What is your student’s “Passion”? Inside every
student is an interest that could develop into a passion that drives
them in their post-secondary lives. At CAM High School we provide
student’s many opportunities to explore academic and activity based
interests. A question that needs to be asked is “are they taking
advantage of these opportunities, and if not why not?”
How
can we get student’s to turn away from their cell phones, TV &
computers or is the question how do we reach them through those devices?
How do we teach them to utilize technology beyond entertainment?
Essentially enabling them to harness the power of the devices that
range from laptops, to tablets to most students carrying smartphones.
We
offer elective courses that introduces students to the world of virtual
reality. Our Project Lead the Way program gears students for a career
in engineering. CAM offers a deep and complete assortment of Math and
Science courses. What these areas all share in common is that they are
under enrolled in by the percentage of students eligible to take them,
to the actual number of student’s enrolled.
Student’s
who are taking or have taken upper level math and science classes
breaks down as follows - Seniors: science 63%; math 38%; Juniors:
science 28%; math 38%. Upper level classes included trigonometry,
statistics, pre-calc or calculus in math; chemistry, physics and anatomy
& physiology in science. These are important classes for all
students looking at two year or four year colleges and junior colleges.
About 20% of the student body is enrolled in a PLTW pre-engineering
course. These courses would be under the umbrella of the acronym “STEM”
which stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math and are
being touted by educators and politicians as important job areas.
We
have a strong speech program, strong Career and Technical Education
(CTE) programs, hard-working coaches in athletics, excellent Spanish
courses, and a top-notch fine arts program. In all of these areas are
students finding a niche and exploring possibilities beyond the next
assignment or next practice? Are they working on things at home just
because, not because it’s required?
Passion
is important as studies have shown that it takes 10,000 hours of
engagement (not just attendance) with something to “master” that skill
or content matter. It’s obvious that school, practice and rehearsal
supervised by a teacher, coach or sponsor will not get them there..they
need to find the drive to want to engage their interest on their own.
We
can no longer afford to watch our students wait until they graduate to
focus on their interests, as a lot of times those change as we mature.
We need to take advantage of the free opportunities offered at CAM High
School and help discover what truly motivates them and what their
interests are now.
