Author: Tammy Lane • First Posted: Friday, August 14, 2009

Nearly 60 teachers from Fayette, Jessamine and Scott counties signed up for the institute. (Photo: Tammy L. Lane)

During the week-long Lexmark Teacher Institute this summer, teachers from Fayette and surrounding counties spent time discovering the business world they’ll in turn help prepare their students to enter.

“You don’t know where your students will end up. So to get out and see what kind of jobs they’ll be doing, it helps you prepare them better,” said Cynthia Jones, an English teacher at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School.

The annual institute offers educators a chance to network with business professionals and visit such companies as Kentucky American Water and Mersive Technologies. Program organizers hope teachers will bring their experiences back to the classroom with improved curricula and stimulating activities for students.

“The whole intent is focused on that relevancy piece,” said Pamela Trautner, executive director of the Lexington Partnership for Workforce Development. “The businesses can demonstrate how what (educators) teach is applied in the workforce.”

It’s a great way for the larger community to interact with the school system, she added. “Businesses want educators to know their needs.”

A good attitude, solid work ethic, communication skills, teamwork and critical thinking are crucial in any occupation. And savvy teachers incorporate these life lessons into their classes.

Vint Collins, who teaches seventh-grade science at Leestown Middle School, previously worked in sales. So he understands the importance of such skills, along with problem-solving and flexibility.

“This really resonates with what businesses say they need in prospective employees,” he said during a break in a marketing seminar.

Many institute participants cited the interactive tour of the Toyota plant in Georgetown as a favorite activity. “I had no idea how big it was and what it entailed,” Jones said.

Others said they got a lot out of the seminars, which covered such topics as Jung’s eight mental functions and their impact on learning.

“We talked about the different ways people learn and identified styles and ways to interact,” said Jennie McClanahan, who teaches math at Lafayette High School.

Nearly 60 teachers from Fayette, Jessamine and Scott counties signed up for the institute – some, like McClanahan, for the second time around.

She particularly enjoyed hearing from experts with Collision Reconstruction Associates, who linked geography and computer programming, showing how a mechanic and an engineer use math in their everyday jobs.

“I feel like I can provide students a rich, real-life context now,” McClanahan said afterward.