For the past fifteen years, eighth-grade students have participated in a day focused on learning about the careers their education is preparing them for. Students would spend the day visiting multiple professionals who came to school, and who would share the nuts and bolts of their careers during Career Day. However, due to a decision by the eighth-grade team, the event did not take place this year and will instead take place at some point in high school. The editors of The Scroll believe that this decision was understandable, but not the most beneficial for the eighth grade.
Mr. Colin McCarty, the eighth-grade team leader, said that the rationale behind this decision was that, “eighth grade is a bit young to be thinking ‘wow, what am I going to be doing for the rest of my life?’”
The team believes that this adds unnecessary pressure to thirteen and fourteen year olds. Also, Mr. McCarty said that due to progressing jobs and the ever changing careers that our developing society brings, some of these professions may not even be relevant when our generation is searching for jobs. He said that, “there are so many new things happening out there right now, new jobs that didn’t exist in the past,” and that we should, “think about what sort of skills you should have from school that allow you to just transition into a career that may not have existed before.” The eighth team believes that since the day is moving to grade high school sometime soon, this change is for the benefit of the eighth grade
The assumed pressure that this day would place on students would not necessarily be an issue if students were simply aware that they still have plenty of time to decide what career path they want to take. Rather, the day could broaden perspectives and reveal the different possibilities that are ahead in life. Tenth-grader Honor Thompson said, “Career Day was a good experience because it exposed me to different options and career paths I didn’t know existed.”
Additionally, the examples of real occupations that relate to the in-class content can further aid understanding by connecting it to what somebody actually does for a living. For instance, if an engineer came while eighth graders worked on their catapult construction project, they could relate the real life example to class.
Even though Career Day won’t simply disappear from the school, and it will now be taking place in high school, the earlier students are aware of the current professional world, the more they can understand the purposefulness of learning. It helps them acknowledge the reasons they learn, and that they’re not meekly following orders just, “because teachers say so.” Also, if a speaker’s line of work is particularly interesting, they could try out electives that relate to that job in high school. If a photographer came and spoke on Career Day, students could try out the digital photography elective the following year and see if photography is something they enjoy.
Despite technological advancements and the occupations the world has to offer constantly changing, it is important to understand what is happening now. Awareness is a focal point in comprehending the world and how humanity functions, and a part of that is understanding the jobs people currently have.
If a Career Day is impossible, the eighth-grade team should try to bring more speakers in to talk about their professions. Earlier this school year, a speaker came in and spoke about his start up project “PlayBrush.” This would mean that even if there is no designated day to learn about ranging careers, throughout the year students would still be exposed to them through different speakers in assemblies. However, a career day is still a viable solution. Hopefully the grade eight team will continue to educate their students on the professions that exist in their community.
