As School Director, I often counsel students and their families on the benefits of a vocational education. Frequently there is doubt – does the student have talent and the potential for a successful career. Virtually every day, I will tell one of my students, “I see the hidden potential in you.” I know that given the right tools, they will surprise themselves.
This can be exhausting work. So now, it’s Friday, Feb 14th, Valentine’s day, and I’m looking forward to a week-long school vacation. School ended an hour ago, and I’m alone in my office. I sit back, put my feet up on my desk, and as I’m sighing with satisfaction, the phone rings.
“How would you like to join a 5-day, government-sponsored training?” the caller, a government official, asks. His tone is formal … this is a command, not a request. He continues, explaining the government believes this training will be a “game changer” in how technical school training programs are delivered across Kenya.
I’m stunned. I’ve been asked to join a government-sponsored program when NTS is not a government school. I have no idea how they found us. Somehow, we’ve been noticed.
I’ve dreamed of being recognized by the Kenyan government. It means technical support, subsidies, and connections to new colleagues. This could be a “game changer” for NTS, too!
So, Monday, Feb. 17, I travel 15 kilometers and arrive at the training site where all 150 students/educators are assembled. I learn the training has been organized by Kenya’s top education departments, the Curriculum Development, Assessment and Certification Council (CDACC) in collaboration with the Technical and Vocational Education and Training Authority (TVET). This opportunity is much larger than I imagined.
For the next five days, I did indeed learn a new, game-changing approach, called Competency-Based Education and Training (CBET). It’s a methodology that looks deeply at how each student learns, both in the classroom and through hands-on experience. We explored the interrelationship of knowledge (book/classroom learning), hands-on skills (shop and on-site learning), and attitude (professional behavior). This mixing of approaches allows for deep learning.
Next, we explored how to build our own programs integrating CBET. We studied curriculum development, student assessment tools, and educational planning. Perhaps most interesting was the strategic aspect. Each profession in Kenya has national operational standards. So, how do we integrate these standards into our curriculum ensuring our students graduate with a full array of professional competencies?
On our last day, we, the educators, became students. First, we sat for a basic exam (more of a pop quiz to prove we’d paid attention). Then, we were given an assignment: 2.5 hours to develop a one-year vocational curriculum in an area of our expertise, based on everything we had learned. After a moment of mixed panic and terror, I started on a curriculum for teaching Microsoft Word and its intricacies to students.
Two hours later I turned in my assignment, honestly unsure of my success. While I am a sometimes teacher – after all, when I started NTS I was part of the teaching staff – I am more of an educational entrepreneur. On my own, I have acquired a building from our community, recruited volunteer teachers, eased the fears of countless families, mentored countless students and now, during the Covid-19 pandemic, am working with the students to start a mask making business. But, I had never designed a full curriculum, and certainly not in 2 hours.
Late that day, our exam results were announced. I finally understand the expression, “you could knock me over with a feather.” My curriculum was graded as #1 of all 150 educators – held up as an example of expert academic planning. I was stunned … by the accolades and by my accomplishment. I’m always on the look-out for hidden potential in my students. That day I discovered it in myself.
Since then I have fielded many requests from educators at the conference to help with curriculum planning. While I must turn them down to focus on NTS, I am humbled by their faith in my skills.
Every day I check the mail, expecting my official certificate of achievement. It will be framed above my desk and serve as a reminder to everyone at NTS that within each of us resides hidden potential poised for that moment of release into the light of day.
