Presidents ForumMr. Russ TronsenWFCE President2008-09 MessageGreetings FCE Teachers:I realize that we as FCE teachers need to lock-in on career pathways as a means to further substantiate our force in education. I know many of you spent a great amount of time this past year working on those. The career pathways model is really helpful for us as educators to really fine tune and make the connections to the real world beyond K-12 education. Not to mention it is the only way to get Carl Perkins funding these days. I have had the great fortune of speaking or emailing with many teachers from around the state and the overwhelming concern seems to be; "What is the future of FCE". The future to me seems to be reemphasizing that we are preparing students for the world of work and family. We see so many of our students coming from broken homes and thus making many strains both financially and emotionally for so many families out there. Our programs hopefully can help strengthen both the role of the wage earner and homemaker. We are unique in that we deal with not only family but career too. There are no other departments in our buildings that do that. Granted we have been around for a long-time. Some of you may have had the experience of living in a domestic science house as a student in College. That was the wave of FCE back in that time. We have obviously evolved with the times and do much more than just that today in our schools. The problem still exists in many areas that we are just thought as the traditional Home EC teachers. In fact some schools and lots of the public are still stuck on that. I am not trying to say that we completely ditch that original thought; but we need to empower ourselves into the new wave of thinking too. I often read or see on television the condescending remarks made toward our profession and want to just scream about it. Instead I make it my mission to educate as many people outside of the classroom to what it is that we actually do now a days. It's always interesting to travel around the states and meet individuals from different areas and talk with them about what it is that I do for a living. By the time I finish with that conversation the individual often times has a whole new feeling and understanding of what FCE is all about. This leads me with a challenge to all of you for this next year. Take some time and promote your programs both in your communities and abound. Send pictures and articles to your local papers and news agencies. Have a community open house to showcase what your students are doing. Host a community education class for adults in your area. Send letters and photos or better yet DVD's showing what you do with your program to your local legislatures. I had the fortunate opportunity to meet with Governor Jim Doyle and Lt. Governor Barbara Lawton in the past few months and really made it my prerogative to explain what I am doing. They seemed impressed and even made comment how our programs have changed and how we impact our students. I will admit I am very active with PR and I really believe it is worthwhile as I have had lots of success in growth in my program and support from the community. I encourage all of you if you aren't already to do so to strengthen your programs and make your voice heard in your districts. It is hard for administration to overlook us if we are making positive noise out there in our communities and state. I end my message to you with a quote from a great President; Abraham Lincoln. Ponder this quote for a minute because it makes a whole lot of sense in this time we are in. Best wishes and have a great 08-09 school year! "The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew."
All The Best, Russ Tronsen 2008-09 WFCE President Contact Me: Russ Tronsen |