Getting Real: Helping Teens Find Their Future by Kenneth Gray
Most of today's teenagers either drop out of high school, graduate and go right to work, go to college with around a half ending up with a four-year degree or graduate and not be able to find work commensurate with their degree*. The economics tied to these inefficiencies are mind-boggling. What's important is...what are the long term effects on our children? Janitors and waitresses are noble positions and are actually a thing of beauty to behold when those folks put their heart and soul into their work. But shouldn't we be helping teens to research their strengths and weaknesses, likes and dislikes, ability to research and make sound educational and career related decisions. It's one thing to pursue janitorial work, it's another thing tohave to do it.
Author Kenneth Gray does a masterful job in organizing this work. To begin with he explains his goal which in part is:
To stimulate efforts designed to develop a level of maturity - career maturity - among teens that allows them to make postsecondary plans that have a high probability of success.
The book is broken down into three parts:
1) To explore the state of career immaturity that is rampant among teens, the mindset of parents, the challenges presented by dropouts, and occupational stereotypes that tend to limit occupational choices of teens.
2) To provide an overview of labor market basics, occupational projections, and career development.
3) How to improve career maturity for all teens.
Postsecondary success is the goal.
Every student will graduate from high school having developed a postsecondary plan that is grounded in at least tentative career choices and has a high probability of success.
Career Maturity
Career maturity is as important a term to Mr. Gray's book as the binding that holds it together. He explains here:
"Career maturity is demonstrated by teenagers of high school age when they:"
1) Understand the importance of narrowing career interests as a basis for postsecondary planning;
2) Have, by the 10th grade, identified one or more career interests after an objective evaluation of their likes and dislikes, their aptitudes, and labor market projections;
3) Have, by the end of the twelfth grade, engaged in activities to verify these choices; and
4) Used these choices to make post-high school decisions.
It's a Process
Mr. Gray clearly and succinctly outlines a plan and process towards postsecondary success near the book's end. I think however, if one examines and puts into practice the following steps that he provides to get real, they'll see that it's also a process towards success in all other areas of our lives.
1) Make a realistic personal assessment of individual likes and dislikes, as well as strengths and weaknesses as they relate to labor market opportunities;
2) Make tentative career decisions based on this assessment; and
3) Explore alternatives and plans for preparing to pursue these interests after high school.
Can You See the Train?
Are you a parent of K-12 kids or someone over the age of twenty-one? When you want to look up something on a person, place or thing you solicit the opinions of others (yes, that's another definition of Google). I suggest however, when you consider Kenneth Gray's book here, you solicit your own opinion.
1) As a middle school-er / high school-er, did you have a person of influence in your life who carefully guided you along educational and career discovery pathways?
2) Is the line of work you're in today what you went to school for?
3) Are you in debt for that education?
4) Did you have a researched plan to follow after high school?
5) Do you look back and wish you would've pursued education and career related decisions differently?
6) Do you wish that you had someone to help you with these challenges at a young age?
If you feel as if you're in a position to see the train barrelling down the tracks on our teenagers today, why not get real, pick up Kenneth Gray's most excellent book and do something about it?
*I square up these numbers a bit at Rothacker Reviews.
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