Defining the Purpose of Education & Training Programs

I think one of the best ways to encourage continuous growth and development of individuals is to offer trainings that are engaging and relevant to the participants. There is nothing worse than sitting through something that you feel has nothing to do with what or who you teach. Some of the best trainings I have been to have been tailored to the area I teach in or to the specific student population that my school works with.

I don't think I've attended any sessions that were geared to assist people in responding to practical problems and issues in adult life & to prepare people for current and future work opportunities. I remember attending sessions like these right before I graduated college in preparation for entering the adult world. Several of my professors brought in guest speakers to enlighten the students on this topic and sessions were held at the career center free of charge. As a teacher and adult I have not had the opportunity to attend a session on how to respond to practical problems and issues in adult life. The closest thing to this that I can think of is the newly married group that my husband and I joined for a year and a half after we got married. It was a group of six couples with one lead couple and we worked through several books geared toward handling the BIG issues that plague people in marriage. It was great and very helpful! I have attended several trainings on preparing students for the workforce. The big push right now in CTE is making students career and college ready. All the trainings seem to hit on this issue and discuss ways for teachers to assist students in becoming college and workforce ready.

I would have to say that the main drawback to most trainings I've attended is that there is too much information to cover and not enough time. There have been several trainings that had GREAT information, but the presenter had so much to present that very little time was spent on the specifics. I would much prefer to have trainings broken up into sections that try and cram everything possible into a one day wham-bam session.

The thing that makes or breaks a session for me is the presenter and their preparedness. You can always tell when the person just received the PowerPoint they are talking about because all they know to do is read it line by line. I know now how much prep work it takes to get ready for a session, but that prep work can really enliven or kill a session for the participants.