Early Career Preparation K-12

Exposing children to career building activities can begin as they start school by checking career oriented books out of the library, reading them on the e-reader, or reading them on-line.  Scholastic and Usbourne both publish lines of books that explore what different job holders do like the A Day in the Life series.  Those parent days at schools that bring in Mom or Dad to talk about thier job and the education needed for it are more important than ever.

Ritual, routine, schedules, house hold chore duties and earning allowances are early ways to teach the responsibility needed and expected on the job. Kids learn early about the need for promptness to consider others and taking responsibility for group needs. Various studies also show that families that take the time to eat meals together tend to have children that earn better grades. Kids feel more secure with structure, and the learned organizational skills pay off in the workplace.

Having kids start foreign language studies as young as possible gives students great advantage at mastering a second language while their brains are most ready for language development.  Second language learning teaches students about how to learn languages early, expands their knowledge of grammar in thier own language, and multiplies thier vocabulary exponentially.  Foreign language skills are so important in today’s job market as job applicants face greater competition in the global market and must have leading edge, adaptable skills. 

The global economy is increasingly linked, so knowledge of global/issues trends is essential.  International Baccalaureate programs, The Core Knowledge Series, The Asia Society International Schools Association and my own non-profit, i-Ed work with schools to internationalize the curriculum so American students can have a greater understanding of global studies. The National Council of  Social Studies publishes its list of best books every year and is a great place to start to find books on international topics for kids.  National Geographic, Discovery, and Usbourne Books have a great selection of books on international topics.  Particularly ambitious parents can watch recordings of the Global Education Collaborative annual conference sessions to glean good resources for thier kids as well.

High school is a great time to send students on study abroad programs to expose them to foreign language and cultures and jobs across disciplines.   This early view of overseas work can have great impact on college degree choice, university decisions, future careers, and help them have a competititive edge on scholarships and university admission.

Making sure that your kids are tech savvy can’t be underestimated as more and more kids are growing up as digital natives.  KinderTown is an “Educational App Store for Parents” with ambitions to become a complete mobile learning platform for childhood education.  Apple iTunes University has cutting edge apps for students as does International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) https://www.iste.org/ which is the professional development hub on technology for teachers and students. 

Last but not least, make sure that your children get exposed to high quality math and science programs that are widespread in the Washington D.C. area at places like The Air and Space Musueem, Koshland Science Musuem, National Aquarium, Maryland Science Museum, Patuxent Wildlife Refuge, Cheasapeake Bay Foundation, Anacostia Watershed Society, Mad Scientist  and Lego after schools programs.  The National Science Teachers Association publishes a list of the best science books of the year by grade level.  The most fun thing though is to do easy and fun science experiments with your kids that you can easily find on websites like: PBS Kids, Discovery Kids, and National Geographic Kids.  You Tube is also chalk full of science experiment videos that you and your child can do together that are fun for everyone.  The National Building Musueum and Air and Space Musuem are also great for finding books for hands on projects that use math to create models of buildings, airplanes, or even works of art.   The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics has great resources for all at:  http://www.nctm.org/resources/families.aspx
For more ideas, contact carolefenn@i-edonline.org.