In a 2016 interview, Charles Fadel, the Center for Curriculum Redesign founder, stated “from the times of Socrates and Confucius, it has been obvious that what makes people successful in life is not only what they know and how skillfully they use their knowledge, but also how they behave and engage in the world. In other words, their character” (Rubin, 2017, p. 18). In my previous work as an Educational Specialist, I had the privilege of collaborating with a group of 100 middle-school students from low-income and first-generation backgrounds. These individuals had been identified as having the potential to excel in college yet required additional support to fully realize their capabilities. Through this experience, I gained a deep appreciation for the unique challenges that these students face and the importance of providing targeted resources and guidance to help them succeed. As it relates to this article, I would like to share a learning activity that was highly popular among the students. This activity provided them with an evidentiary roadmap based on their self-identified personality traits and paired their responses via a career interest survey.
The learning activity that was created has its roots in several different areas that I had previously explored while working with middle and high school students. The title of the activity, The Road to Character, shares the same name as the book by David Brooks. In it, Brooks describes the two Adams, Adam I and Adam II, and how each represents human nature. Adam I is career driven, while Adam II seeks to find inner peace. Brookes provides biographical sketches of important figures throughout our human history and how each overcame personal failures and/or weaknesses to then obtain greatness. In essence, each example was humbled by life before continuing along the path to good character and transformation. After my initial reading of the book several years ago, I immediately went out and purchased a hardback first edition. I loved the style in which it was written and felt the message throughout the book was highly important for young people to grasp at an early age.
Cue the next phase and how I translated it for middle school students. For 7th graders, I had them complete a Personal Values Identification form in which they picked their five most important values and why they chose them. From there, they would then complete a basic Holland Code test in which potential job seekers are divided into six personality types: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional. I would then choose their highest three scores to determine their Holland code (SIR, AIC, ESI, etc.), and would then match that score with career fields that align with their code. My “food for thought” question was: Are your values and personality aligned with your career interests? Only you can know and decide.
For 8th graders, we went a step further and built upon the results obtained from the prior year. The students would complete a Career Clusters Interest Survey that asked them to choose: 1) the activities they liked doing, 2) personal qualities that described them, and 3) school subjects they liked. The survey was arranged in 16 boxes with each box correlating to a different Career Cluster. So, for example, if a student circled 10 activities, qualities, and school subjects within a particular box (and that box was the highest score), I would then align it with a career field (Business Admin & Management, Human Services, IT, etc.). At this point, I would access the Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH) and compile a portfolio for the student detailing the job summary, work environment, educational requirements, future job outlook, similar occupations, etc. My goal for these activities was to put tangible data into their hands at a young age so they could have a specific reason to focus on their education.
The 8th graders who completed the assessment graduated in May 2021. Had I stayed within that career, some follow-up questions I would have asked them would be:
- Are your career interests still the same as when the assessment was completed?
- What solidified your career choice or caused you to change it?
- What career resources would you have added to your high school career?
- Were you able to do any job shadowing?
- Do you feel like you have a good starting point to start your post-secondary education?
My thoughts were that the information garnered from these questions would allow educators to focus on what works, and what needs improvement. What better way to gain this information than from those who recently went through the process? Also, with these students largely being LIFG students, we have the potential for generational change by impacting educational and career decisions.
By aligning personal values and character traits with potential career paths, students can gain a deeper understanding of themselves and their goals, potentially leading to a greater sense of fulfillment and happiness in life. Remembering my own days in middle school, it felt at times that I was simply going through the motions of attending school without fully realizing what I was working towards. If we as educators can provide tangible and relevant data as it relates to the often-heard question of “why do we have to learn this?”, then it is my opinion that students will begin to shift their mindset to that of a determined and self-motivated individual working towards a defined goal.
In providing this assignment, my hopes were that LIFG students would see a blueprint for how to obtain their desired career and potentially impact their family dynamics by being the first to attend and graduate college. I hope you find this activity as rewarding as I did. In closing, let’s remember our true purpose as educators in that we are helping mold the next generation by promoting independent thinking and inspiring a love for learning. While challenging at times, the reward is a citizen capable of contribution, self-preservation, and the ability to think for themselves.
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