I began my career by teaching middle school students. The fact that I stayed in education for more than three decades after that first year is still a source of pride - like having made it as a Navy Seal!
Middle schoolers are the most odious of creatures. Seventh and eighth graders are in a larval state and, having no certainty of self-worth, they can be just plain MEAN! I think it's because they are really afraid and they feel they're too old/cool to ask just to be held and read a comforting story. They are the oldest kids in the building. They know its ins and outs, the personailities of its personnel and on which days it's better to buy lunch. They also have a nascent knowledge that it's all about to end and they'll soon be thrust into the high school like released hatchery fish on stocking day.
I find it's very helpful for them to have an idea as to why they need to subject themselves to making the passage. They need a goal. They need to see going to high school as a means to an end - a way of getting to that state of independence they both fear and crave. Did you ever notice how kids at that age seem to stop telling you what they want to be when they grow up? It's as if they know that sitting on the bench for much of their Pop Warner days rules out the NFL. There's not so much verbaliztion of dreams anymore. The realization has hit that talent and training must come into play at some point. This seems to occur at the very same time that their estimation of their talents, abilities and even beauty is at its nadir.
For these reasons I felt it a good idea to expose my eighth grade students to career interest inventories. I would start by asking them to visualize where they wanted to be at that very moment in ten years time. Were they teaching a class, preparing lunch for the family, manning a fire truck, etc.? I would hand out paper and ask them to design their business card. What would their title be? Where would they be located? What type of business was it? These would be preliminary activities before taking the actual inventory.
An inventory I used and found very effective was available for free through the My Road program operated by the College Board. I found http://www.college.board.com/ to be an invaluable website for students, professionals and parents. Students who take the PSAT/NMSQT (Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test) are given free access to the My Road program (http://www.myroad.com/) which includes the ORA Personality Profiler inventory. Most students take the PSAT/NMSQT as high school sophomores but a one year individual subsription to My Road is available for $19.95. Many schools subscribe to College Board services or provide free career inventories to their students as part of the school guidance curriculum, so check with your child's/your counselor.
I prefer inventories that not only assess a student's interests but take their abilities into account. Next week I'll discuss one I particularly liked.
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