Helping High School Students Prepare for Their Futures!
Yesterday, I met with our high school leadership team. We were discussing how to help our students prepare for a future career or goal. One colleague stated that we should teach our students autonomy. Another argued that we need to put family values first and help students grow with this focus. A third leader suggested that we needed to identify how those values might challenge a student’s future career and college success. The more we discussed this topic, the more I am convinced that we need to help students learn how to take care of themselves to ensure their future success.
Families May Limit Their Children’s Careers
Unfortunately, some families may limit their children’s career choices because:
- They may need their child to stay home to care for younger siblings, elders, and manage the household needs.
- They may need their children to work for the family business or supplement the family income with a part-time job.
- Other families may be concerned about their children’s safety outside of the home.
Families Can Guide Their Children
How we guide our children towards independence while valuing the family’s values is critical and needs to be discussed openly with all family members. Through ongoing discussions with parents and students, I have learned:
- Children can learn how to care for themselves through assigned household responsibilities. This will help them gain confidence in their skills and value to their community.
- Parents must allow their children to make their own decisions about college and career. Students should be provided with the support and guidance that allows them to pursue their goals.
- Students must respect their families. The students should allow their parents the opportunity to grow with them and accept their choices.
Parents Can Nurture Independant Learning
As we prepare for spring conferences with parents, we plan to reinforce this contextual understanding. Parents can nurture their children’s independent, lifelong learning skills while embracing the family’s values.
Happy planning!
Yvette
Copyright © 2018 by GenParenting
Yvette King-Berg, is the Executive Director of Youth Policy Institute’s Charter Schools. She was the former California Charter Schools Association Vice-President of School Development and Outreach-Southern California. Ms. King-Berg has over thirty years of experience working with teachers, students, parents, and organizations in a variety of positions including Director, Assistant Director, Curriculum Advisor, Bilingual, and Title 1 Coordinators, classroom teacher (K-12) in Pasadena and LAUSD. She has been married for twenty-three years, and is the proud mother of her son, EJ, who attends UC Berkeley.
Very good article! Thank you, Yvette.
I want to add another way that parents limit their children’s careers: They are scared and overwhelmed; they don’t know how to advise or help their kids on the path to college, so they steer away from the topic. Including parents in the path-to-college education can lead to more support for the youths to find and follow their own path.
Dear Janis,
Thank you for your very supportive comments and added insight to helping parents learn how to accept and respect their children’s needs to make their own college and career decisions. We are here to support families in their journey of nurturing their children’s growth!