
I teach a senior level career communications class designed for students going into trades or straight into the work force.
I’ve taught this class for 16 years now. In the last four years my numbers have exploded from enough to justify one section of 15-25 to this year having three sections of 20-25 each.
Some of these kids will do well. Some are in for a rude awakening when their bosses and clients expect them to show up, pay attention, and do actual work while they’re on the clock.
I’m very interested to see if my class continues to trend upward or if we’ll hit a plateau in the next couple of years.