Teachers Work
For most young people - one thing in life is certain. They will probably have to go to work at some point. And here in the Bay Area there is a unique program going on right now to help teachers prepare students for the workplace.
In his Assignment: Education report, Bill Ratliff show us a whole different learning - and teaching - experience.
It's not exactly a traditional classroom setting.. the huge Cargill fertilizer plant near Bartow in Polk County. But seventh-grade teacher Judy Thomas chose to turn it into a learning center and spend part of her summer here...
--[Foreman says:] "We just got through loading on track 15 now...We're full of cars there."--
Switching freight cars.. loading phosphate fertilizer onto rail cars for shipment to places far away.. working on the gypsum stacks.. and helping turn the raw material into a useful product. But why would anyone spend their vacation time doing such heavy duty work?
--[Teacher Judy Thomas says:] " I'm hoping I can develop this into an economic project for my students at Lakeland-highlands where they will actually go through a new hire situation, starting with the application on up to developing a resume...Interviewing skills...Going through a benefits package...Calculating how much their pay will be...And try to set up a household budget as if they were on their own."--
Judy is among dozens of Polk County teachers putting in extra hours - for the benefit of the students they teach. It's part of the district's school-to-work program.
The companies pay half the teachers' wages. Grants from the school system and other businesses make up the difference. And down the track.. the businesses hosting the teacher interns are likely to benefit by hiring new recruits.
--[Cargill spokesperson Debbie Burdette says:] "The more information we feel the teachers can gather first-hand the better they can educate our students. And when they come to us to apply for jobs, we are able to stop going through the 75 resumes to get down to one employee that we hire." --
--[Thomas says:] "I really recommend the school-to-work program for teachers so they can give a first-hand experience, so that they can point back and say, 'I was there. I know first-hand what employers are looking for.'" --
Both sides say the program is a win-win-win situation for the teachers, the companies, and the children. Bill Ratliff, Newschannel 8.
Since school-to-work began in Polk County four-years ago, more than 200-teachers and 100-businesses have taken part in the program.
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