Scheduling and Career Choices.

Good morning, Parents.With the scheduling process in full swing, it is probably a good time to provide some additional information about our approach in guiding students as they select classes for next year. We have begun the process with a strong emphasis on career choices, and post-high school program requirements, because we want to help our students see how their high school classes are critical as they prepare for their futures. Being thoughtful and intentional in the scheduling process can save students significant time and money down the road, but that demands that students and parents must think carefully about their possible career choices and do a bit of research about what those post-high school programs require for admission. Besides the practical desire to prepare our students as well as possible for their individual plans after high school, we also feel that if we can really get students to see high school as a big step in the preparation process for the future, it can have a rather positive impact on their motivation to learn right now. Too often students have had the perspective that “we” (society) make them go to school until they are 18, and that is a very different point of view than seeing high school as providing a wide range of opportunities to prepare for their future. We are trying to change that perspective in students as much as possible, but we could really use the help of parents as well.

This senior class will have graduates that have over a semester’s worth of college credits completed before they leave OHS. We also will have students graduating with a third of their technical training programs complete, and many of them will be able to finish their programs in a year. We have students who have been in apprenticeship programs and they have a very clear view of the additional training they will need to accomplish their career goals. There are certainly many examples of current students who have made considerable progress in preparing for their careers before they graduated from OHS, and this trend will only grow in the next few years.

Obviously, some students find it much easier to assess their talents and find their passion in terms of a career than others. I have been telling students that it is not necessary that they “hit the bulls-eye,” but it is more important that they think and struggle with this big question so that they can find a general direction. The guidance department takes each student through the career cruising software to begin the process of assessing aptitudes and interests, but the thinking and exploration cannot stop in the guidance office. My parents frequently reminded my siblings and I that finding the right job was a critical life decision because the quality of our lives are substantially impacted if we have jobs that we enjoy and find rewarding. In my view, that is the real goal. Not to have students go to college because their teachers, or their principal, think they should, and not to have students pursue a career that their parents want for them, but to pursue the type of work that will give meaning to their lives.

Parents, please understand that in the last 5-10 years, the lines between high school and college/tech. school have overlapped considerably. That trend looks like it will only continue in the near future. Students need to be planning for their futures as freshmen and sophomores if they are going to be in a position to take advantage of all of the opportunities available in high school. Doing so will save them considerable time and money, so struggling with this big decision is well worth the effort. We are finding, however, that it is far more likely to happen when parents take a lead role in discussing the topic in depth with their children. Therefore, that is our big request of parents in the scheduling process—please take the lead in discussing career choices with your children, and researching careers and programs after high school. It can be a difficult topic, and one students often wish to avoid, so it needs your guidance.

Thanks, and have a great week.
Scott