By Susan Schoket, Career Development Instructor, West High School, Wichita, KS
Why do I need to know this? – The age-old question from students. Most of the time students can and will answer this question for themselves if they have a clue about their future.
* All of the time people spend wandering and wondering “where I am going?” can be decreased or eliminated if students have a clue about their future.
* All the money wasted on college, pursuing majors that don’t match a student’s abilities, interests, and personality can be saved if students have a clue about their future.
* All of the unhappiness that comes from getting up everyday and going to a job one hates can vanish if students have a clue about their future.
Career Development – an integrated systematic approach that provides the clue.
Career development activities in elementary, intermediate, and secondary grades become a crystal ball to the future. Students can have a reason for education and can develop a direction once they see a future, once they have a light at the end of the tunnel. Integrating careers into ALL classrooms is simple but it does mean making a paradigm shift from always educating for education’s sake to educating for employment/careers. We hope all of our students will eventually go to work whether right out of high school or after medical school. As educators we must help our students develop a clear vision for their future.