My CTE Why

Kevin Imes

Each morning as I approach 100 West 15th Avenue, in the building for which I work, unfortunately, it is inevitable I pass a bus stop for which two, three, or even four homeless people have sheltered for the night.? Traveling closer to the fancy reflective glass-covered building that houses the Career and Technical Education unit at the Arizona Department of Education, I will wait for another homeless person to cross the street towing their entire possessions in a wagon or shopping cart. Occasionally, I will see someone who is the beneficiary of another’s good grace as the homeless soul’s clothing is relatively clean and new; thinking to myself how it must feel to have shed what most likely had been worn for months or even years. That is the point I feel the tug of my “why.” What would have been their destiny if they would have had the opportunity to learn a skill? Something they would be able to do, something they could use, something they could build or create. How much different would their life be if they would have had the opportunity to be involved in career and technical education? Now, I am not na?ve enough to know that CTE can eliminate all the challenges of mental health maladies and poverty. But, like the starfish, maybe it would have made a difference to one.?

Recently, I read an article in Big Think, an online periodical in which Barry Conchie and Sarah Dalton wrote “What JFK learned about leadership from a NASA janitor” - August 27, 2024.?

They wrote:

“When President Kennedy visited NASA at Cape Canaveral in 1962, he noticed a worker clearing leaves with a broom. Never one to miss an opportunity, he went to the employee and introduced himself with a question: “Hey, I’m Jack Kennedy. What are you doing?” Anyone who works in aviation will tell you that the presence of debris in the vicinity of accelerating aircraft can be destructive. The backdraft from engine thrust can suck the debris into the engines and cause catastrophic failure. This was the most obvious and logical answer to the president’s question, but the employee looked back at Kennedy and said, “I’m part of the team that’s going to put a man on the moon.”

“Research into employee engagement by Gallop captured what came easily to JFK: “Does the mission and purpose of your company make you feel your job is important?” In asking the question, Gallup realized that it wasn’t knowledge of the organization’s mission and purpose that is important (although that’s a good starting point), it’s that employees can express this knowledge through the value they create in their own job. Sure, the employee at NASA is sweeping up leaves, but his value is much greater. He sees his job as critical to the mission of NASA, and he just happens to contribute through sweeping up leaves.”

Seeing the morning routine of those on the street each morning makes me realize why my job has meaning and value. It’s my “Why.” Sure, the “what,” the “how,” and the “when” I do what I do has value. They provide me comfort in the belief that this makes me productive. But when it comes to “Why” am I here rather than somewhere else?” it is because I believe the work I do is meaningful to others.

Now, I might not be part of a team that is going to put a man on the moon, but I know that I am part of a team that maybe, just maybe, will help someone learn a skill, develop a craft, discover a passion that will lead them to other opportunities other than simply waiting for a set of new clothes or looking for a warm safe place to sleep for the night.