FREE ESSAY ON PHILOSOPHY OF THE ROLE AND MISSION OF EDUCAITON AND BUSINESS EDUCATION IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS

PHILOSOPHY OF THE ROLE AND MISSION OF EDUCAITON AND BUSINESS EDUCATION IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS

Education and Vocational Education have many roles in today's schools. Vocational
education focuses on the future employment of the student, by using practical
application. Vocational education gives students the opportunity to learn with hands-on
experience. This can help in several areas of gaining an education. Most notably, this
gives the student the opportunity to find out if this is what they want to do. Students
will get a real-world experience very early on in their education. This experience can
greatly enrich a student's education by giving them the opportunity to become involved in
activities that are relevant to their lives, therefore, becoming a source of motivation.
Education provides these same experiences to a certain extent, but the connection to
real-world experience is much less defined. 
I believe it is the obligation of an educator to help create lifelong learners out of our
students. Three key elements need to be present for this to take place. Confidence,
relevance and motivation must all be present. Students need to have the confidence to try
and succeed, or try and fail. This may sound like a trivial example, but I believe it is
essential to success. Without knowing and understanding failure, students will not be
able to appreciate success and what it takes to succeed. Confidence will be gained
through the trial and error that takes place in the successful business educator's
classroom. Relevance is the next item. The application of the material in the classroom
must be relevant to what the student has set his/her sights on. Business education is all
about relevance. Taking the simulations, applications and exercises from real life
examples allows the students to see and understand the challenges they face. When the
students see they are learning relevant skills they will become motivated to succeed.
Motivation can come from a variety of sources, but I believe the business education
teacher can aid in this. Students fall into bad habits while at school. I see it on a
daily basis. They go through the motions of being a student and miss all the valuable
knowledge that is available to them. They see no connection to what they are currently
doing, to what they will "grow up" and do. When that connection is made, the student will
become motivated to take advantage of the experience and information presented to them in
school. 
I want to teach business education because I believe the knowledge and skills it provides
are essential to all students. Students need to understand the competition they will be
facing in their search for that first job. Business education gives them a glimpse of
what will be expected of them from day one. They need to learn the skills to enable them
to become effective consumers, employees and leaders. Business education teaches students
how to work as a team, how to meet deadlines, how to prioritize work and teaches them
problem-solving skills. Students of today will become the businessmen of tomorrow. We
must prepare them to manage their money, make wise investment decisions and learn to live
on a budget. They also need to be exposed to expectations in the work environment.
Communication is a must in any profession, including business. Interpersonal skills will
be used on a daily basis. Business education prepares students for all of these
situations and helps them in their pursuit of lifelong learning.
Although there are many classes that can aid in the education of vocational students, I
believe there are three mandatory classes. Keyboarding, computer applications and
accounting must be present in the business education curriculum. These classes have
practical application for students. At jobsites around the world, students will need
these skills to succeed. Keyboarding is the most basic of these, but holds the most
value. Without this skill, students will not succeed in the business world. The earlier
this skill is learned, the better. Computer applications must be introduced at an early
age also. With this skill students will be able to make a smooth transition into the
workplace. Accounting is another skill that will be helpful for graduating students. They
may not choose this specific field, but somewhere along the lines, they will encounter
problems or scenarios where this background will be valuable. These three classes will
prepare students for the working world. Leaving one of them out would leave a void in
their education.