Preparing for a world of unknowns

 

Lt. Col. Williams (l) and GHS MCJROTC leaders (GCPS image.) 

Our world is changing at breakneck speed. Technology has made things like smart phones, that not so long ago would have been considered science fiction, indispensable tools for daily life.

The mission of Goochland County public schools (GCPS) is to maximize the potential of every learner and inspire the next generation. Equipping students with tools to navigate, function, and flourish in a rapidly evolving world is a complex task.

Attendees at the spring Business Roundtable, a periodic gathering of local businesspeople and community leaders, organized by the GCPS Career and Technical Education Department under the Direction of Bruce Watson, held on April 30 in the exquisite headquarters of Luck Stone (https://www.luckstone.com/) in Manakin were treated to a trio of perspectives by dynamic speakers. Go to https://ghs.goochlandschools.org/o/ghs for a glimpse of our high school.

“The question what do you want to be when you grow up is dead, because you’re going to have to constantly reinvent yourself,” Scott Luberto of Luck Stone told the group. “The world will keep changing and jobs will evolve.”

First up was Lt. Col. Kevin Williams, USMC, retired. who leads the GHS Marine Corps Jr. ROTC program, which, with 147 cadets, is the largest in the region. He explained that the program does not prepare students for miliary service—high school students with no ROTC experience enlist at the same rate as those who take part the program. While on active duty, Williams was involved with JROTC programs before being deployed and knew that after his days of leading Marines ended, he wanted to lead cadets.

“Through the Grace of God, I had the opportunity to come to Goochland high school to partner with amazing civilian leaders and fantastic young people that have restored my faith in the future of our nation.”

“Our purpose is not to make Marines,” explained Williams, “It is first and foremost a citizenship program. Many of our cadets have no business in the service and that’s okay with me. I want to develop informed and responsible citizens. The name of our class is leadership education.”

Williams was joined by current leaders of the four-year MCJROTC attired in “the cloth of our nation” Marine uniforms, a privilege earned in their second year of participation. Three of them expect to serve in the military. Two seniors will attend college, Penn State and Virginia Tech, on Marine option NROTC scholarships. One will go to Marine boot camp next summer, and another will also attend Penn State with no military service in her future. The cadets were poised and articulate as they shared career plans and answered questions.

Cadets study history; how our country is organized; about the military chain of command from private to general all of whom report to a civilian. They learn the role of uniforms in life whether it be military or mechanic coveralls to fulfill a role on whatever team they may be a part of. They study and practice good leadership skills, develop personal accountability and responsibility to inspire their peers, and have fun along the way. Williams contended that skills taught at the master’s level are the same given to tenth graders, “better than I got in in college, free at Goochland High School.”

Using Marine models, MCJROTC teaches students how organizations function, including respect for the boss, regardless of who it may be, and the value of citizenship so they can be responsible and informed participants in our republic. The Corps’ motto of strength, honor, courage, and commitment helps young people realize that not everything is about them and where they fit into the scheme of things.

Community service is also a part of the program. Cadet participation includes providing a color guard at local events and doing the heavy lifting at the county’s annual fall tire amnesty collection. They visit military bases, the Marine Corps Museum, and participate in national competitions with other JRROTC cadets.

Skills, hard and soft, obtained in the MCJROTC program will stand our kids in good stead no matter where life’s journey takes them.

Local businessman Stan Corn reflected on his own military service and observed that the most valuable part of the MCJROTC program is the opportunity to mature while still in high school, to better enable them to deal with the challenges they meet in the next place.

(See https://www.goochlandschools.org/o/ghs/article/673462  and https://sites.google.com/glnd.k12.va.us/goochlandhighschoolmcjrotc/home for details of the program.)

Luberto of Luck Stone (https://www.luckstone.com/) said that the skills described by Williams are the exact ones that Luck seeks in new employees, not necessarily quantitative mastery. “I need somebody who’s a good values fit, a good leader, and does care.”

In a world constantly changing, Luberto contended,  skills most needed are: learning agility—people comfortable being beginners over and over; curiosity—the ability to use AI to answer questions; collaboration—people who can work alongside AI as a teammate as well as every iteration of human difference; and figure-it-outiveness—persistence, grit, the drive to problem solve when the path is unclear, and AI is confidently wrong. The last, he said, is the human muscle that saves the day.

Luberto said that he is excited that in a few years his infant son will attend Goochland Schools, where he will learn skills necessary to survive and thrive in a future rife with unknowns.

He explained that Luck has replaced people with AI to autonomously operate the huge vehicles that transport rock up the side of quarries. This did not result in any job loss but allowed employees “displaced” by that technology to fill other jobs in the company to learn new skills.

Erin Yearout-Patton, affectionately known as Mrs. EYP, a teacher in the CTE program and coordinator of its work-based learning (WBL) program, said that the title of which she is most proud is “Bulldog Momma.”

WBL gives students the opportunity to explore a wide range of career opportunities to enable them to plot satisfying and productive career paths and reject those in which they have no interest. Mrs. EYP alluded to a comment made by a META executive that 250k electricians will be needed by 2030. WBL can help fill that void.

WBL helps students build real world skills through immersion; test drive various occupations; connect classroom theory to real world experience; and prepare them for the diverse challenges of life beyond graduation. This helps students to make smarter professional and educational choices for their futures. Families are involved in every step of the program.

To meet its goals, WBL “building tomorrow’s workforce today”, uses flexible integration that seamlessly melds a student’s goals with workforce opportunities so they can simultaneously complete academic requirements while developing real world skills and relationships. It is a solutions-based program to bridge the skills gap in today’s workforce. Business partners can choose the participation model that works for their industry.

Mrs. EYP explained that WBL interactions with business partners range from guest speakers describing their company to full blown internships to shape curriculum and mentorships to prepare tomorrow’s workforce.   A recent tour of the Amazon facility sparked an interest in two CTE students who will spend next summer there with an internship and have enrolled in the CTE electricity class next fall well on their way to becoming badly needed electricians.

Business partners are asked to provide a safe environment for students; give constructive feedback on the program and participants; offer meaningful exposure to the company; and model the standards of a professional workplace.

To learn more about WBL contact Bruce Watson, Director of CTE & STEM bwatson@glnd.k12.va.us (804) 556-5613 or Erin Yearout-Patton, Work-Based Learning Coordinator eyearoutpatton@glnd.k12.va.us (804) 556-5322.