Sharing One Skin by Jeannette Armstrong of the Okanagan Community described differences between the Okanagan practices and the practices of modern society today. Armstrong started off her piece by identifying herself in the way that she knows to introduce herself. She explained who she was and how she came to take her identity from. By explaining her responsibility, which is also a part of identity, that it is to the mountains, her birth, and the river shows how she is connected to the Earth. It explains how everyone is connected to the Earth and that we are not human first, but we are Earth before anything else. With that being said, Armstrong continued on by saying that without the deep connection to the Earth and all Earth encompasses we will be lost in chaos. In addition, Armstrong also described the four capacities of self that the Okangana speak on. The four capacities are physical self, emotional self, thinking-intellectual self, and spiritual self and all capacities return to the teaching that we are Earth before we are human. So, the difference between the Okanagan practices and modern society practices is that modern society relies on new communication technology that stops people from connecting with their community and their family. That without the actual face to face interaction we are lost and have to relearn everything to reconnect with our communities and Earth. Armstrong ends her essay with the fact that since we are Earth, we are the rightful protectors of it and that true connection with our family, community, and Earth needs to stay strong and fight against the disorder that is disconnection.

Native American Identity by Perry G. Horse explores the idea and the understanding of what identifies you as a Native American. Horse starts his writing off by quoting his grandmother of how one day we will be like white people. He explains how at the time his grandmother said that she noticed that young people were choosing to speak english and not their language, and how they chose packaged foods instead of traditional foods. Then he states that years after she made these observations that we indeed are white people even though we do not look like them. He could see how we have started to replicate their ways and have assimilated into that dominant culture. However, Horse explains that we are still the Native people of North America and that is where Native American Identity begins. Horse then goes on to explain the different aspects of identifying as Native American such as what we call ourselves, American Indian or Native American, how we are all underprivileged because of the idea of white privilege, our status or stance in politics, blood quantum and tribal enrollment, and lastly our own personal sensibility. All these play important roles in identification in Native Americans. Horse explains how our cultures are not static but that they are changing and will continue to change over time. How today there are people who are mutil-racial and multi-tribal. So, the class for those who work with Native Americans to adapt to the ideal identity is not solely influenced by the individual but by a lot of key factors. In all, Horse tells us that identity is a sense of who we really are and as long as we keep passing down our memories the chain will remain unbroken.

“Vocational and Technical Education - Current Trends, Preparation Of Teachers, International Context - HISTORY OF” by Howard R. D. Gordon tells of the history of vocational education. Gordon starts the article off by saying that vocational education is the product of a long evolutionary process. He says that vocational education has been influenced by economic, educational, and societal issues about who vocational is for. Gordon then starts on the history of vocational education which can be traced back to the apprenticeship agreements of colonial times. Apprenticeships were formed in the shape of industrial education which was used in schools for orphan children, poor children, and delinquents. Then the apprenticeship education was implemented into Native American schools, specifically in the Carlisle Pennsylvania Indian School. Furthermore, Gordon discusses how vocational education was a big topic of discussion in the early twentieth century. There was a struggle to meet the labor force needs with the shift to an industrial economy from an agrarian economy. In 1914 President Woodrow Wilson appointed a commission to study whether vocational education needed federal aid. Charles Possner also considered that vocational training was the best way for nonacademic students to secure employment after high school. Gordon also discusses the legislative history and reforms of vocational education. He explained that by the 1960s the vocational education system had been firmly established and congress recognized they needed a new focus for it. Finally, the article discussed vocational education today and how vocational education is being more implemented into high schools. It also discusses how vocational education is rewarding and is very proficient for students after high school and even in high school.

“Occupation-specific versus general education and training” by John Bishop was about the debate between occupation specific careers and careers you get from receiving your degree. The article discusses why occupational specific training tends to have a higher salary or have more job openings. The article was written to argue against the idea that the support for schools like trade schools should be lessened and put more emphasis on academic based schools such as universities. However, through research Bishop shows that occupation-specific jobs are more what people are looking for when they are hiring people for their positions. He explains that employers ranked occupation skills higher than academic skills like reading, writing, and math. For some employers, academic skills were ranked the lowest out of all other skills that help make an employee more reliable and helps an employee become more of a leader. Furthermore, Bishops continue to explain how occupational specific jobs and general education training are not better than the other when it comes to their salaries. What has the most positive effect on the wages are the employees leadership skills. But, Bishop does explain why more trained workers in their jobs might earn less then newly trained occupation specific workers due to the idea that they know new skills that are more in line with the job at the moment. One of the last ideas that Bishops discusses in his article is the effectiveness of vocational schools and training. He talks about how vocational education tends to lower the amount of high school dropouts and are highly effective. He also states that students should be taught before they decide to make a choice.