Part of my teacher education course work is a summer book club with my cooperating teacher, Mr. Doug Brown. I will be publishing 3 blogs about my chosen book: Other Ways to Win by Kenneth C. Gray and Edwin L. Herr. This is part 1.
The book "Other Ways to Win, Creating Alternatives for High School Graduates" discusses the current "one way to win" paradigm that exists in our high schools. It states that, in order to be successful in life, a high school graduate needs to attend a 4 year university and graduate with a degree, and it will lead to a high paying job in his/her field of study. Sadly, this is not the case. The book states that approximately 1 out of 10 students will "win" in this system.
This book strongly appeals to my because of my own history in high school. I am the type of person who would be content working as a professional truck driver or mechanic. When I was considering these options, my parents told me they wanted me to continue my education (but never forced me to) because they saw me going further than working in a shop the rest of my life. I guess they were right, because I ended up catching the teaching bug and needed to get my degree to chase that goal. Even as I chase my dream of teaching ag, there are days that I wish I could be out working full time on equipment. I can sympathize with students who are lead down that one way to win pathway, and I want to make sure that they end up where they are supposed to be. The way I can do that is to ensure that I am opening my students eyes to all possibilities.
When discussing this book with Mr. Brown, one thought stayed with me: college prepped, career ready. It is our challenge as educators to teach to students at all levels. Yes, there will be those who will go on to earn 4 year degrees and even their masters, but there will also be those who are at risk for failing out of school. It is my goal to develop lessons that will be engaging to all levels of students. I am looking forward to making my way though the rest of this book, where we will begin discussing the other ways to win.
Nate
