A number of local students, either starting or returning to classes this year, represent the second, third and even fourth generation of their families to attend Cloverdale schools.One of them is 5-year old Coby Haug. When he begins Kindergarten at Jefferson School next Wednesday, he will be following in the footsteps of his great grandfather, grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles and cousins.
Presently, he has nine cousins in the district, from Kindergarten to high school, two others who have already graduated, and three more like his baby brother who are still too young to attend.Coby’s mom, Danielle Bird Huag, 30, and her mom, Patty Santana Bird, 56, were reminiscing recently about how things have changed for school children over the years.
For instance, when Coby’s great grandfather, John Santana, graduated from Cloverdale High School in 1934, manual typewriters were considered standard office equipment. Students didn’t learn to use electric typewriters until the 1960’s, and computers in classrooms didn’t come along until the 1980’s.Unlike her grandfather, and even her mother, Haug, never knew school without access to computers.
When Santana was growing up, the land next to his family home was a prune orchard. Like other children of that era, he was expected to help out during harvest regardless of Regular Residential Cleaning Services , which probably meant he got up even earlier during the week to get his chores done.Today, the prunes are long gone, and in their place is a baseball field. Family members, including Santana himself, have all been avid ball players. Bird was a Hall of Famer at Santa Rosa Junior College, and both of her sons were Hall of Famers at Mendocino College.
Currently, several family members coach local softball and little league teams so the field is often used for many of their practices, as well as by other family members just for fun.Haug, who played volleyball, basketball and softball, fears school sports might die out with this generation, a pretty sobering thought for anyone in this sports-minded family.
Bird met her husband, Dexter, while both were students at Cloverdale High. Their three children, Damien, T.J. and Danielle, all went to local schools, and each one is now sending their own children through the school system.Bird recalls, “When I was in school, teachers were also bus drivers, after school activity advisors and coaches.”
She says there were a lot more activities then, too, such as pep rallies, pep bands and concert bands, as well as classes like wood shop, auto shop, metal shop and agriculture.Bird rode the school bus until she got into high school, then her dad drove her.
”I alternated between taking the school bus and riding with grandpa,” says Haug. “Now we have no school buses so mom does it.”Bird lauds the schools for getting kids involved in community service projects, pointing to school groups like the Interact Club and Key Club and events like Community Unity Day, where students help clean up the cemetery, work in the History Center garden and at other locations around town.
“There is a lot more interaction like this between boys and girls now than when I was in school.”At the same time, she notes she and her classmates had a lot more freedom than kids today. “We were able to leave campus for lunch and Offering Office cleaning Services, if we had a permission slip, even go downtown.”An elementary school teacher in Ukiah, Haug credits her career choice to her second grade teacher, Claudia Plumley-Frandsen, who went on to become Superintendent of Cloverdale Unified before retiring in 2011.
“She really inspired me. She made learning fun in a way that made me to want to emulate her.”Sadly, one of the things that has changed over the years is the physical interaction between students and teachers. No longer is it acceptable for a teacher to hug a student or give them a pat of encouragement on the back or arm.
“If a child hugs me, I hesitate to hug them back,” says Haug, “and that’s really kind of a shame.”During Bird’s high school years, classes for girls were geared more towards home economics and learning how to care for a family.“Boys were encouraged to go to college, but for us, having a high school diploma back then was sufficient.”
Haug believes schools are now going to be focusing more and more on technology and college readiness at an earlier literacy age.“By the time Coby graduates from high school, he’ll probably need to pursue a Masters or beyond just to fit into the workplace.”
However, as someone who remembers the emotional rollercoaster of results day, I want to wish pupils and parents the very best of luck for tomorrow. However the cards may fall, there are always options which can lead you down highly rewarding paths.The good news is that forecasts for UK employment show demand to fill jobs in more highly skilled occupations are still growing.
Of the 13.5 million jobs that will need to be filled by 2017 over half will be for managers, professionals, and technical occupations. Almost all of the employment growth in the recent decade of prosperity was for people with degree-level qualifications.
While there will always be a persistent number of low-skilled jobs in the economy, overall numbers have declined.The demand for people to fill elementary roles such as cleaning or security services is to replace those retiring or leaving the workforce - it is often not the creation of new jobs.
Traditionally lower skilled jobs have served as labour market entry points for many moving out of unemployment, and their decline emphasises the need for everyone to have a strong platform of basic skills. Failure to grasp these basics when young will affect future life-chances and increase the likelihood of disengagement from the workforce.
So, as a result of the changing nature of our workforce, A-levels are likely to remain one of life’s major milestones for many years to come; marking the end of one journey and the beginning of the next.It seems appropriate therefore to pause and stake stock; to consider what employers need from our schools system but also look forward at the impact the changing economy is having on workforce needs.
Wales, of course, has its own educational system, devolved from its English neighbour’s. While we have many challenges we also have much to be proud of in Wales, particularly the emphasis that successive Welsh governments since devolution have placed on education.
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