Western Alamance High School teacher updates her usually-hands-on classes to remote learning

ELON, N.C. — The room around her is empty. Past projects fill the shelves, reminders of when Emily Carter’s interior design students were in class and the learning was always hands-on.

“Career and technical education is the umbrella over interior design and foods and agriculture,” Carter said. “And so when they’re here, they’re the ones doing all the hands-on work and work facilitating it, but since they’re at home, we are doing the hands-on work and they’re watching us do it. And they’re able to do a little bit at home, but not as much as usual.”

She teaches at Western Alamance High School, and she says she is adjusting to teaching remotely. But she admits, CTE is different in that so much of what students learn they learn by doing. 

“When they come through as eighth graders, that’s my big thing is we go on field trips and I teach you…