The Winner's Circle 2006
The educators honored this past December at the ACTE convention in Las Vegas are truly dedicated to their students and to the field of career and technical education.
Mark I. Clemons
ACTE-McDonald?s Teacher of the Year
In the years he spent working in the heating and air conditioning business?in both his own company and for other companies?Mark Clemons found that the biggest problem in the industry was getting good workers. So after eight years, he decided to become part of the solution to that problem and got involved in setting up the heating and air conditioning program at the local tech center.
He was teaching evening classes at Meridian Technology Center in Stillwater, Oklahoma, where he had helped to shape the air conditioning program, when a full-time teaching position became vacant. With encouragement from the school?s director, Clemons took the position and taught there for 18 years before his move last year to Canadian Valley Technology Center in El Reno.
At both schools, he has worked hard to keep the programs on the cutting edge of technology and has been praised for his hard work in incorporating students of all ages, backgrounds, genders, races, abilities and disabilities into his classes.
An Educational Leader
Clemons is described by one of his peers as, "a pioneer in self-paced curriculum and peer tutoring in trade and industrial education."
But for his students, that education extends beyond the classroom with practical applications that have brought numerous benefits to both the community and the school itself. Each year, Meridian Technology Center students build a speculative house in a neighborhood near the school, and Clemons? class has installed the heating and cooling system. These houses have sold for $170,000 to $200,000.
For two years, his students also did the heating systems for Habitat for Humanity houses. They have done work on two houses and several apartments for Action Inc., a local Stillwater association that provides housing for the homeless, and they have provided their services for some of the local churches.
Both schools where Clemons has taught have received the benefit of his students? services?at Meridian they even installed three or four full systems. Projects such as these, says Clemons, "made real-life situations for my students to participate in."
Mentoring Others
In addition to being a teacher and mentor to his own students, Clemons has been a mentor for new teachers in Oklahoma, which he calls "one of his favorite things" to do.
"Many of the new teachers coming in?particularly in career and technical education?don?t have a lot of education-related experience," he notes.
Clemons has served on a residency committee for new teachers. He was on the board of CareerTech Connect and helped the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education set it up as a Web site online professional development tool for teachers?both new and experienced. He was one of the master teachers listed on the site, with his areas of expertise as advising students and facilitating instruction.
Clemons spent last year working for the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education and as the state SkillsUSA-VICA director. And since he is in his first year of teaching at Canadian Valley, he says that technically, "I?m now a new teacher myself." So, as "a new teacher," he is not doing any formal mentoring but still finds himself acting as a consultant, since other teachers still call him for advice.
One of the things he can tell them about is National Board Certification. "Becoming a National Board Certified teacher is probably the single experience that helped me to grow more than anything else," says Clemons. "It forced me to examine how I teach and why I teach."
The many students and teachers with whom he has shared his knowledge, skills and experience can only be grateful that he did choose to teach, because that decision has helped them achieve their own successful careers. For Mark Clemons, the decision to become a teacher has taken him along a path filled with many professional honors and awards?and this year that path brought him to Las Vegas where he was named as the ACTE-McDonald?s Teacher of the Year.
Mary Eagon Jacquart
ACTE-McDonald?s Outstanding Career and Technical Educator
In December, when she received the award as the ACTE-McDonald?s Outstanding Career and Technical Educator, Mary Eagon Jacquart was the system director of the Educational Grants Program for the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities. By March, she had a new position, becoming the federal government relations coordinator for the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System, thus taking one more step forward in a career that has been marked by success.
In her new job, she will continue her efforts on behalf of career and technical education and will still be working on Perkins reauthorization issues, WIA and TANF.
Jacquart has a background in family and consumer sciences education and has taught at the college level. She also has a counseling degree, so she brings much to the table when it comes to career and technical education.
In collaboration with Adair County Human Services in Missouri, she developed a pilot project of four parenting classes to provide court-ordered education for abusive and teenage parents. In Minnesota, she has worked with colleges on implementing career tech programs and was part of a state School-to-Work leadership team.
Jacquart contributes her time as a mentor for high school students, and if it?s election time, she can be found assisting with "St. Paul Kids Vote," which is intended to interest students in the political process.
Recognition Nationally
As system director of the Educational Grants Programs, Jacquart?s main task was administering the Carl D. Perkins Applied Technology Act of 1998 for the state of Minnesota. It was a job that she performed with such distinction that the U.S. Department of Education?s Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE) took notice. Seeing the work she did in Minnesota, OVAE asked her to help with workshops and facilitation at OVAE conferences for states.
Because of her postsecondary background, Jacquart is committed to forging strong connections between secondary and postsecondary institutions, and in Minnesota there is a strong postsecondary options program. "What I find most engaging," comments Jacquart, " is the relationship between secondary and postsecondary."
She feels that we need to work hard at strengthening that relationship as well as the relationship between both of those levels of education and career and technical education.
Another issue of importance for Jacquart is college readiness for career and technical education students and she says, "There needs to be just as much attention given to preparation of students heading to two-year colleges as for those going on to four-year universities."
Advocating Cooperation
That?s another area in which she sees the need for colleges and high schools to be working together?with high school teachers expressing to their students how necessary both academics and technical skills are. Jacquart points out examples in which rigorous academics are needed, saying that you can?t go into electronics without math or into nursing without science or communications skills.
Even with the uncertainty of the future of Perkins, Jacquart is still optimistic that through the cooperative efforts of career and technical education professionals at all levels, we can give our nation?s students the kind of education that will enable them to achieve success in the workplace.
"Our capacity can be strengthened by tapping into each other?s expertise and momentum," she states.
And she adds, that by working together on issues such as Perkins and on programs such as tech prep, "We can give students a vision of success for themselves, and they will see that they can go on to college."
Mary Eagon Jacquart?s vision of student success includes a strong career and technical education component?at both the secondary and postsecondary levels. Described by her colleagues as "positive, committed and passionate about career and technical education," receiving the ACTE-McDonald?s Career and Technical Educator of the Year Award is not likely to cause Jacquart to relax her efforts toward achieving that vision. And now she has a new job in which to continue her work.
Technology Education--Much More Than Just Computers!
By Michael Wright, Ben Yates and Joseph Scarcella
Editor?s Note: This article is a clarification and response to an article in the March issue of Techniques in which an educational technology program was mistakenly labeled as technology education.
The word "technology" is probably one of the most misunderstood and misused terms in the English language today. Many people believe that the term is synonymous with computers, the Internet and other high-tech gadgets. This is most certainly not true!
The following excerpts are taken from the Standards for Technological Literacy: Content for the Study of Technology (Technology for All Americans Project, 2000).
Humans have been called the animals that make things, and at no time in history has that been so apparent as the present... Technology has been going on since humans first formed a blade from a piece of flint, harnessed fire or dragged a sharp stick across the ground to create a furrow for planting seeds, but today it exists to a degree unprecedented in history... (p. 1)
People who are unfamiliar with technology tend to think of it purely in terms of artifacts: computers, cars, televisions, toasters, pesticides, flu shots, solar cells, genetically engineered tomatoes and all the rest. But to its practitioners and to the people who study it, technology is more accurately thought of in terms of the knowledge and the processes that create these products... (p. 9)
We are a nation increasingly dependent on technology. Yet, in spite of this dependence, U.S. society is largely ignorant of the history and fundamental nature of the technology that sustains it. The result is a public that is disengaged from the decisions that are helping shape its technological future. In a country founded on democratic principles, this is a dangerous situation... (p. v)
The following definitions may prove helpful:
Technology, in its broadest sense then, "is the process by which humans modify nature to meet their needs and wants." (Pearson, G. and Young, A. T., 2002, p. 2)
Technological literacy is defined as "the ability to use, manage, assess, and understand technology" (Technology for All Americans Project, 2000, p.9).
Technology education is the K-12 school program concerned with developing technological literacy in all students regardless of socio-economic status, gender, career aspirations or postsecondary education plans.
Technology education is a comprehensive curriculum area of the K-12 educational system. At the elementary and middle school levels, technology education should be part of the core education of all students (general education), providing a context or application for knowledge from other disciplines as well, and connecting school with life through career clusters. This program naturally links other school subjects with a real-world context and thus adds relevance and meaning for students. Technology education provides opportunities for students to explore many different social and workforce pathways through technological studies, and contributes to general education, career and technical education, and professional technology-based careers. It provides excellent opportunities for integrated thematic instruction in authentic contexts. It is also a vehicle for initial career awareness programs.
At the high school level it may have three broad goals, which include:
General technological literacy. A well-educated citizenry in the 21st century should be capable of making responsible and informed decisions regarding the control and appropriate use of technology on the job, in society and their personal lives.
Pre-engineering/engineering-technology or other professional education. Students interested in pursuing careers such as engineering, architecture, or as a technologist in such fields, would benefit from a foundation and thorough understanding of technology; how humans modify and control the natural world, and the consequences of their actions.
Pre-technical education. Technology education may support advanced career and technical education. All technical programs apply technology in increasingly sophisticated ways. Thus, students pursuing technical fields would naturally benefit from a broad-based understanding of technology as essential preparation prior to specialized applications in the occupational setting.
At the high school level, technology education contributes to Tech Prep and contextual learning. It supports Tech Prep through stimulating interest in technical processes and careers at an early age?encouraging further study in technical fields. One basic thrust of contextual learning is to provide students a more "authentic" education. Much like the applied academic subjects, technology education provides a "context" from the real world for integrating other school subjects. The study of robotics, manufacturing or construction, for example, is essentially the application of science to improve efficiency, using mathematics as a language to describe and communicate, and rich with opportunities for social studies through economics and social impacts.
Educational technology, on the other hand, is not concerned with studying technology as a discipline, but rather is concerned with the use of various technologies to enhance the teaching/learning process in all subjects, including technology education. Whether it was the introduction of "slates" for students to cipher on, pencils to replace quill pens, videotape to replace audio tape and slides, or searching the Internet instead of the encyclopedia, all are essentially the same: using newer technologies in an effort to improve the learning process.
Technology education, the study of technology as a discipline, is concerned with learning about technology in its broadest forms. It studies the "human-designed world," contrasted with science, which studies the natural world. It also studies the impacts and consequences of technology and technological processes as they interact with individuals, society and the environment.
Technology education is an essential set of knowledge, skills and values for a well-educated, productive society. Indeed, our national competitive advantage depends, in part, on the technological literacy of our citizens. The ability to think creatively, apply systems-oriented thinking and analysis, and use appropriate tools in the process is a fundamental skill required of everyone today.
Clearly, the computer is the most powerful tool ever designed by humankind. Therefore, it IS the dominant tool employed in technology education. But it is just that: a tool. Many other tools are also utilized. So in conclusion, computers may play a vital role in technology education programs, but "tech ed" is NOT just a computer class. The tool may be the same, but the subject is quite different!
The International Technology Education Association (ITEA) and the Technology Education Division of the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE-TED) are the professional associations that represent technology education teachers and promote technological literacy for all.
?ology: A Branch of Learning
Anthropology: the study of races, physical and mental characteristics, social relationships, etc.
Archeology: the study of life and culture of ancient people
Biology: the study of the origin, history and physical characteristics of plants and animals
Cardiology: the study of the heart, its functions and diseases
Criminology: the study and investigation of crime and criminals
Ecology: the study of relationships between living organisms and their environment
Geology: the study of the earth?s crust and individual rock types
Psychology: the study of the mind and mental processes
Sociology: the study of people living together in groups
Technology: electronic stuff? NO! the study of the process by which humans modify nature to meet their needs and wants
Where science is the study of the Natural World (its laws and principles), technology is the study of the Human-Built World.
Dr. Michael D. Wright, DTE is professor and chair, Career and Technology Education Department, Central Missouri State University, and immediate past president of ITEA. Benny K. Yates is Technology Education Program area coordinator at Central Missouri State University, and Region III director on the ITEA Board of Directors. Dr. Joseph Scarcella is an associate professor at California State University-San Bernardino, Region IV director for ITEA and is also serving as vice president of the Technology Education Division of ACTE.