Is “What Do You Want to Be” the Wrong Question?
We have been asking children this question as far back as I can remember: What do you want to be when you grow up? Then we smile with approval at their answers: fireman, teacher, scientist, astronaut, ballerina, athlete.
But are we misleading them?
With current economic conditions, expanding use of technology, and globalization, adults today on average will be employed in four different occupations. Who knows about the future for children today?
Instead of asking for their choice of one or two careers, shouldn’t we be asking them to name ALL the possible careers that they are considering?
Instead, we need to encourage youth today to expand their options to several career areas, not narrow their selection to just one job. Then, educators and families can partner in providing opportunities for teenagers to explore possible careers:
During instruction, teachers can embed career awareness into problem solving, content knowledge and skill development. Seeing connections with real life situations will also increase relevance of instructional content for students who ask “Why do I need to learn this?” What kinds of jobs require people to use this knowledge and skill base?
In the home and community, families can spark speculative conversations about employment behind the scenes or in plain view. It wouldn’t take much preparation to look around and notice surroundings, materials, and services that have been provided by all kinds of workers. What kinds of jobs are needed for this store, this recreational facility, this doctor’s office, this community service to operate?
As youth get older and have identified some possible career areas for themselves, both schools and families can encourage them to explore a variety of careers through talking with individuals about their work, touring workplaces, shadowing real work on job sites, and participating in internships. Influential adults can foster youth’s ownership of those activities. This generation routinely conducts web-based research on their cell phones.
Why not research career related learning opportunities, too?
We don’t know yet when the reauthorization of our special education law, IDEA 2004, will occur, although it’s way overdue. When it’s time, the transition section may need to be reconsidered.
Currently it requires schools to identify each student’s post-school goal in the areas of employment, further education, and independent living. Beginning at age 16 (or earlier in many states) school IEP teams ask students to name their career goal.
Then the team must ensure that there are annual goals and transition activities included in the student’s plan to support his progress towards that goal.
Notice that the emphasis is on one career goal, yet students with disabilities will enter the same workforce and face the same conditions as all other youth.
If our intention is to prepare them for employment, why narrow their options, especially if they will eventually have multiple occupations across their lifespan? If the purpose of education is graduate ALL youth to be “college and career ready,” maybe we should think carefully what we mean by career ready. Very few of them – with or without disabilities – will remain in the first career they start at the end of their formal education. Shouldn’t we encourage them to think broadly?
