Career Pathways offers kids direction early in high school

BANGOR – Kids often are stymied by the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”

But they may be more likely to have an answer thanks to a new curriculum that some area school systems are hoping to use in September.

The concept, called Collaborative Career Pathways, aims to make learning more relevant and give students a realistic plan for the future, with help from teachers, guidance counselors and members of the community.

As freshmen, students would be asked to identify their interests and aptitudes and then match them with one of six broad groupings of professions or “career pathways” such as arts and communication, business and management, or health sciences.

Throughout the next three years, teachers would try to connect classroom activities to a student’s selected career pathway. Professionals and businessmen from the community would allow students to job-shadow and would offer internship experience. Guidance counselors also would discuss life skills such as problem solving, decision making and goal setting.

The idea is that if students have a clearer understanding of what they want to do after they graduate, they’ll be better able to choose the classes that fit with their career plans.

In addition, they’ll likely make a smoother transition to college, be more confident about the major they pick and be more likely to finish in four years.

Teachers, guidance counselors and principals from high schools in Bucksport, Brewer, Old Town, Orono, and Guilford who participated in a Career Pathways training session this week were enthusiastic about the program, which was first introduced in the United States two years ago. While they still have to work out many details, most of the participants hoped to implement at least parts of the concept for some freshman beginning in September.

The training, which was held Wednesday and Thursday at Eastern Maine Community College, was sponsored by the college’s Technology Preparation department.

John Cowie, a guidance counselor at Brewer High School, said after Thursday’s session that he liked the idea of making school more relevant.

“Kids think school is one thing and life’s another,” he said.

The goal is not for students to select a specific occupation for the rest of their lives but to involve them in a more focused and relevant education, said Elaine Howard, a former teacher and administrator from Michigan who helped lead the training session with Pamela Ill, also a former teacher.

The women co-authored “Career Pathways: Preparing Students for Life,” which lays out how to incorporate the Career Pathways concept into a high school.

While careers in a particular pathway can range from cosmetologist to lawyer, the occupations share similar characteristics, and the job requirements call for many common interests and strengths, according to the program.

Students who like to draw, write or take pictures could choose the arts and communication career pathway, while those who like to follow the stock market or balance a checkbook might veer toward business management, marketing and technology.

Classroom lessons can be adapted to the career pathways program in a number of ways, Howard and Ill said.

In history, for instance, students in the health professions pathway could focus on the medical advancements made by doctors during the Civil War, while those in the engineering pathway could look at the submarine technology during World War II.

In English class, instead of a work sheet with questions about Romeo and Juliet, students in the human resources pathway could study teen suicide.

The program is a plus for the community as well because more students see local job opportunities and are more likely to stay in the area, said Howard. In addition, businesses have an educated work force at their fingertips.

If students are having trouble deciding on a pathway, they continue to explore the options and to ask themselves how their interests, aptitudes and skills could align with a career choice, Howard said.

By the time they’re seniors, all students typically “have a solid direction based on solid information,” she said. They may not be focused on a specific career, but they know what they don’t want to do.

More information on Collaborative Career Pathways is available by calling Bob Rowe, Technology Preparation coordinator at Eastern Maine Community College, 974-4809.