Teachers Attend ‘Summer School’ Workplace Learning
Wednesday July 07, 2010
Kingston, TN - The "Educators in the Workplace Lunch & Learn" program sponsored by The Roane Alliance and Innovation Valley provided area educators the opportunity to receive a little schooling themselves this summer.
Educators from Roane, Blount, Knox and Loudon counties and Oak Ridge visited Roane Medical Center (June 9), TVA Kingston Fossil Plant (June 11) and Capstan (June 15) to learn about what career opportunities are available at these three major local employers, but also to learn about what skills and attitude employers look for in their employees and job applicants.
Hospital Visit
During the visit to the Roane Medical Center (RMC) in Harriman, Sherry Holt, RMC's Human Resource Director explained how a hospital is like a small "city" with many career fields represented. The educators were surprised to learn that the hospital employs very few doctors; that almost half of the hospital's employees are nurses, and there are also a large number of allied health medical personnel.
Priscilla Spitzer, Dean of Nursing, from Roane State Community College, and Kathy Kleinsmith, a nursing instructor with the Tennessee Technology Center at Harriman, talked about the nursing programs at their schools. "It does not require a four-year degree to become a registered nurse," said Spitzer, "there are many opportunities in the nursing field and many specialties one can learn." Both Kleinsmith and Spitzer said it is important for students to take math and science classes in high school to prepare for college medical programs.
Mike Laman, Dean of Allied Health Sciences at Roane State, emphasized that students need to "prepare for opportunity" and to do that one needs to build their math, science, and reading skills. "You never know where your career interests are going to lead you," said Laman, "but strong skills in math, science, and reading will prepare students to take advantage of opportunity." Laman also said that it is good that Tennessee recently increased the high school math and science graduation requirements.
To understand the critical role of technology in medicine, the educators took a tour of the hospital's Imaging Department, where the group was impressed at how x-rays, sound waves, and other imaging tests are viewed within minutes. "It's amazing what we can do with imaging technology today," said Adele Crabtree, Radiology Manager. "Both the detail of and speed of receiving imagery can be life saving. Each piece of imagery equipment has its best uses; we use the equipment that best helps the doctor and patient."
While the emphasis was on medical careers, the educators also learned about the important role of the hospital's cafeteria. "Morrison Health Care Food Services recently took over the operation of the hospital's cafeteria," said John Foust, Director of Food and Nutrition Services, and a registered dietitian. "The transition was easy because of the excellent people and structure that the hospital already had in place." Foust explained that Morrison Healthcare Food Services is the nation's only food service company exclusively dedicated to providing food, nutrition and dining services to healthcare communities.
Throughout the visit, hospital representatives emphasized the importance of employees having a good attitude and people skills.
Roane Medical Center personnel participating in the visit included: Sherry Holt, John Foust; and medical staff members Steve Oran and Adele Crabtree.
Power Generation at the TVA Kingston Fossil Plant
The most that many people learn about TVA's Kingston Fossil Plant is that "it generates about 10 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity a year, enough to power about 670,000 homes, and at the time it was finished in 1955, it was the largest coal-burning power plant in the world." That was only the beginning of the lesson for fifteen educators that visited the TVA plant on June 11.
Rick Christian, an engineer at the Kingston plant, explained the process the TVA plant uses to produce electricity. Reviewing that process, from receiving coal to generating electricity, consisted of mini-lessons in the sciences (geology, chemistry, and physics), engineering (chemical, civil, electrical, and mechanical), mathematics and computer science. By describing the processing, Christian answered to the proverbial student question, "Is this stuff ever used in the real world?"
The educators also learned about the many jobs and career fields required to operate the Kingston plant. "I teach high school and this will give my students the opportunity to see that there are many career choices within our area," wrote a Knoxville teacher. "So many kids think they have to know what they are going to do before they graduate [from high school], but as was said today, people start in one career and changer over time."
Today's students need to be flexiable in planning their career; a good base of knowledge in science and math can help achieve that flexibility. A Department of Labor study predicts that students in school today can expect to hold ten to fourteen jobs by the time they are thirty-eight years old.
After learning about the Kingston plant in the classroom, the educators went on a tour to see part of the process of how electricity is produced by heating water in a boiler to produce steam and, under extremely high pressure, the steam flows into a turbine that spins a generator to make electricity. The educators wore safety equipment that included ear plugs, hard hats, and eye protection. They also visited the plant's master control center, which looked every bit as advanced as those seen on television with many computer screens, hundreds of buttons, switches, lights, and a warning alarm, which they got to hear...only as a test, of course.
The value of the TVA visit was summerized by a Loudon County teacher as, "Very informative. Sometimes in education, we lose contact with the real world. This helps me to better understand what we are truly preparing our students to do."
The TVA employees who hosted the educators included Beth Jackson, Rick Christian, Ashley Owens, Charity Edmonds, Alvey Summers, Larry Edmonds, and Mark Riley.
A Local High-Tech Manufacturing Operation
Loren Bone, General Manager of the Capstan Tennessee plant, welcomed educators to the company that manufactures precision powdered metal gears, sprockets and complex structural components. Next, Ted Bair, Capstan's Sales Manager, explained how the company, a world leader in high volume sintered metal manufacturing, uses six million pounds of powered metal a year, to produce twelve million parts a year for engines, transmissions, chassis, compressors, lawn mowers, and other types of equipment.
Bair's presentation also highlighted knowledge and critical skills its employees need. First he identified knowledge requirements of mathematics (algebra and geometry), reading comprehension, and communication skills. The educators asked several questions to better understand the needed math skills. Added to the list of skills were basic computer skills, typing, problem solving, mechanical aptitude, and a good work ethic.
"I learned a lot that will be interesting to my high school students. We, as teachers, try to make content relevant to ‘real' world experiences," wrote a Knoxville high school teacher. "The Educators Lunch and Learn program brings it up close and personal."
The educators asked about training and promotions for employees. "Pay for knowledge," was how Bone described Capstan's training incentive program. "We use both classroom and hands-on training for our employees" Bone explained that there are five proficiency levels within a job class or area and when an employee has mastered a level, they receive the pay for that level. He explained that it is what you know and your abilities that are important, not how long you've been there.
Ernie Gilmore, Operations Manager, and Doug Suddath, Project Manager, led the educators on a tour of the plant. They saw the entire process of turning ‘powered metal' into a finished product. During the tour, it was clear how critical technology, quality workmanship, and employee motivation are to the success of the businesses.
Several of the educators noted the positive attitudes of the workers, "When I talk to employees, they like their job," wrote one educator. Bone, and the other managers, told the educators that Capstan has a high retention rate among its employees.
Educators participating in the Educator in the Workplace all praised the program and looked forward to future visits at other companies. Mary Jacque Wynn, a teacher at Gibbs High School in Knoxville wrote, "The community getting together like this is an win-win situation for all."
Bair of Capstan summarized the businesses impression of the program and recognized its value. "The sharing of information between the business community and teaching professions is something that needs to happen on a regular basis. Only through this communication can the gap between what business needs and what educators convey to their students be narrowed."
"It is great that individuals in the field of education take the time to visit ‘real world' work environments," said Bone. "This should help them to be equipped with the knowledge to prepare young adults to enter the workforce."
"The Roane Alliance, and the other Chambers who are partners in the Innovation Valley, offer this program to benefit educators, students, businesses and the community overall," said Allen Lutz, Education and Workforce Development Specialist for the Roane Alliance. "These three visits are just the first of more than a dozen sponsored by the Innovation Valley this summer."
The Roane Alliance is Roane County's economic development organization and consists of both public and private organizations, including the Roane County Chamber of Commerce, the Roane County Industrial Development Board and the Roane County Visitors Bureau. For more information about the Educators in the Workplace program and The Roane Alliance's Education Matters! initiative, contact Allen Lutz at alutz@RoaneAlliance.org.
