CEFGA visit

Hey Gang,
I had a visit from a CEFGA rep yesterday (Construction Education Foundation of Georgia). My program hasn't been through industry certification yet. CEFGA is the outfit that oversees the process for the construction related programs throughout most of the state. I've been to 1 CEFGA workshop. The instructors are great, they run a top-notch program and they mean well. But.....I have a problem with the so-called "state mandates". They have a cookie-cutter approach as to how a construction shop should be set up. The second level course, Intro to Building, covers all 4 trade areas, Carpentry, Plumbing, Electrical and Masonry. The state expects you to teach all 4 areas simultaneously! With the mentality of the majority of the kids I have I think it would be a mad house, if it isn't already! Coming from the industry after 25 years I have my doubts as to the real validity of the certificates that the students receive as a result of completing certain units that are covered in each trade area. In all the years that I was involved in the industry a certificate didn't mean anything. Performance spoke volumes to an employer. The first level construction course, as directed by the state, is almost entirely held in the classroom. Very little time is spent in the shop, were the kids most want to be, were they become more proficient with the different tools. I should think that working and strengthening their ability to perform should take precedent over just learning about the different tools. With all of this said I'm having a problem with the whole structure of this accreditation thing. There is $15,000 dollars of grant money available to finance the process. The catch is that you pretty much have to spend it the way they tell you. Please give me some real positive input on this subject if you can because if this is nothing more than the state programing the robot that they think I am, then I'm going to have real problems with it.