Possibilities

Sometimes we don’t know what we want til someone shows us the possibilities.

School could be that.  School needs to show kids what’s out there.  They need to see what having an education can actually do for them.  Kids from limited backgrounds especially have no clue what math or science or history can do for them.  Math or history, in their mind, might prepare them to be a math or history teacher.  Science might prepare them to be a scientist because they’ve seen scientists in all the James Bond films, but what, exactly does that mean?

What if part of every teacher training was vocational awareness?  What if every teacher, on the way to becoming a teacher, learned about the career paths associated with each subject?  What if every text book contained chapters describing career opportunities and “day in the life” scenes of successful individuals in the field?

The mantra of get “good grades, go to college, get a good job, make a lot of money, be happy” has been found to be a lie.  Students need to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  It’s our job as educators to shine that light.