Harrisburg 41-2

Celebrating CTE Month with FCCLA

The Harrisburg School District Season 1 Episode 10

Every February, the CTE community celebrates CTE Month® to raise awareness of the role that CTE has in readying learners for college and career success. CTE Month is also a time to recognize and celebrate the achievements and accomplishments of our CTE partners at the local, state and national level.

This month, we turn the reins over to Mrs. Breanne Lynch, CTE Coordinator for the District, who will interview our CTSO advisors and student leaders. Today's episode features HHS's longstanding FCCLA program. Joining us are:

  • Deb Rombough | FCCLA Co-Advisor (ProStartAdvisor), FACS Instructor
  • Erika Starr | Chapter President, HHS Junior

Transcript 

00:00:03 JoAnne 

We're giving you more than just the 411. This is the Harrisburg 412 podcast coming to you from Southern Sioux Falls and Harrisburg, SD. 

00:00:16 JoAnne 

It's CTE month around the nation, and here in Harrisburg we continue to celebrate our programs that provide our students the opportunity to explore different careers, find their interests and get involved in their communities. 

00:00:29 JoAnne 

Today, Brianne Lynch, CTE coordinator for the Harrisburg School District, is joined by Erika Starr, FCCLA , chapter president and Mrs. 

00:00:39 JoAnne 

Deb Rombough. 

00:00:39 JoAnne 

FCCLA   Co advisor will once again turn it over to Mrs. Lynch.

00:00:46 Breanne 

Welcome to this episode of the CTE CTSO podcast. 

00:00:49 Breanne 

We're really excited. 

00:00:50 Breanne 

You are joining us again today. 

00:00:51 Breanne 

We're going to focus on FCCLA   and we have Erika star and Mrs. Rombough and they're going to go ahead and share their name, their office, and maybe something that has surprised them about being in FCCLA . 

00:01:05 Erika  

So hi, my name is Erika Starr. 

00:01:07 Erika  

I currently serve as the chapters president and I'm currently a junior at Harrisburg High School. 

00:01:14 Deb 

Mrs. Rombough I am. 

00:01:16 Deb 

The Co advisor of our FCCLA   chapter. 

00:01:20 Deb 

This is my ninth year in Harrisburg and I have 20 plus years experience in education. 

00:01:26 Breanne 

So with 20 plus years of experience in education, what's the one thing right now that comes to mind? 

00:01:30 Breanne 

That's surprising about your years in FCCLA  

00:01:34 Deb 

Well, I just think the progression it's really fun to see where learners are going, I think the career focus has really changed. 

00:01:43 Deb 

There's so many different events that students can be involved in, so that's probably one of the biggest changes. 

00:01:50 Erika  

Yeah, I mean I I love FCCLA . 

00:01:52 Erika  

Originally I just kind of started out. 

00:01:57 Erika  

Just kind of following after my sister and it was something to kind of get into with high school. 

00:02:02 Erika  

Just entering in not really knowing a lot about career preparations or just things like that so I didn't really even know what a resume was or like cover letters. 

00:02:12 Erika  

So being in FCCLA   more specifically, doing star events and just. 

00:02:18 Erika  

Competing in things like job interview have really been helpful. 

00:02:21 Erika  

They've really just expanded my kind of professional outlook on things, so it's a really great organization to be a part of, and it just kind of. 

00:02:30 Erika  

Makes you automatically mature a little bit more, and it really just expands. 

00:02:36 Erika  

Kind of your outlook on the world. 

00:02:40 Erika  

It doesn't just have to do with high school, so. 

00:02:44 Breanne 

Awesome, so let's jump a little bit into those career development opportunities. 

00:02:47 Breanne 

So Mrs. Rombough, what areas can learners compete in as an FCCLA ? 

00:02:50 Breanne 

Remember and maybe how does that tie into the facts? 

00:02:54 Deb 

OK so we are Co curricular so an example of that would be. 

00:02:58 Deb 

I'm also the culinary arts teacher here. 

00:03:00 Deb 

Just so a student could actually take what they've learned in my class and then be in a culinary type event, maybe it's knife skills. 

00:03:11 Deb 

Maybe it's a competitive, not just a competitive but a team event where they actually have to plate and present the food that they make. 

00:03:19 Deb 

There's entrepreneurship. 

00:03:21 Deb 

Where they design a business. 

00:03:23 Deb 

There's fashion industry interior design Erika mentioned like public presentations and job interview. 

00:03:32 Deb 

All of those we have a lot of them to choose from. 

00:03:35 Deb 

So just about any interest area that a learner would have. 

00:03:39 Deb 

They could probably tie it into a competitive event. 

00:03:42 Breanne 

Yeah, so quibble F. 

00:03:45 Breanne 

The Harrisburg FCCLA   team has been really successful in Quiz Bowl. 

00:03:49 Breanne 

Can you explain the format of. 

00:03:50 Deb 

That yes, so we have a team. 

00:03:52 Deb 

We can have a freshman team and we can also have a high school 10 through 12 team and we've had both at Harrisburg High School this year. 

00:03:59 Deb 

We are focusing on 10 through 12. 

00:04:01 Deb 

It's a team of five and they have different areas that they specialize in, so each student has maybe one student that has health and safety and another student might have like government for example, and then they all need to know general knowledge of FC LA and they compete in a knowledgeable format and then can advance to state and in some situations to the national competition as well. 

00:04:24 Breanne 

Awesome, so Erica, you've had quite a bit of experience in Star events. 

00:04:27 Breanne 

Would you like to explain a little bit more about that, yeah so. 

00:04:30 Erika  

I love star events because they're so open to really anything. 

00:04:36 Erika  

They don't have a whole lot of guidelines. 

00:04:38 Erika  

There's just kind of a basic rubric just making sure that like you fill in like your times. 

00:04:46 Erika  

You just kind of meet all the requirements, but you can really make it about anything like last year. 

00:04:52 Erika  

I know I did a professional presentation and it was about healthy habits of the heart. 

00:04:58 Erika  

I kind of recognized a problem within the Community, actually, nationally. 

00:05:03 Erika  

Where, uh? 

00:05:05 Erika  

Heart disease is just such a big problem, so I decided to make my focus more on health care. 

00:05:09 Erika  

Even though I'm an FCCLA , so I think that's that's really great. 

00:05:14 Erika  

I mean you have those skills where yeah, you can tie your interests into like professional presentations, but you're also working on your presentation skills, your strengthening your soft skills. 

00:05:27 Erika  

Your ability to communicate with adults, which is actually one of FCCLA 's main purposes, is kind of bridging that gap between adults and students. 

00:05:35 Erika  

So it's really nice to just compete and then you feel more comfortable kind of presenting your knowledge to people. 

00:05:44 Erika  

More comfortable just. 

00:05:47 Deb 

Well, it's it's a great way to earn recognition by doing things that you're already doing anyway. 

00:05:52 Deb 

So I think that's I think that's really important. 

00:05:55 Deb 

Exactly what Eric is saying is, it's like taking something that you find that you have a passion for. 

00:06:01 Deb 

Also that maybe you found a concern for in the Community or in you know nationwide even and then you can take and educate people. 

00:06:09 Deb 

Our central focus is family. 

00:06:11 Deb 

That's what sets us apart from any other. 

00:06:13 Deb 

CTSO, so everything that we do whether it's career based or it doesn't really matter. 

00:06:20 Deb 

It all comes back to make every person a stronger member of a of a family. 

00:06:25 Breanne 

Right, and our definitions of family has changed so much, probably from when you started FCCLA   chapters way back in the day, right? 

00:06:31 Deb 

Very much so. 

00:06:32 Deb 

I was a member in high school and I carried that passion into my career into the CTSO and into my teaching. 

00:06:39 Deb 

So yeah, it's there's. I mean blended. We were just starting to talk about blended families when I was in high school, so that's I'm dating myself. 

00:06:46 Deb 

But it's it's a family. 

00:06:48 Deb 

Can be anything, right? 

00:06:49 Deb 

And a family might just be me. 

00:06:51 Deb 

At the. 

00:06:52 Deb 

Isn't time so make helping students recognize that and helping other members of the society recognize that. 

00:06:58 Deb 

And then how can we fill everybody's needs? 

00:07:00 Breanne 

We've visited with some of the other CTSO's and they talked a lot about learners being able to find a place to belong, and that's what they really said. 

00:07:07 Breanne 

That was the main purpose of their CTSO. 

00:07:09 Breanne 

You know, at the end of the day when you come to an FCCLA . 

00:07:12 Breanne 

Meeting Erika how do you feel like you really focus on that family unit aspect? 

00:07:17 Breanne 

And how do those meetings draw you together? 

00:07:20 Erika  

Yeah, so I mean obviously we all come with something prepared. 

00:07:24 Erika  

We all come to compete. 

00:07:27 Erika  

Actually, we all kind of talk about how our Star event went like, oh, I wish I would have done that. 

00:07:33 Erika  

Oh, this went really well for me. 

00:07:35 Erika  

This is what one judge said. 

00:07:36 Erika  

So just kind of collaborating on ideas together kind of reflects upon like a family idea. 

00:07:44 Erika  

And I mean, we're all under one organization. 

00:07:48 Erika  

FCCLA , even though we come from a lot of areas like across the state across our region, we all kind of come together. 

00:07:56 Erika  

Sometimes we do workshops together, so there's lots and lots of opportunities to work together. 

00:08:03 Erika  

Not just compete against other students, but there's a lot of opportunities to really live those main 8 purposes and just remember, kind of why we're there. 

00:08:13 Breanne 

Sure, so you may not know, but I was a top gold champion in parliamentary procedure. 

00:08:19 Breanne 

The test back in the day. 

00:08:21 Breanne 

Yeah, so I have some. 

00:08:22 Breanne 

Ccla connections I also was one of those learners in FCCLA   that swore I would never go into education and look at. 

00:08:29 Breanne 

Me now so. 

00:08:29 Deb 

And here you are. 

00:08:30 Breanne 

But I will think you know the thing. 

00:08:32 Breanne 

I liked about competing on the Parly Pro team. 

00:08:34 Breanne 

Was the team aspect and then you got to take the test individually and that test you know had to bump you into that finals round. 

00:08:40 Breanne 

And all of those different aspects. 

00:08:41 Breanne 

But it was always fun to get together at state conferences, and you know, connect with kids from across the state. 

00:08:46 Breanne 

I was in Nebraska. 

00:08:47 Breanne 

This is South Dakota, but there's lots of different ways where you can connect and really get to know people from West River, East River wherever you're at and wherever your chapter is located. 

00:08:56 Breanne 

So Mrs. Rombough, you speak a little bit, maybe to the connectivity that it provides kids and maybe the network that it helps build. 

00:09:02 Deb 

I was going to say, you know, looking at what Erika was saying too is that I think you talked about building networks. 

00:09:08 Deb 

One of the things I like the most about being an advisor is. 

00:09:11 Deb 

Having that extra connection with my students, it's I don't just see them in class and then you know, see them day after day. 

00:09:19 Deb 

It's they come to events. 

00:09:21 Deb 

I help them work on competitive stuff. 

00:09:24 Deb 

We have meetings where we might just get together and do something fun. 

00:09:27 Deb 

Maybe it's a movie night or a bowling night or whatever you get to know. 

00:09:31 Deb 

Kids on a different level and I think. 

00:09:35 Deb 

I have students from my first years of my first years of being an FCL FCL advisor that I still am in touch with that still reach out to me maybe for help or like hey can you give me a letter of recommendation or I know maybe it's somebody that I can hook up now with a student that can help them get a job. 

00:09:56 Deb 

So you never underestimate the power that you have of meeting and networking with people, because it's kind of a forever family. 

00:10:03 Deb 

They're you're never going to lose touch with. 

00:10:06 Breanne 

I think service too is at the heart of that right? 

00:10:08 Breanne 

So can you speak to some of the service projects that FCCLA   takes on and how those benefit not only your membership but the outside community as well? 

00:10:15 Deb 

I would say one of the biggest ones that we've done here at Harrisburg is the Angel tree and now we do that in conjunction with the Counselor Counseling department, but just helping those families in need in our community that might might not have. 

00:10:31 Deb 

A lot to look forward to like at the holiday season and trying to to make some of those wishes and needs happen, not just things they want but things that just everyday things that maybe some of us take. 

00:10:41 Breanne 

For granted, fundamental needs like clothing, socks, those types of things that we you know wouldn't be new. 

00:10:47 Erika  

And I mean and also Harrisburg the the school the high school in itself and the district is getting so big now. 

00:10:53 Erika  

So I really like helping out with industry because it kind of makes the community come back together because we're kind of spread out all over the place now. 

00:11:00 Erika  

So it just kind of makes everything feel a little bit smaller and I feel a lot more connected to. 

00:11:05 Erika  

My community. 

00:11:05 Deb 

That's a great example we have. 

00:11:07 Deb 

We have lots of different areas that kids can get involved with. 

00:11:10 Deb 

We have a families acting for community Traffic Safety which our kids can go out and do all different kinds. 

00:11:16 Deb 

Teaching kids about, you know, don't thump your melon. 

00:11:18 Deb 

Wear a helmet, bicycle. 

00:11:20 Deb 

Safety we talked about seat belt safety through that program. 

00:11:24 Deb 

We have a student body arm of our program which is healthy habits. 

00:11:28 Deb 

Kind of what Erika talked about with her public presence. 

00:11:33 Deb 

And having a healthy heart would fit into that. 

00:11:36 Deb 

We have a families first where it's just strictly like, you know, focusing strictly on family family needs. 

00:11:43 Deb 

So there's we. We just have so many different branches that I feel like we can reach out into the community. 

00:11:48 Deb 

We've helped at the banquet, food pantries, coat drives. 

00:11:53 Deb 

If if we see a need or if a student comes to us and says hey, this is really something that is important, then we can. 

00:11:59 Deb 

We can usually make it happen. 

00:12:01 Breanne 

So yeah, there's lots of different ways that FCA has touched the community. 

00:12:04 Breanne 

And I also think it's pushed other CTSO'S O's forward. I think many people would say that FCA was sort of the launching point for educators rising, seeing a lot of people interested in education professions. 

00:12:14 Breanne 

So this has opened the door for another CTSO to come about and then I also think HOSA was sort of an offshoot of that, seeing a lot of different kids interested in healthcare so. 

00:12:22 Breanne 

This organization, being sort of the OG right CTSO to the Harrisburg School District, FCCLA   and FFA. 

00:12:29 Breanne 

For sure have really stood the test of time. 

00:12:32 Breanne 

So how do you feel that other business and industry partners could help support the FCCLA   mission of family at the center? 

00:12:43 Deb 

Well, I think anytime we can partner with business and industry it's it just broadens the scope of what we can do as far as you know we do. 

00:12:51 Deb 

We we've we're so fortunate now with social media and being able, our outreach is bigger. 

00:12:55 Deb 

Just that. 

00:12:56 Deb 

OK, but you know matching funds. 

00:12:59 Deb 

For example, if we do a project and Angel trees are perfect example of that we get donations from, you know, anywhere from individuals to corporate type sponsors that that contribute to that. 

00:13:13 Deb 

And I don't. 

00:13:14 Deb 

I can't even tell you how much. 

00:13:15 Deb 

How much was donated this year. 

00:13:17 Deb 

But I think we helped like 3030 some families. So what when you look at the scope of? 

00:13:23 Deb 

That just it gives kids more of a real life experience to have like hey, this is out there and I think they see that and when they become that person that's out in business and industry and out in the real world then they remember and it helps them give back as well in the future. 

00:13:39 Breanne 

So we were able to collaborate with the Roar Store gives back, which is part of what FCCLA   and all the other Csos have been helping sponsor. 

00:13:47 Breanne 

And learners are in there working every day alongside their advisors. 

00:13:50 Breanne 

How do you think student based enterprise has helped further FCCLA ? 

00:13:56 Erika  

I think it just kind of brings more attention to the kind of CTE hallway and just to the CTSO'S's in general. 

00:14:04 Erika  

I mean, if students go in there, you know like that's a great commodity and like that's a great commodity in our high school. 

00:14:15 Erika  

So having really cool stuff like that. 

00:14:17 Erika  

Just around our high school is really great and most of that kind of came from the CTSO'S Department and so you know, having students go in there kind of wanting to give back to their CTSO'S. 

00:14:28 Erika  

Those keeping them running so there's just more attention brought to the CTSOs for sure. 

00:14:34 Deb 

I was going to say I think that you know the opportunity for kids to work in a small. 

00:14:45 Deb 

Retail environment I guess would be the best way to say it is amazing. 

00:14:49 Deb 

Customer service skills are huge no matter what career you have, you are going to need to be able to relate to people good and. 

00:14:56 Deb 

Bad, so you know now's a great time to like. Hone those skills and really, really figure out. And is this something I like? 

00:15:04 Deb 

Maybe maybe I'm much more a person that likes to sit behind the desk and not have to deal with people. 

00:15:09 Deb 

We don't learn those things until we get to practice them. 

00:15:12 Deb 

So the earlier the better our kids get in the Roar store get. 

00:15:17 Deb 

All kinds of experience, not just with FCCLA , but you know making products selling, product promoting product, dealing with customers, troubleshooting equipment, ordering. 

00:15:28 Deb 

It's it's all budgeting. 

00:15:29 Deb 

It's all in there. 

00:15:31 Breanne 

Yeah, we see a lot of overlap too. 

00:15:32 Breanne 

Sometimes we have learners like Erika that are in multiple CTSO’s. 

00:15:36 Breanne 

How do you juggle all that? 

00:15:37 Erika  

Erika definitely a balanced schedule. I try. I'm only in two CTSo's. I do think because I hold pretty high positions in both so. 

00:15:51 Erika  

I want to give 110% to both, so I do try to keep my schedule open when I can give myself some free time, try not to burn out. Kind of keep school balance somewhere in between, but it's. 

00:16:05 Erika  

It's kind of trial and error. 

00:16:07 Erika  

I mean you kind of figure it out. 

00:16:08 Erika  

You figure out what's most important, like obviously like our state conventions, our region conventions. 

00:16:14 Erika  

Those are really important, and I mean lucky enough most of the time it doesn't overlap, but when it does, I kind of have to say, oh, OK, I've been at this. 

00:16:25 Erika  

Where I've been giving a lot of my time to the CTSO'S maybe give a little bit more time to this CTSO. 

00:16:32 Erika  

So it's interesting, but it it is hard because I love both dearly so. 

00:16:37 Breanne 

The organization and time management, though that will carry you a long way in life, and we know that those soft skills are a primary goal of all CTSO organizations. 

00:16:45 Breanne 

So how does FCCLA   focus on the development of soft skills? 

00:16:48 Deb 

Well, all of those things that I was talking about going back to just learning to manage your time prioritizing I think, is huge. 

00:16:56 Deb 

That's a hard skill even for an adult. 

00:17:00 Deb 

So having the opportunity our kids have at HS have so many different things that they can be involved in and we don't want to limit that. 

00:17:09 Deb 

But we also just like area Erika was pointing out. We you know, it's it's really easy to get yourself underwater, right? And then I can't give 110% so. 

00:17:21 Deb 

I think as advisors we we want that involvement. 

00:17:25 Deb 

We want those kids to do as much as they can, but we also recognize that there has to. 

00:17:29 Deb 

The there's a limit to what everybody can do so. 

00:17:33 Deb 

We we really do. 

00:17:34 Deb 

Work together, we have a great team here. 

00:17:37 Deb 

We want what's best for our kids and we will do, you know we we try to go above and beyond to say like hey we will make this work for you if we want you to be a member of this, even if you're an officer in this one and you don't, you can get as. 

00:17:50 Deb 

Involved as you want to get there. I don't think in any of our CTSO'S are that demanding where we say like, OK, you have to do this. 

00:17:59 Deb 

It's like find find your niche, find what interests you about this CTSO'S and then you know see what happens. 

00:18:06 Deb 

You know, give it a try. 

00:18:09 Breanne 

So Harrisburg High School CSO's were awarded the CSO Revitalization Grant and that's going to show a lot of collaboration between all of our CSO programs and so Mrs. 

00:18:19 Breanne 

Rambo and Erica. 

00:18:19 Breanne 

Can you maybe speak to some of those things that are in the works? 

00:18:22 Breanne 

And people can look forward to. 

00:18:24 Deb 

We are so excited to have this opportunity. 

00:18:26 Deb 

So yes, we this was a collaborative effort and one of the things we really wanted to focus on was professionalism for our Members. 

00:18:33 Deb 

Like helping them be the best that they can be when they go and present when they're up in front of people when they're when they're planning a presentation. 

00:18:43 Deb 

Building that. 

00:18:43 Deb 

Confidence and that self esteem. 

00:18:46 Deb 

So we have there's many different legs to this grant that we wrote in. 

00:18:50 Deb 

We are going to focus on professional etiquette like meal etiquette when you're, you know, at a professional meeting, et cetera. 

00:19:00 Deb 

We're focusing on professional dress. 

00:19:02 Deb 

How do we conduct conduct ourselves in? 

00:19:06 Deb 

Different situations that we can represent not only because we're not just representing ourselves, but we're representing an organization and we're also representing it. 

00:19:15 Deb 

Harrisburg High school. 

00:19:16 Deb 

Whenever we go somewhere, and I think that's something. 

00:19:19 Deb 

That we really. 

00:19:19 Deb 

Are aware of and we stress with our Members. 

00:19:23 Deb 

You you need to. 

00:19:24 Deb 

Look, you know This is why we wear a professional uniform and and all of those things. 

00:19:28 Deb 

So we are we're super pumped to be able to bring some. 

00:19:32 Deb 

Bring in some professionals and have some of those experiences through this grant opportunity. 

00:19:37 Erika  

And I mean like how cool as a high school student like being able to take some of these opportunities to learn about. 

00:19:44 Erika  

Professionalism because it just puts you so far ahead in the game like I feel like most. 

00:19:49 Erika  

People don't really learn this until like maybe their first job out of college or like late into college or they learn it the hard way and so this is a really great opportunity and most of the time it's like state officers that really get these opportunities. 

00:20:07 Erika  

So it's kind of bringing down what maybe state officers are expected to do and. 

00:20:11 Erika  

Kind of like those opportunities for them. 

00:20:13 Erika  

Like when we talk about the etiquette like dinners and just how to conduct yourself in a professional way. 

00:20:21 Erika  

Kind of down so more people can try it out. 

00:20:23 Erika  

And it's not just a certain. 

00:20:27 Erika  

Thing like a certain level that you have to be at in order to be exposed to some of this stuff. 

00:20:31 Erika  

So I think it's great that. 

00:20:34 Erika  

I mean you can just be a member and you're exposed to some of these things. 

00:20:37 Deb 

That's a perfect example, because what what our one of our goals was is that all of our officers in our organization would get some of this basic training, and then they in turn not just model it, but then bring it back and teach it to members. 

00:20:51 Deb 

We'll have some things where all of our Members get to be involved, but we really wanted to focus on, you know, our. 

00:20:57 Deb 

Our young leaders. 

00:20:58 Deb 

And how they show them they can really make a difference and they can. 

00:21:03 Deb 

They can be the ones that people are going to look to for. 

00:21:05 Deb 

This information too. 

00:21:06 Breanne 

Yeah, speaking about Littles, you know with no career development is a lifelong process, and in Harrisburg we do a really good job. 

00:21:12 Breanne 

I think of exposing kids kindergarten through 12th grade plus and always being a resource and providing experiences for them. 

00:21:18 Breanne 

We get the opportunity to host Journeys 5th graders this past fall and FCCLA   got to host some sessions. 

00:21:24 Breanne 

Field House how do you feel that that went over and tell us about those experiences working with some elementary kiddos? 

00:21:30 Erika  

They are very rambunctious, they're very cute. 

00:21:32 Erika  

I love them. 

00:21:34 Erika  

We did three main booths that focused on topics within FCCLA , particularly health and safety. 

00:21:42 Erika  

They seem to have a lot of fun. 

00:21:45 Erika  

With it, I think they were. 

00:21:46 Erika  

It was very interactive. 

00:21:48 Erika  

They seemed to do a pretty good job listening, so I think at least I hope that they kind of retain some of that. 

00:21:55 Deb 

Yeah, I think our outreach is amazing. 

00:21:57 Deb 

Through HHS, our administration is very supportive and they see that those those kids need to. 

00:22:03 Deb 

Who have be exposed to these different careers and these different topics? 

00:22:08 Deb 

Personally I think it's awesome when the kids can come into our building. 

00:22:12 Deb 

It doesn't always work, but when they can, it's just they get to see. 

00:22:15 Deb 

For example, they you know they've probably never seen a culinary kitchen and industrial kitchen before, or a wood shop, or some of those areas so. 

00:22:24 Deb 

The welding aspect. 

00:22:25 Deb 

All of those things. 

00:22:27 Deb 

It's like kind of. 

00:22:27 Deb 

I never got to do those things as an elementary kid and I think it would have just been mine. 

00:22:32 Deb 

Glowing to be able to to come in and like look at that, you know, see a car up on a hoist and go. 

00:22:38 Breanne 

Wow, you know? 

00:22:39 Breanne 

So in conjunction with the FCA sponsored sessions, FFA hosted a session. 

00:22:43 Breanne 

We did a whole CTE tour of the high school. 

00:22:44 Breanne 

They got to walk underneath a car that was up on a lift that was like the highlight of their day. 

00:22:48 Breanne 

Keep in mind, their 5th graders, which was really cool. 

00:22:51 Breanne 

They got to learn about the potatoes. 

00:22:53 Breanne 

They grew in their own garden beds over at Journey and Mrs. 

00:22:56 Breanne 

Rambo had learners that they had had translated that into potato bread and they got to practice knife cuts. 

00:23:01 Breanne 

And so just the experience that you can craft for kids early. 

00:23:05 Breanne 

Often I think too is also part of that FCCLA   mission. 

00:23:08 Breanne 

The outreach, the service learning, and those aspect. 

00:23:10 Deb 

Yeah, actually being a part of that room or that that team where when we go into their classrooms it's great, but it's we can't. 

00:23:17 Deb 

It's hard to take that along just to clarify the knife cuts. 

00:23:20 Deb 

We're not with real sharp knives safety. 

00:23:22 Breanne 

Yes, be plastic knives at playdough. 

00:23:25 Breanne 

Yes, safety first here with all CSOS, always safety first. 

00:23:30 Breanne 

Speaking of safety in our business and industry partners and all of those different things, we know that there's lots of classes underneath the facts designation. 

00:23:39 Breanne 

So we have hospitality and things like Human Services and education and training. 

00:23:44 Breanne 

What's your favorite class? 

00:23:46 Breanne 

Erika underneath sort of the FCCLA   facts umbrella. 

00:23:50 Erika  

Ohh, that's a tough one. 

00:23:54 Erika  

Actually, I'm going to have to say. 

00:23:57 Erika  

I think. 

00:23:58 Erika  

Human development, right? 

00:24:00 Erika  

That's just a cool class in general. 

00:24:01 Erika  

I have a lot of friends who have like taken home babies and just like seeing just how interactive it is, you know, like I, I like going to classes, but if you know you don't necessarily get to like, take something. 

00:24:18 Erika  

Home or something? 

00:24:19 Erika  

It's not as interactive and I'm a very tactical learner. 

00:24:22 Breanne 

You can't see this because it's a podcast, but Erika is literally the mimicking like holding a newborn infant. 

00:24:27 Breanne 

Yes, so. 

00:24:28 Erika  

But no, it's very fun, and it's important. 

00:24:32 Erika  

I mean, I feel like everybody should really take that. 

00:24:35 Erika  

Class everybody should at least know you know where they came from, what they looked like when they were little baby processes, life processes. 

00:24:40 Erika  

So that's probably my favorite. 

00:24:44 Breanne 

One, how do you think that parents and the public have been more or less receptive to classes on like family development, life development? 

00:24:53 Breanne 

I know for a while. 

00:24:53 Deb 

There was think it very much cycles I think. 

00:24:56 Deb 

What at least what I've seen or what I've I've noticed in the years that I've been in education. 

00:25:02 Deb 

We kind of nationally. We kind of go through this phase. 

00:25:05 Deb 

Where why are kids taking this and our kids don't need this and there's other things that are more important and then we don't have it or or it's not as widely known about. 

00:25:14 Deb 

For you know 5 to 10 years and then suddenly people are like well, why doesn't my child know about this? 

00:25:19 Deb 

My kid really needs to understand. 

00:25:22 Deb 

Human development and how to relate to other people and how to you know how to hold a knife correctly and how to be safe in all these situations and how to change the oil and. 

00:25:32 Deb 

And then it and then it becomes kind of important again. 

00:25:35 Deb 

And so I at least that those are the things that I've noticed. 

00:25:38 Deb 

I think right now CTE has never been more prominent and that a lot of that is stemming from the career need that we have out there. 

00:25:47 Deb 

Everything that we teach in our classes is hands on. 

00:25:50 Deb 

It's practical, it's career readiness. 

00:25:54 Deb 

From soft skills to those hard skills of yeah. 

00:25:56 Deb 

How do I? 

00:25:57 Deb 

How do I make a medium dice right? 

00:26:00 Deb 

How do I? 

00:26:01 Deb 

What's an effective parenting skill? 

00:26:03 Deb 

All of those. 

00:26:03 Breanne 

How do I correlate heart? 

00:26:05 Breanne 

Issues and concerns into a public presentation that's to listen to. 

00:26:07 Deb 

Exactly, exactly how do I know how to maintain a healthy diet and what's a healthy weight and BMI for myself that you might learn right? 

00:26:16 Deb 

Nutrition and Wellness. 

00:26:17 Deb 

Those kind of things. 

00:26:18 Deb 

So I think I think the the public society is really seeing that we need this now. 

00:26:25 Deb 

And and probably really, there's just been so many events with the pandemic and things have happened in the past couple of years that has has helped CTE come to the forefront too, because they're essential skills that people can use in a lot of different career fields. 

00:26:40 Breanne 

And the CTSO'S's are providing an extension of that curriculum and finding a place where kids can practice those skills with a safety net. 

00:26:46 Breanne 

But also then yes, maybe extend themselves and push themselves into realms they didn't know were possible. 

00:26:51 Deb 

I've had I've had fellow teachers, parents, other people tell me like if I had had a class like some of these in high school, I might be in a completely different career field. 

00:27:02 Deb 

I might be doing something. 

00:27:03 Deb 

That you know this guy's the limit, I just didn't know about it, so I think that right there is proof that the more we can expose our students, we just broaden their horizons. 

00:27:15 Breanne 

So if there's one final thought you'd like to leave with listeners about FCCLA , and about CTE in general. 

00:27:21 Breanne 

What would you like to share? 

00:27:23 Deb 

I just think family, I think it's never been more important. 

00:27:28 Deb 

We all have needs and we all need somebody family, whether it's biological or not. 

00:27:36 Deb 

I think learning how to reach out and help other people and realize that we all really are all connected and we all can make a difference if we pull together. 

00:27:46 Erika  

Yeah, I I was just gonna say family. I mean I love FCA's main focus of family and it's fairly peculiar actually. 

00:27:55 Erika  

I mean, you know all the other CTSO'S's they mainly have like a career focus and all that stuff, but I feel like when I come into FCCLA . 

00:28:04 Erika  

There isn't really anything I can't do like I can be interested in law. 

00:28:10 Erika  

I can be interested in medicine. 

00:28:12 Erika  

I can be interested in even agriculture. 

00:28:15 Erika  

Don't tell us if I said that, but you can be interested in all these things. 

00:28:21 Erika  

You can come wanting to make friends. 

00:28:23 Erika  

And FCCLA   will be that family for you because our main focus is all built upon family and I really appreciate that and respect that. 

00:28:31 Breanne 

FCCLA   seems like it's the the whole person CTSO'S O where everybody can find a space. 

00:28:38 Deb 

I I do really fully believe that I've been involved with it for a long time and it is. 

00:28:44 Deb 

We believe that everybody can. 

00:28:46 Deb 

Everybody can come and get involved and to what level is up to you, but we have a place for you at the table basically. 

00:28:53 Breanne 

All right, well if you'd like to get involved with our Harrisburg high School FCCLA   chapter, you can reach out to the contacts below this podcast in the show notes. 

00:29:01 Breanne 

Thanks for. 

00:29:01 Breanne 

Joining me today. 

00:29:02 Erika  

Thank you, thank you. 

 

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