CTE teachers are an important part of the school because they give students a pathway into the career they want to pursue such as how Peter Fogg allows students to learn Computer Science and continue to pursue computer science further in college or a workplace. These teachers have pursued these pathways in college and learned about the skills needed to work in the field and it’s an experience students should not miss out on even if they have little or no interest in the subject, it’s important to explore new subjects to find something you are passionate about.
Kyle Montgomery, the Health Science teacher, talks about how he enjoys what he does at DHS “Creating this pathway has been an amazing experience and has been very rewarding for myself and for students’ success.” Montgomery shows passion for teaching and supporting students about the medical pathway. He also talks about what motivates him to teach students “We have a lot of smart students who are capable of becoming healthcare professionals, the world needs more healthcare workers and competent healthcare workers at that.” Montgomery’s motivation shows how passionate he is about teaching students and how he sees the potential students have to become healthcare professionals.
Marilyn Long, the agricultural teacher, talks about how in her freshman year she was asked to raise a pig by her biology teacher and how that snowballed “I raised the pig and continued to raise animals for fair and became a leader in agriculture and FFA for the rest of my high school years to now.” Long shows how trying something new can lead to you finding your passion. Long then talks about why she wanted to teach “I wanted to spread awareness of agriculture to others, like me, who had no clue where my food came from or how important agriculture was.” Understanding the importance of where your food comes from can change your perspective as it did with Long.
Peter Fogg, the Computer Science teacher at DHS, talks about how he got into Computer Science during college “I needed an extra class to fill up my first-semester schedule and I took it on a whim.” Even though this was his first time taking a computer class he enjoyed it and found that he was good at it so he decided to follow this pathway. He also talked about how he first got into teaching “As my work-study program, I helped out in the CS department by grading, tutoring, acting as a TA, and a few other roles helping the department.” He found that he enjoys teaching and wanted to teach at a college level but decided not to pursue a Ph.D after a year of grad school but he still likes working here at DHS.
These 3 CTE teachers became interested in these subjects at different points in their life but they all share the same passion for teaching students about these subjects and if a student likes it they can explore further the pathway beyond high school. Exploring different classes while still in high school can be beneficial because you can find something that you are passionate about and what to do for your future career.
