President Obama is cutting the Perkins budget by 20%. The purpose of Perkins is to provide individuals with the academic and technical skills needed to succeed in a knowledge and skills based economy. Perkins is intended to promote career and technical education that prepares its students both for post-secondary and the careers of their choice. Perkins supports everything from Cosmetology, Welding, Fashion, to Woodworking. Most community college's rely on Perkins for program improvement and for funds to obtain the latest in equipment, or even for faculty development to learn the latest software or equipment.
The President needs to remember that not all jobs require a Bachelors degree and that a guy with a Bachelors degree is not looking to go and fix someones toilet. Not every student is cut out to have a Bachelors degree. High school shop programs are being turned into computer labs every year. On Oahu, 3 high schools have no shop program, two are run by Community College programs, and the rest are hanging on by a thread. New graduation requirements makes it difficult for a student to take a shop class.Right now in the University of Hawaii system there is not one Career and Technical Education teacher being trained. The end of wood shop is right around the corner. The teaching of these skills are vital to our economic recovery, we can design and prototype all we want but who's going to make it, or put it together? The luthier often get their start in the wood shop learning the basic skills of woodworking. We need to support Perkins and CTE! Is the end of the luthier near? Who will follow in our footsteps?
