November 17, 2008
Monday PM

Ketchikan dropouts are not alone, Alaska is above the national average in drop out rates and Ketchikan, I am sure, is at the top of the list in Alaska. I have been teaching construction technology at the University of Alaska Southeast Ketchikan on and off since 2000 and I was painfully aware back then, and even more concerned and alarmed now, that vocational training was alarmingly deficient in our schools. We at the University have known this for years and have made attempts to train in vocational training for many years.

I would venture to say the welding program in Ketchikan rivals any in the state and possibly nationwide. The construction academy funded by the state in the past few years is also an indication that we in the vocational trades have known that vocational training is going to be the foundation of economic stability in Alaska. My approach and argument when in Juneau lobbying for Ketchikan Construction Academy funding has and will be, the high schools need to offer vocational training and support for their extracurricular activities (yes, I mean sports). If we want to address the dropout rate, start by offering students options, more activities and more classes that might actually interest them, ie, shop, building tech, welding, marine technology, auto mechanics, small engine repair, fisheries studies,. etc. And get these kids an activities fund to help in their endeavors in other school activities such as band, debate club, pep band, volley ball, track wrestling, on and on.

The No Child Left Behind Act was a noble attempt at accountability, an attempt that is failing miserably and the job market and participation in the job market is proving that. In construction the aging of the work force is going to be an economic meltdown in the state of Alaska if we do not address this problem. Thousands of jobs in vocational fields are opening up in Alaska and we have no one to fill these jobs because we have not been training our kids in theses fields in high school since I graduated from Kayhi. A report in the Ketchikan Daily News on Monday the 17 of November on page 3 states Alaska's drop out rate far out paces the national average,

Why? Because school is boring and we are not stimulating the majority of the kids. That majority is going to be the blue collar work force all communities rely on. We need school to be exciting and full of activities for the kids to stay interested. Give them classes that pertain to them and make school activities the norm rather than the exception. You will start whittling away at that dropout rate.

Charles Edwardson
Ketchikan, AK

About: "Ketchikan resident 45 years"

Received November 17, 2008 - Published November 17, 2008

Related Article:

Alaska's dropout rate outpaces national average - Alaska's high school dropout rate far outpaces the national average. In fact, it was double the national average from 2005 to 2006, or 8 percent, according to U.S. Department of Education figures. - Read this article...
Anchorage Daily News at www.adn.com - November 16, 2008

Alaska's dropout rate above nation - Alaska's high school dropout rate far outpaces the national average. In fact, it was double the national average from 2005 to 2006, or 8 percent, according to U.S. Department of Education figures. - Read this article (subscription required)
Ketchikan Daily News at www.ketchikandailynews.com - November 17, 2008

 

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