Career Ideas Blog

By Diane Lindsey Reeves, Bright Futures Press

A couple years ago my daughter and I visited the Old Salem village in Winston-Salem. Old Salem is a historical museum portraying the day-to-day life of early Moravian settlers in North Carolina. One of the first things we learned about the inhabitants of this village is that they had an average life span that was several years longer than the national average at that time.

Hmmm…I couldn’t help but wonder why. Surely, the quality of their lifestyle had something to do with it. But what were they doing that was so different from other communities?

My conclusions are far from scientific–perhaps based more on the musings of a mother and educator who would like more for her children and grandchildren. But I suspect these people made it easier for their offspring to succeed by doing three things:

1. Surrounding them with a caring community that was completely committed to helping them find their way toward responsible adulthood
2. Equipping them with a solid education that emphasized both academic and practical life skills
3. Providing real world training opportunities that empowered them to survive and thrive on their own with marketable skills

In other words, they provided the ultimate “leave no child behind” experience—without the end-of-grade tests!

One of the most powerful examples of this premise was evident in the Single Brother’s House. By the age of 14, the village’s young boys were brought here to begin a seven year apprenticeship. Essentially, this is where they learned to be men, where they learned how to be productive, contributing members of their society, and where they learned to how to make a good living.  Master craftsmen shared their expertise to help prepare a new (and highly skilled) generation of tailors, joiners, clockmakers, shoemakers, tinsmiths, and other viable trades.

And, get this…

There were equal educational opportunities for girls! Quite a radical concept for the late 1700s.  Girls received the same offering of well-rounded academics, arts, and music! Their training differed in that, instead of official apprenticeships, they were trained in crafts more associated with home-making such as weaving, fine needlework, and laundry. But prior to marriage, they too were offered opportunities to put these skills to work as teachers and workers in the Single Sister’s weaving shop, laundry, and other enterprises.

The common denominator for both girls and boys was this–nobody was pushed out of the nest before they were ready to fly!

Fast forward to the 21^st century where one in four public school children drop out before they finish high school.  According to the recently released Building a  Grad Nation report, that’s 1.3 million students a year — one every 26 seconds, 7,000 every school day, folks! To add insult to injury, those students who do graduate and complete college often face staggering student loan debt and stagnant employment opportunities.

Really?

Surely, we can do better than this.  The future—ours and theirs—depends on it.

Filed under: 21st century skills, Bright Futures, Career & Technical Education, Career Academy, Career Clusters, Career Exploration, Career Pathways, Corporate Partnership, Educational Trends, Life Skills, Programs That Work, Project-based learning, Uncategorized by Diane
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“Summer social media intern needed to help author find audience of teachers and other professionals trying to help students discover what they want to be when they grow up.”

My email box quickly filled with promising replies from young professionals looking to exert some social media muscle. The candidates were impressive.

First came Yoonmi, an enthusiastic go-getter with a background in PR.  Rachel, a recent UNC graduate and young marketing professional, came prepared with a list of terrific marketing ideas!  Dylan was next, a journalism school student, fresh from a summer course in social media marketing.

It was a promising mix of talent and potential.  The makings of a social media dream team.

The search for one intern became a multi-faceted team project. Four teams were formed—marketing, publicity, new business development, and product development—and a profit-sharing agreement sealed the deal.

Rounding out the teams with fresh talent (nearly all discovered via additional Craigslist ads):  Susan, an up-and-coming graphic designer, Carmen, an experienced writer with terrific New York City credentials, and social-media savvy Bill, executive director of Lemonade International, a youth-oriented nonprofit organization.

Their goal? Use social media marketing tools to put Bright Futures Press on the map.

Now the interns are back in school leaving me with a fresh new website, a Twitter page, a Facebook, and this blog. Here’s hoping we find online ‘friends’ who want to help young people find bright futures as much as we do!

Diane Reeves
Author and Publisher, Bright Futures Press

Filed under: Bright Futures, Career & Technical Education, Career Academy, Career Clusters, Career Pathways, Corporate Partnership by Diane
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Project-Based Learning isn’t new. Some of education’s most prominent
voices — Rousseau, Piaget, Dewey — were advocates of various aspects
of it for decades and, in some cases, even centuries ago.

When thousands of British children were evacuated to the relative
safety of makeshift boarding schools during World War II, innovative
teachers made up for the lack of textbooks and other traditional
resources by using project-based learning to effectively teach
history, literature, science, and math.

In more recent days, study after study has found compelling evidence
that it is an effective way to engage students, cut absenteeism, boost
cooperative learning skills, and improve test scores.

Even though project-based learning has been advocated by brilliant
educators, tested by time, and validated under the scrutiny of
academic research, there has never been a better time to put it to use
in classrooms at every level and with students of all ages.

Why?

According to Sandy Mittelsteadt and Wally Holmes Bouchillon, authors
of a new book called Sticky Learning: A Make It Real Planning Guide
for Engaging Students in Project-Based Learning, project-based
learning becomes a springboard for launching incredibly effective 21st
century “sticky learning” experiences when it blends four key
ingredients:

1. Integrated curriculum

2. Action-based inquiry

4. Real world application

To order copies of Sticky Learning Toolkit, go online to http://www.brightfuturespress.com/Item186/Sticky_Learning.aspx.

Filed under: 21st century skills, Bright Futures, Career & Technical Education, Career Academy, Career Clusters, Career Exploration, Career Pathways, Educational Trends, Integrated curriculum, Life Skills, Programs That Work, Project-based learning by britt
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