Careers: Get Parents Involved in Presenting!

Here’s an idea available at your fingertips! Engage parents of your students in the classroom to share information on their careers. According to the United States Department of Labor (www.bls.gov/nls/), the average person born in the later years of the baby boom held 10 different jobs from age 18 to 38.

To get started, send an email message to parents asking if they could spare an hour of their time: thirty minutes in the classroom and thirty in preparation. Tell them you are eager to have them share about their careers in a presentation where they highlight the pluses and minuses of their current employment.

Five easy steps for a parent presentation:
1. Send an email message stating several options of when a parent could speak with your class for twenty minutes followed by ten minutes of questions and answers.
2. Have them present a few minutes of background on their education, career hopes and dreams and first job.
3. Parents share their current employment position and the things they like the best about it (pluses) and then what they least like (minuses).
4. Parents may also share what prepared them for this position and what they could have done differently to prepare.
5. Parent answers questions from students. Parents may bring in any samples of their work or visual aides to add interest.

Career Development Tip for June 19, 2008