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Age group(s) for which this strategy is helpful:
Middle School
High School & Beyond
Instructions for using this strategy:
Cut out pictures from magazines that represent jobs your child might want to do when she grows up.
Together, brainstorm about what skills and talents these people must have in order to be successful. Hopefully, the "three R's" show up on this list.
You can suggest that your child contact the fan club of a favorite singer, actress, or athlete and ask about where the celebrity went to school, or how he or she feels about education. Again, keep your fingers crossed that these megastars value school and learning! Bill Cosby's a sure bet in this category!
You might also go to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Career Information site and find out what skills it takes to work as an architect, a zookeeper, or in any other profession.
Help your child turn these skills into learning goals for the summer.
Other information parents should consider:
If you know or can find someone who actually does the job that your child picks, try asking that person to help increase motivation. A shopkeeper, an athlete, or stockbroker willing to check in with your child periodically about her progress with summer work makes the task more important and more real. You might even call the public relations department of a company and ask if an employee would be willing to be an "e-mentor," someone who would check in with your child via email over the summer. Consider asking someone at your own workplace, a relative, or a relative or friend of your child's teacher.
By Jerome J. Schultz, Ph.D.
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