Deeper Learning 2019

The session will explore the opportunities for our youth in the 21st century world of the trades. We will examine the economic, personal, and entrepreneurial rewards available for youth for whom working with hands and mind is a preferred post secondary path. Our attendees will separate into two groups to visit two real world sites: one will visit a union apprentice program, and the other a small sole proprietor business. We will explore the unique culture of tradespersons, and the impact the trades can have on youth who have struggled in school and in life through two videos: "Wilshire Grand" which looks at the iron workers constructing a high rise in Los Angeles, and "Second Chances" which describes a very successful trades-based program for working with incarcerated youth. Our attendees will be challenged to examine the barriers that exist for youth interested in the trades in many high schools, and how schools can be restructured to both elevate the status of trades bound youth, and maximize their skills and personal development. The lens will be a unique Harbor Freight Tools for Schools/Big Picture Learning program, the "Harbor Freight Fellows Initiative" that provides material support to schools to support real world learning for trades oriented students. We will examine the leadership qualities that are necessary to fully realize an effective program. We will also examine alternative measures of student success that are more closely aligned to real world outcomes than schools currently are using. Our attendees will map the possible measures they can take at their own schools to transform the lives of their trades bound students.