Career Life Exploration

I've been thinking a lot about this transition-to-adulting business.  I have a son graduating from high-school this year, and he's really struggled to carve a pathway for himself, so I've been watching the evolution of the new high-school Career Education curriculum with interest.

Educators have always been invested in preparing kids for the future, but they've not always produced the results they hoped for.  Some of our kids have made the most of the opportunities available to them...they've explored work experience, gone to job fairs, done campus tours...they have amazing scholarship applications, resumes and cover letters, and know exactly where they're headed.

Other kids are more like my son.  They know how to "do high-school,"  but are pretty overwhelmed by the idea sifting through the possibilities that exist after graduation.  They collect pamphlets and course catalogs at University Fairs without talking to anyone.   They wait to apply for jobs, or scholarships, or schools, because they don't know how to make sense of their options.   As June 30 approaches, making decisions feels even higher-stakes, and it starts to feel safer to avoid making a decision at all, rather than making the wrong one.

This spring, I've been lucky enough to participate in a district conversation about Career Education at the same time I've been watching my son and his friends navigate their last semester of high school.  It's struck me that part of what's happened for a couple of them is that for them, career exploration has been a series of "moments," rather than a journey.  A cool visual resume in grade 9.  "Checking off" Planning 10.  Completing a Grad Transitions package in grade 12. 

(Below is my first go at a Sketchnote for public consumption.  Pardon the rustic drawing, but it captures my take on what the new curriculum for Career Life Exploration (gr. 10) is all about...)

I am super excited to be part of a conversation around building Career Education as a seamless continuum.  I love that this continuum will begin in grade 8 and keep building until graduation.  Students will have opportunities to explore their career pathway in a variety of environments-  embedded in other courses (for example, financial literacy in mathematics, resume and scholarship writing in English, person sexual health and social media literacy in physical education).  It'll never be "done."  They'll keep adding layers of understanding and experiences as they go.  Recursive reflection as they learn more about themselves and the world. 

As adults, we know that we didn't need to know everything we would do for the next 30 years on the day we graduated from high school.  We know that we can make a decision that's the right fit "for now,"  without committing to "forever,"  and that building our personal network and skills will help us create opportunities for ourselves down the road, even if we're not 100% sure which road we're taking.  We know the value of  balancing work and life, of being aware of global trends and our own talents and skills.

It's a gift that I am able to work with my colleagues to build opportunities for our students which will encourage them to do the same. 

My son now has a plan he's looking forward to.  After several months of wondering why he had to make a decision before the summer, and trying to find a way out of the Bachelor of Science his mother strong-armed him into applying for in February, he's been accepted into Culinary Arts at VIU.   He weighed his options, he's made a commitment to the next year that he's excited about.  He's trusting that this leap of faith will be a positive experience and will give him some skills that he can use in the future. 

I'm proud of him.  I'm excited for him.  But,  I can't help but think that this year of agonizing would have been a little bit easier, the options a little bit clearer, if he'd started thinking about them much earlier in his journey.  I know most people apply for Dual Credit programs with less than 12 hours to go on the application deadline.  But I also know he wasn't the only one of his friends completing the application the same day he was. 

We have students who have a clear goals and a plan to meet them much earlier.  They know they've "always" wanted to be an archaeologist, or a doctor, or a dancer.  But I would argue that isn't the case for everyone.  And I can't help but think that this new framework will most help those who need more support.   We have much to be optimistic and excited about.  I know I'm excited that I get to be a small part of it.  After all, They're All Our Kids.