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The School to Work Opportunities Act of 1994 challenged educators in both academic and vocational subject areas to look for new ways of working together. As teachers help students see connections between career applications and traditional subjects like English, the arts, science, and social studies, students may discover careers they may have never before considered. To that end, school districts across America have implemented an impressive range of School-to-Work programs. Most of these share a common thread: Close connections to work-based learning opportunities in communities large and small. These partnerships increase career awareness through job exploration and offer students the chance to see and shadow adult experts in action. At the same time, students practice skills they learn in academic classrooms: speaking, writing, performing, problem solving, critical analysis. Students invariably see how the humanities provide added value to adult workers' lives. In the design of work spaces, in the use of coffee breaks and bus commutes for reading, or in a group meeting to solve a perplexing problem -- the humanities are an integral, relevant part of the workplace. The six schools listed below vary in size and populations served as well as geographic location. Creative teachers have developed plans that weave humanities content and student outcomes in literature, social studies, and the arts with equally important objectives in career development. These innovators were selected from a pool of nominees from across the U.S. Department of Education's Region IX:
These teachers have responded to our invitation to document School-to-Work lessons and share plans so that other schools will not have to reinvent the wheel. Feel free to contact these professionals for more information on their programs. Each team is excited about the results they are seeing in student learning and performance. They are willing to help others adapt these ideas for new settings. For more information on linking humanities subjects to career-oriented programs, visit http://www.nwrel.org/ecc/humanities/. |
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