Preparing students for the work world

The Arkansas summer heat is upon us, but it’s not too hot to think about what schools should be doing for all of our students.

As food for thought, consider two areas in which schools might do better: (1) providing opportunities for students to pursue and discover their interests, and (2) making sure all students learn the skills needed in the world of work.

In late February, I got to attend a national conference of the National Association of Secondary School Principals in Orlando.

In an open discussion among school administrators, one said a lot of what we do with students in schools isn’t always aligned with their passions. He said schools should look at the idea of encouraging students to pursue their own interests within the curriculum through independent studies, through interdisciplinary studies and through internships.

This would help cultivate an ongoing spirit of discovery within each child. Some school districts are already doing this with formal efforts in place as early as middle school. They have blocks of time set aside which are known as passion time, enrichment time, genius hour or pride time.

Call it whatever you will — if we are encouraging students to learn in an area of interest to them, it creates great momentum in the entire educational effort and is time very wellspent.

Finding your passion in life is dealt with quite extensively in each annual edition of the best-selling book, “What Color is Your Parachute?” by Richard N. Bolles.

It is a good read for those wanting to discover their talents and to align them with the best fit in the way of a vocation. But, in the book, Bolles also stresses the importance of knowing about the skills that most employers want in a new hire.

In the 2015 edition, in the chapter on getting ready for job interviews, he wrote that employers want employees who have drive, energy and enthusiasm; they also want individuals who are dependable and have a good attitude.

Bolles also wrote that businesses want people “who are self-disciplined, well-organized, highly motivated and good at managing their time.”

A highly-sought-after employee is also one who is good with language, good with computers, good with creativity, good with solving problems, good at handling interactions with others and a good teammate.

They must be trainable, project-oriented, goal-oriented and love to learn.

Bolles wrote that employers need individuals “who are flexible and can respond to novel situations or adapt when circumstances at work change.”

And finally, he or she must be a person of integrity and a person who will be loyal to the organization.

In short, if one is entering the marketplace today and wants to advance, he or she must act right, talk right, think clearly and have a solid moral approach towards work and towards others.

Some parents cultivate those attributes in their children at home. Some don’t. But every young person needs them. In the final analysis, those things may matter more than any level of academic mastery. Businesses will pay good money to retain employees who bring those qualities to the table.

In light of that, schools can’t neglect the teaching of character education, job skills and people skills.

The very existence of a best-seller such as “What Color is Your Parachute?” suggests that, perhaps, schools aren’t providing all of the answers in these areas.

In fact, Bolles himself commented about this on his own web page: “No job-hunting book should sell over 10 million copies,” he said. “It reveals some kind of vacuum in our educational system which leaves graduates hungry for the knowledge the school should have given them — how to plug in what they learned in the classroom to real needs out there in the world of work.”

Schools need to help students tap into their own individual areas of interest and also to teach them how to conduct themselves in a manner that translates to success in life. But it won’t happen if left to chance. It takes some deliberate planning and organizing on the part of educators.

It would be time wellspent though, because the future success of our children depends on it.

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