High School Kids Are Not Equipped to Choose a Career
I originally posted this just to del.icio.us, but the more I thought about it, the angrier I got. There’s apparently a movement to have high school students “major” in something as they progress towards college.
Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot.
I attended a magnet high school for science and mathematics. So did many of my friends: Jonathan, Rick, and Jess went to MSMS with me, Kat went to ASMS, and Brian went to NCSSM [which I didn't know until a few weeks ago]. I think that most of our friends very definitely could have gone to those schools if those opportunities had been available for them when they were ready for them. All of us lived away from home for two years in a magnet environment, but I bet that we’d all feel the same about this: specialization at that age is a bad, bad idea.
When I look at my curriculum, I made a bet going in that I would be an engineering major in college, so I was very, very heavy on physics and mathematics, taking every course offered by the school in both curricula. I discounted everything else that I could to focus as much as I could, forsaking AP courses in the humanities that I really wish that I’d taken because they would have interested and challenged me. [Some of my peers did take those courses, but they weren't able to take all the physics courses I did or able to do research at Mississippi State as I did.] At this point, you’re thinking, “What’s your point, Morris? You have an aerospace engineering degree and work in aerospace. You’re the prime candidate for this idea.”
Well, that ignores the fact that, for a period of time between 18 and 23, I felt like I’d been called into ordained ministry. [I now think that I was wrong, but man, the guilt messed me up for years.] I thought that all I’d done was very wrong for myself. I had a time of crisis, and I was ready to change. But because I had built up this massive momentum—insert your favorite fat joke here ;)—I was never able to break out of it. Granted, I am totally happy with things now, but what if I’d gotten into my field and hated it? All that work would be for naught, and at 22, I would have been starting over in school. Sure, that wouldn’t have fazed me much, but what about the very kinds of at-risk kids that the program in Jersey is trying to reach? Those kids don’t have the resources to change horses mid-stream.
High school kids are not equipped to choose a career as they enter those hallowed halls.
Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot.
that’s brilliant.
August 16th, 2007 at 20:27I agree with you, but I did get a laugh that the part of this post that really caught my eye was the:
Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot.
I stopped and thought “oh yea I’m gonna steal that”.
Then I find it as the only comment. Thats just awesome.
August 17th, 2007 at 08:19=P
Man, guys, I say that a lot. Of course, most of the time I say it, it’s at work …
August 17th, 2007 at 08:24Geof,
It may be true that some kids are not ready to choose a career by grade nine but having a career goal means that you have something to work for, a reason to attend school. I teach at-risk high school kids who do not have career goals and see no reason for taking school seriously. So they skip, come to class late and don’t do their work. They just see no reason to “play school”.
In my grade nine classes,I help students set career paths and goals by having them discover their strengths using a multiple intelligences inventory. Then, I have them look a future careers that fit their multiple intelligences profile and their interests and map out the courses they need to take in order to be do what they want. I also have then make a back-up plan just in case their first plan doesn’t work out.
I think all along the way there should be opportunities for kids to explore other subject areas. Although I love being a teacher because it allows me to be creative, I also love being a textile artist working with colours and textures and have often thought that maybe I should have pursued that as a career. Then I realize, you just can’t have it all.
August 17th, 2007 at 09:07“but I bet that we’d all feel the same about this: specialization at that age is a bad, bad idea.”
I wholeheartedly disagree with this statement. I think the major idea is a very good idea for the schools. To be able to be successful in college, work has to begin in middle school. You can’t wait until your junior or senior year to decide you want to go into a Science, Technology, or Engineering field. At that point, you’ve either taken the math or you haven’t.
What the major allows for as well is for students to gain not just the breadth of knowledge that their core coursework should cover (this is only for the electives if I read it correctly), but through the selection of a major, depth of knowledge in one or more areas. There should be a method for students to change majors if they realize that they are in the wrong area.
Different career goals require different educations. It should not be in-depth specialization, but it should provide some level of depth. This allows the student to discover if this is the direction they want to go while in high school rather than having to make this realization 2-3 years into college.
These are just the thoughts of a practicing engineer who sees an extreme shortage of students leaving our high schools with an adequate foundation to enter an engineering program. I want to see that change… whatever it takes.
August 17th, 2007 at 20:54I agree that specialization at that age is a bad idea. Now, do not get me wrong, I still think that students on a college bound track should make it through at least a Calculus class — I believe schools train most students to believe mathematics is hard due to the way it is taught and do not give them a chance to use their brains. However, I think that a high school education should be broader if at all possible. All education today seems to be migrating to the point of “job training” and moving away teaching the students how to think. Knowing how to think would give graduating high school students a better foundation to enter any program that they wish. Having a broader education allows students to have an idea of what they would like to do since they will have been exposed to many different areas. A fourteen year old should not and can not know what it is they want to do with their life to any degree of certainty.
August 18th, 2007 at 09:19Elona: Your approach seems to work because it’s broad and allows for change. I’m fine with that—because it’s age-appropriate. Thank you for teaching.
Rick: Isn’t that more of an argument, though, for not going into low gear in middle-school mathematics? After we teach kids to do simple arithmetic, we shouldn’t let the pace slacken before picking it back up in high school. [Admittedly, I'm projecting my own mathematical experiences onto the whole of American mathematics education, which is a poor idea.] That said, though, I know folks who haven’t had the math that still can find a way to succeed in those fields in college—it just takes more time as they get up to speed their freshman year.
Jonathan: I agree on all points, even though the English majors amongst us are going to dread Calculus in high schools. Me, I think that’s payback for being forced to read Faulkner.
August 19th, 2007 at 21:20My main thought is that there should be focus on a certain amount of depth in the education rather than just a very shallow top-level of lots of things. We need the top-level… you won’t be able to figure out what you would like to do if you were never exposed to it, but you also need to have solid opportunities to dig in and go deeper… actually learn about something or how to do something.
People without a solid math and science background can and do excel in those fields. They are determined and they work hard for it. But why did they decide to work hard for it? Why was it interesting to them? The most likely answer is that they had an outside influence showing that the world of engineering and science is neat and that they would enjoy it.
If we can increase the depth across the board, excellent. That is ultimately what we need. But if that’s not happening, it makes sense to me to let students start digging deeper into the subject(s) that interest them the most.
August 20th, 2007 at 09:45