Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Group hopes to improve students' career choices

A group of faculty members from the Gurdon School District along with area community and business leaders are working to improve the quality of education in the districts vocational education programs and ensure the students in the programs are ready for the workplace when they graduate.

The group met Thursday, Feb. 22, at the Hoo Hoo International building in Gurdon to discuss the various issues surrounding vocational education in Gurdon. Gurdon School District curriculum coordinator Bonnie Ross organized the meeting which included a meal.

Todd Lewis who teaches career orientation at Cabe Middle School was the first to address the group. He said one of the biggest problems with the eighth grade students he teaches is the fact that they have a very short attention span. He also said they are not, in his opinion, mature enough to process the information being given to them in the class.

Theyre pretty much thinking about right now, and thats it, he said.

He said one thing that has helped in the class is the way it is structured this year by splitting the students up by gender, teaching all boys one semester and all girls the next.

Jane Purtle teaches keyboarding at CMS and has the same groups of students as Lewis. She said that in her observations, girls seem to understand the fact that they will need computer skills no matter what field of work they choose. She said many of the boys that come through her class seem to think they will need computer skills in their presumed profession. Purtle said that is just not true of todays marketplace.

Tera Williams, who teaches family and consumer sciences at Gurdon High School, said her students have been performing well this year. She said they have been required to go through mock job interviews, prepare mock resumes and do other activities to help prepare them for entering the workplace.

The outlook is also bright for the high schools business lab. Cheryl Smyly, business teacher at GHS, said the lab has been updated with new computers which will soon be upgraded to the new Windows Vista operating system. Students taking publication design now use InDesign, a program that is more advanced than the program previously used.

Weve just improved so much this year its overwhelming, she said.

Lee Hamilton, regional director of human relations for Home Depot, was also in attendance. He said there are several things that students need to know when coming out of high school, and the most important is knowing how to interview for a job. He also said students need to be taught that appearance is very important when looking for a job.

Sometimes your first impression is your last impression, he said.

Hamilton said students should know that many corporations are getting away from conducting one-on-one interviews in favor of group interviews. This allows potential employers to see how the applicants respond to others.

Loretta Kits, director of food services at Baptist Health Medical Center  Arkadelpia, said young people today have an I dont care attitude. She said it is important for students to learn computer skills, citing the important role of computers even in the food service industry.

Ross said the meeting was one of the most successful the group has had thus far. Another meeting has been tentatively scheduled for the fall.