The other feature about Tech Schools that is different from other types of educational institutions is that there are both academic as well as shop related teachers found within the school. Because there is an environmental (shop versus classroom) as well as in some cases a philosophical difference between the two groups, there can at times be differing approaches to the educational process. When students were in the academic cycle, the classroom setting was a bit more structured and regimented, while in the shop cycle, the working environment consisted of a more hands-on and job-related venue. While the majority of teachers and shop instructors worked very well together, when I first began at Ellis Tech, that wasn’t necessarily the case.
During my first few weeks and especially with the upperclassmen at the school, I heard repeatedly how a small handful of shop instructors would tell their students that they “didn’t need academics because you’re all going to be working in a trade someday.” They were so unwavering about their anti-academic beliefs in the school that the administration had to intervene and help
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Many worked to the best of their abilities in the classroom and many of them felt that, by attending a Tech School, they were being unfairly labeled as second-class individuals.
I often found myself, while talking with my students about this topic, reflecting back to that infamous meeting I had during my sophomore year of high school with my guidance counselor. In all honesty, I spent most of the years I was at that school using some variation of the term “You’re not good enough.” as an empowering and motivating factor both in the classroom as well as on the athletic fields. I found that they didn’t like being told that any more than I had and together we discovered that the only way to beat that image was to go out and change