Tip sheet helps parents discuss career education with their children

COLUMBIA - What will my child be when he or she grows up? Is he learning the right things to be successful? Could I be doing more for her future career? What's an Individual Graduation Plan?

To help parents asking these questions, Personal Pathways to Success has created a tip sheet to help parents discuss career education with their children. Personal Pathways to Success is implementing changes in career education in the public schools in grades K-12 and for adult learners statewide.

While career education is emphasized as a student prepares to graduate, career development education begins far before a student enters high school. Since all South Carolina students will choose a major in a particular career cluster when they enter high school, career awareness in the middle and elementary grades is essential.

Many students, by the time they are ready for middle school, will have some information from which they will base choices about future education and career plans. As key influencers of their child's choices, parents play an important role in assisting in their child's career awareness education.

The tip sheet, which can be requested by sending an email to info@scpathways.org, includes hints such as:

Attend your child's IGP conference. Parents are an integral part of the Individual Graduation Plan conference. In the conference, the child, the guidance counselor and the parent or parental designee all meet to discuss options and choices for the child's education plan through graduation, specifically focusing on their career choices.

Bring your child to your workplace one day a year to shadow you, if possible. Throughout the day, you can point out the soft skills needed in a workplace: sharing in the common areas; respect for other employees as they're encountered in the building; honesty and integrity; and responsibility. This is also a great time to talk about the number of different jobs at a company.

Discuss good and bad points about jobs with your child. Children who want to be NASCAR drivers may not know that NASCAR drivers work every day of the week, including weekends, during the racing season. Children may not realize that accountants earn $60,670 in South Carolina, on average, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Encourage volunteerism. If your child is interested in the human services, there are a number of volunteer opportunities that they can participate in which will help them learn about their interests. They may learn that working in the hospital is physically draining work but that helping at a rehabilitation center is more rewarding. If it's the sciences they're interested in, volunteering to plant trees or beginning a recycling program can help them learn about jobs related to the environment.

Learn about the career

clusters together. As children progress through public schools in South Carolina, they will learn about the 16 career clusters identified by the U.S. Department of Education. In the 8th grade, they will have to select a career cluster to help them identify which elective classes to take throughout their high school career. Discussing the career clusters ahead of time can help them thoroughly consider their options.

Parents can also contact their Personal Pathways Regional Education Center (REC) to discuss other options about career education for their children. Contact information for each REC and the area that it serves is located on the Personal Pathways website, www.scpathways. org.