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NS offers 32 different vocational classes, including woodworking, welding, foods and nutrition, interior design, and yearbook. In these classes, students have a lot of fun and make some pretty cool things. Students can learn many useful skills from these vocational courses and you might just find that you want to pursue a career in that subject. Besides this though, is that you can gain self confidence from these classes. You might go into it never having done that task before and find yourself becoming good at it. There are also some soft skills you can learn from vocational classes, like self motivation or being able to work with the people around you.
“They’re the most valuable classes a student can take,” said woodworking teacher Brandon Olsen.
The skills taught in vocational classes are very useful now and in the future. In foods and nutrition, you learn how to cook and how to choose healthier foods. This class is useful because someday you’re going to be off on your own and you’ll need to be able to cook for yourself.
“You can’t live on ramen and McDonalds,” said foods and nutrition teacher Auralee Brooks.
Vocational classes are mostly hands-on and students say they’re relaxing and that they reduce stress. It’s good to have a less stressful class. It’s a little break from the regular school day to do something fun that they enjoy.
“When I come to vocational, I can relax,” said senior Natasha Osborne. “It reduces my stress.”
There are several skills students can learn in the vocational classes like welding, cooking, or cabinetry. These are the obvious skills, but there are actually other soft skills that these vocational classes teach you.
CTE classes also teach skills like self motivation. In woodshop, students need to be motivated to do as much as they can in that period, or they won’t be able to finish their project in that year.
These classes also help students learn critical thinking and problem solving. You are always going to have problems. Being able to think about it and find a solution is going to be useful all your life.
“It’s just a nice byproduct of taking these skill type classes,” said Olsen.
Jens Andreason, the new welding and agriculture teacher, likes to set up his class as if it were a real job. The students get their points if they come to class and do what they are supposed to during that period and if they make good use of their time. If they don’t, then they will lose points, compared to if they were being docked pay. They get out what they put in. His class prepares them for after high school when they have a job.
“My goal is to recreate a workplace setting to give them a taste of what it’s gonna be like once they’re out of high school,” said Andreason.
The vocational teachers love to see the students become more skilled and have fun in their classes. They enjoy working with them and teaching them new skills they can possibly use in the future. The growth a student makes in the skill is one of the many reasons these teachers enjoy teaching vocationally.
“I enjoy working with the kids and teaching them how to do something they’ve never done before,” said Olsen.
