Teaching PSAV (Post Secondary Adult Vocational Education)

When we come to a college setting for training in a trade, do we look at the teaching degree or do we like to see a seasoned pro in the field we want to learn. I will look at it from both angles since i have and am still in both positions. I am college educated with a BS degree and I also have over 25 years experience in the field that I teach.

First lets take a look from the students view since I have been a student and am still taking different classes to improve myself. What I look at is the teacher a pro at what he is teaching and did I learn something every day in the class. I do not care if the teacher had a Masters degree or no degree at all since I respect and love to learn from someone that has something to share. If learning is no fun, then we loose interest real fast. I use my experience most of all when I am teaching my students not my BS degree. Think about all the times we were in a classroom with a teacher that just gives out reading and written assignments, they were boring and you only learned what you read and the teacher added nothing to the book since that is all they ever learned since they have never had a job that taught them the skills of working with social and intellectual lift. These teachers have Master Degrees in education but no skills in the everyday uses of what they are trying to teach.

The PSAV (Post Secondary Adult Vocational Education) teachers are teachers that might or might not have high degrees in anything, but they have something better. They have experience at what they are teaching. Have you ever left a class feeling like you still know nothing and feel like you could of learned more on your own? Well these PSAV teachers have been there and have a lot of education from experience in the field working on what they teach and would have a better insight as to what you can expect out in the working world. When have you heard of a math or English speaking about how this problem I solved when I was doing this or that or I ran into this the other day and i have to know this or that proper English. You do not hear of this very often in those classes since most have no real practical knowledge of what they are teaching.

Now take that PSAV teacher say an automotive teacher that has had formal training and worked in the automotive field for along time and decided to teach and share his expertise and knowledge of the automotive field. Now when this person teaches they can refer to all kinds of instances when they had to do, this since that happened to them on several occasions and you are learning not only the theory of how something works but also getting some practical knowledge and then the good part we get you to work on the problem and fix it so you can apply it. Unlike learning 2*2(2-6)-4= when do you need this when in everyday life unless you want to become a math teacher or a scientist or the like.

I think that the degrees and the teachers that have them deserve respect and I also think that the teachers need to respect the PSAV teacher for the multiple years that they have in field experience and think about it the next time someone asks, should a PSAV instructor be considered a real teacher?