Photo of Mr. Ward in front of torch cutting table, taken by Zoe Lee
Every year, an award is given to a teacher who is nominated as the CTE Teacher of the Year. This year, Watauga High School’s Welding Teacher, Steven Ward, was given this award for his outstanding work in educating our students on welding and promoting learning skills gained in the workshop.
Mr. Ward strongly believes in the importance of CTE and the knowledge you can gain from the CTE Classes that are offered at WHS.
“I believe the importance of CTE as a whole is that it gives students a chance to explore hands-on classes and/or trades classes," said Ward. "It is really a chance to apply a lot of the academic knowledge they have learned through hands-on experience.”
This knowledge is also proven through students who have taken a number of Mr. Ward's classes. They have shown the importance of learning what is needed in a workshop and how that can benefit social skills later in life.
WHS senior, Jace Berke, details his experiences in Mr. Ward’s classroom throughout the years.
“Mr. Ward has helped me learn so much about welding," Berke said. "He has gone out of his way to help me learn the way that is efficient for me. This has given me more confidence in my welding, which has allowed me to do more out-of-school welding projects.”
CTE classes across the school like Auto-Tech, Drafting, Construction, and Woodworking, offer an open door into shop life, teaching students much more than just the trade but also how to be an effective worker in the real world.
With the shocking amount of life experience one can gain in a CTE class, like welding, it could be beneficial to all students to step out of their comfort zone and into a workshop.
“I think it would behoove most high school students to take at least one CTE class while they are in high school," said Ward. "Most of them are fun, hands-on learning experiences that might just spark a student's interest in a career pathway.”
Mr. Ward, along with all of our CTE teachers, represents the future of our classmate's beginnings in the world of trade labor. CTE is a way to get a foot in the door and learn about what it means to work in the trade labor industry. Once students have left a CTE class the skills they learn never leave, and these skills have benefit those around us.
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