Perkins, Now More Than Ever

From the conception of vocational education starting with the Morrill act of 1862, where public lands were given to each state to be sold for the purpose of raising funds to establish colleges that would emphasize the study of agriculture, the Federal Government has been the financial backbone of career and technical education. Over the years our Government has put up the necessary funds needed to provide the most modern technologies of the day in order to train men and women to meet the ever changing needs of the country. This funding has been used to build buildings, to buy equipment, pay for books and supplies, to provide funds to pay for the expenses of educating students and to pay the salaries of teachers and staff members. These funds have never been provided without just cause. Because of this training, we have feed the world and provided the USA with the highest standard of living in the world. We have made unconceivable advancement in medicine that has increased the life expectancy of every person. The advancements in technology are changing at a faster pace than the world has ever known. It is for this reason that Career and Technical Education is increasingly more important. The Carl D Perkins Career and Technical Education improvement Act of 2006 has been passed in order to address this need. Like many times in the past, our country has gotten to a point where we have fallen behind in our career and technical training. This legislation requires more accountability of CTE programs to insure that today’s students will have the knowledge and skills necessary to meet the needs of business and industry. In order to meet these demands, higher academic and technical standards must be set. Rigorous and challenging instruction must be provided. Partnerships between the various educational institutions and the community must be developed. CTE teachers, faculty, administrators and counselors as well as persons employed in career and technical fields will need continuing education. If there has ever been a time for the Federal Government to help the citizens of the USA help themselves into a better and stronger tomorrow, today is the day. It is for this reason that I think that we, the educators, should speak up and demand for our Government to provide the financial resources that is needed to expand the CTE programs necessary for our country’s future.