A service to learning.

A service to learning. HAVE YOU FOUND AN "UNDISCOVERED BENEFIT" TO BEING AMEMBER of the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE)? Weknow that being a member of ACTE has many tangible benefits, such asadvocacy, networking, best practices and updates about the field ofcareer and technical education (CTE). We also know that advocacy standsout as the number one benefit. The ACTE leadership represents the CTEcommunity--from the local to the state to the national level--providingsupport and promoting the value of CTE. Networking and professionaldevelopment opportunities are found at all levels, from your localDivision to our national conference that brings together all the best inCTE. You currently hold in your hands one of the ways that we share bestpractices--the award-winning Techniques magazine; it brings to you awealth of information about what is happening in CTE, and this month isno different. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] This month we are looking at service-learning. Service-learning isan important way to give students invaluable hands-on learningexperience while teaching them civic responsibility; ultimately, thisstrengthens the communities we live in. We, as educators and ACTEmembers, are invaluable in exposing our students to these experiences.But we also have a responsibility to share with them what we are doingin our own service-learning of sorts. Let me explain. A few years ago, astudent I had in class was selected as the program student of the yearand, as such, had to give a reflective speech at an assembly. This youngman started talking about the computer-aided drafting coursework he wasdoing and how he was going to use it to support his family. As hecontinued, he started to talk about all the civics lessons that he hadlearned. How his teacher would come back from a meeting and talk to theclass about where he had gone and what he had done. The teacher wouldtalk about meetings at the state capitol and explain how bills areintroduced and passed, about meetings in Washington D.C., therepresentatives he had talked with, and the overview of how ourgovernment works. The student then said, "I have learned more aboutcivics here than I did in my high school." This is an undiscovered benefit of your membership: You have thechance to share with students and the community what you haveexperienced. Discover this benefit for yourself with the Association atthe Divisional, state, regional or national level. Then you can talkwith your students about these activities. As you take on moreleadership in ACTE, you will have more experiences to share. I know thatwithout ACTE and all the chances I have had to interact with peopleacross our country, I would not have been able to share as much with mystudents. Also, don't forget to encourage your peers to join ACTEand help them to understand that there is more to membership than whatis written on a Web page. If you have an undiscovered benefit that you would like to share,please send it to me; I will pass it along to the Board and ourleadership team. As this is my last article, I again say thank you forallowing me the privilege of being your ACTE president. ACTE President Ed Melott