Wednesday, February 13, 2002
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Wednesday, February 13, 2002 |
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Career fairs help students plan for future Fayette's middle and high schools are doing their part to help students plan successful futures for themselves by hosting yearly career fairs. Unlike a job fair, which is designed to showcase positions for which a person can immediately be hired, career fairs offer exploratory opportunities for students to learn as much as possible about a variety of career fields. With so many career options available in today's job marketplace, students often discover an area of interest that they had never considered. Each school's guidance department is responsible for coordinating career fairs. Counselors include as many different career fields as possible that might be of interest to the school's student population. In order to ensure that students are getting valuable information from the fair, they are required to survey several presenters in their area of interest. General survey questions often include salary range, education needed, opportunities for advancement and effect of economy on the career field. "The surveys we use at the fair are designed to give students valuable concrete information related to careers. The realistic view that can be found from talking with a person in the field often can enhance their decision making about the future," said Winkie Greenhaw, counselor at Sandy Creek High School. After the fair is over, schools continue to reinforce the career decision making process through classroom assignments and discussion. At Sandy Creek, students, through their English classes, write essays related to their professional fields of interest, and, in turn, give oral presentations in history class about their chosen careers. During the week of the career fair, students at Sandy Creek also relate their character education lessons to their careers of interest. One student who is planning to be a teacher did her lesson on the importance of tolerance in her future career. "Career education should have a major part in the total guidance program. One of the areas that counselors reinforce on a daily basis is planning and preparing for the future. Post-secondary planning is enhanced through career fairs," Greenhaw said. Students in Fayette first become exposed to career fairs at the middle school level when they enter the eighth grade. Although students are several years away from graduation, the fairs are important at this level because they spark the thinking process and help students begin preparing for the appropriate course of study when they enter high school, according to Janice McLeroy, counselor at Rising Starr Middle School. "Students at this age are still so influenced by their parents, relatives, friends and TV figures that they don't realize all of the career options that are available. We want our students to see so much more that is out there, and developmentally this is the time to strike," explained McLeroy. Although many students plan for careers that require a college education, McLeroy said technical careers are going to be the fastest growing field for the next 25 years. The old school of thought that vocational schools were for students who couldn't make the cut for college is slowly waning as technical colleges are preparing students for the future. "When a ninth grader begins high school on the track that he or she chose through the four-year planning meeting, there is very little room for change during that four-year period. Those that fail to plan, plan to fail," McLeroy said. While career fairs help expose students to careers they might not know about, parents are still the most influential people in their children's lives said McLeroy, and she encourages parents to get involved in their children's career planning. There are many Web sites and books that are user-friendly and easy reading. For an easy first start on the Internet, visit the Georgia Career Information Center at www.gcic.edu, McLeroy suggested. The site allows users to explore more than 450 career clusters with specific career profiles and jobs under those clusters. Users can also take their findings and explore college/technical requirements for those job areas. While schools at the secondary level have traditionally hosted career fairs, some are experimenting with introducing students to career choices at the elementary level. Last year, Robert J. Burch Elementary hosted its first career fair for fifth graders. The fair was so successful that the school plans to sponsor one again this year. "Our purpose for having the fair is to give the children an idea of why we study all the subjects we do and to help get all of them ready to be productive citizens in the world," said counselor Jackie Uttley. The school plans to invite parents as well as their business partners in education to be presenters at the fair, scheduled April 29. Other career fairs scheduled for this year at various Fayette schools include Sandy Creek High, Feb. 14; Rising Starr Middle, Feb. 22; Flat Rock Middle, March 22; Booth Middle School, Feb. 28; and Whitewater Middle, Feb. 22. Fayette Middle School was scheduled to host its fair in February but due to unforeseen circumstances will reschedule it for later in the school year.
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