According to The ACT High School Profile Report: The Graduating Class of 2010, only 24 percent of high school seniors who took the ACT test in 2010 met its college-ready benchmarks in all four core subject areas.
"Planning is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now."
-Alan Lakein
Being sure your students are prepared for life after high school is one of the biggest challenges teachers in today's Christian schools face. While that may seem like a huge task, the responsibility goes beyond making sure they're proficient in core subjects.
So how do we guide our young people through their academic careers to make good choices and prepare themselves for life after high school?
First, it's important to understand that planning for life after high school must begin early in a child's academic career. While many students today will likely pursue a college degree, many will choose other paths, especially within light of the recent emphasis and availability of career and technical education options.
The cost of attending a four-year university alone is a big deterrent for some students, while others may choose a more skills-based or technical course of study based on their interests and proficiencies.
As a teacher, you can help your students to choose an ideal career path by encouraging a little soul searching and self exploration in the following areas:
- Skills and abilities
- Interests
- Personal priorities
- Training and education
- Life experiences
The next step is to help them create a list of options that align with their goals and research these options to find out jobs available, salary ranges, daily responsibilities that may be associated with these options. Now it's time to make a decision and create a plan to move forward.
This plan should include
- Choosing courses to support career choice
- Preparing for required testing
- Submitting appropriate applications
- Financial planning
