Career Exploration -
More than a One-Size-Fits-All Approach
"Start today . . . Succeed tomorrow" is the motto of the Bowie
Cass Adult Education Cooperative (BCAEC) in Texarkana. It can
be discouraging living a life and working a job that was chosen
for you because of lack of knowledge. In today's world, the way
to overcome is by using the power of knowledge. Following is
a quote from Dr. Ben Carson in Think Big: Unleashing Your Potential
for Excellence. Dr. Carson, a neurosurgeon, states, "I am
convinced that knowledge is power - to overcome the past, to
change our own situations, to fight new obstacles, to make better
decisions."
This power of knowledge is best served by our students if they
have a sense of what they are preparing for. The first day of new
student orientation, we ask students to respond to three questions:
What in your life might you need to change or adjust in
order to attend GED® preparation class regularly, what are two
good things about your life up to this point, and two bad things
about your life up to this point. Students are asked to write their
answers in paragraph form. There is a slight reality check after
answering some of these questions, but it is the first step in discovering
who they are and what they want to become. In addition,
it gives the instructors some idea of their writing skills.
The Encarta Dictionary's definition of goal is something that
somebody wants to achieve. Many of our students come in with
no idea of a long-term goal, and their goal is just to obtain a
GED® credential, but we believe that earning their GED® credential
is only a springboard to their success. We give our students
a career interest survey to open their eyes to the vast array of
opportunities. The career interest survey is divided into three
categories: activities that describe what they like to do, personal
qualities that describe me, and subjects I like. If answered honestly,
then the students will see how their personality, hobbies,
and interest will align with a career that they will enjoy doing. In
the workplace readiness skill lessons, we want to teach skills to
help the students be successful on their jobs as well as choosing
the right jobs. We let each student know that workplace readiness
is not only working on a job, but also a career choice. With that
said, we will have the students do a Career Interest survey, [here]. After
taking the survey, we evaluate and analyze the top three career
clusters the students are interested in by using www.onetonline.
org. The students see the opportunities ahead of them. To narrow
the search, we utilize Achieve Texas, www.achievetexas.org, to
integrate the 16 career clusters in our program. This is one of the
first decisions student make to choose their future and not have it
chosen for them.
Bi-monthly, the Student Recruitment and Transition Specialist and
Adult Education Counselor give presentations. The lessons on
jobs skills are the first phase of the lesson taught at the beginning
of the year. We lay the foundation for the students to get a good
workable resume together. The students are taught how to job
search and are given handouts. After the students have worked
on the handouts and have produced a good resume, we go to
computers and organize the material. The students utilize what
they have learned in this portion and perform a job search. At the
end of the lesson, students are given a pocket-sized handout with
the tips they have learned in class as a quick reference to aid
them outside the classroom.
The last segment that we present in our career lessons is college preparation skills. In the area of college preparation, we help our students with financial aid. We show a PowerPoint presentation that includes all websites necessary to apply for financial aid. We also assist students in applying for the Free Application For Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) when they are close to completing their GED® credential. We will do lessons covering applying for college and completing their college schedules. Along with all the college preparation lessons, we help them with deciding on their majors and by having materials available in our Center for the students. We also will explore these careers through the classroom lessons.
Career exploration leads to goal setting and the highest level of
knowledge which is understanding oneself, setting goals, and
being motivated to reach them. Instead of a one-size-fit-all, this
approach matches their areas of study to their interests and future
career pathway.
About the Authors
Whitney Jackson is the Adult Education Counselor at Bowie-Cass
Adult Education Cooperative/Texarkana ISD.
Mary Wakefield is the Adult Education Recruitment and Retention
Specialist at Bowie-Cass Adult Education Cooperative/Texarkana
ISD.
Dean Ransdell is Director at Bowie-Cass Adult Education Cooperative/Texarkana ISD.
