Job Shadowing 2008 - A World of Opportunity in a Day of Work
By Lisa Frederiksen Bohannon
Imagine being a student in the company of a former President or a Governor or the Secretary of State — following them through their day at work in order to learn more about what they do, why they do it and what it took for them to get where they are. Imagine being a student and shadowing a veterinarian as he makes his rounds or sitting in the front row of the lecture hall listening to the chairwoman of the Political Science department give her lecture on international relations to some 200 students. Imagine being behind the scenes as they shoot an episode of your favorite television show because you’ve always dreamed of being a film director and now is your chance to see what it’s all about. Thanks to Job Shadowing 2008, your students no longer need to imagine.
February 1, 2008 is the kickoff of Job Shadowing 2008—a year-long initiative that “takes students into the workplace to learn about careers.” More than one million students and 100,000 businesses and organizations across America will participate in this year’s initiative, coordinated by the Job Shadow Coalition. The Coalition consists of America’s Promise, Junior Achievement (JA), the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Labor. [And, believe it or not, individuals holding the positions listed in the opening sentence have served as past mentors in this program.]
Why Job Shadowing 2008? And, why should you, as a teacher/counselor, get involved?
A 2007 JA (Junior Achievement) Interprise Poll survey, “Kids and Career,” found that “people in the field” were the source that 1 in 4 students would contact for information about career choices. That same poll confirmed that teachers/counselors were the source for information about career choices for 31.2% of the students surveyed—1 out of 3 students. Given one of the key objectives of the Job Shadowing initiative is to help students link education to the workplace – why what they learn matters when it comes to getting a job they like — one can easily see that combining these two forces (teachers/counselors and “people in the field”) will have a powerful impact on students across the country.
To start a Job Shadowing 2008 initiative in your classroom or at your school or to start a career discussion with your students, consider these resources:
“Get Started” http://www.jobshadow.org/start/ - provides answers to common questions about the Job Shadowing 2008 initiative.
Junior Achievement®’s JA Job Shadow Programs for middle school and high school, includes program summary, program materials, site coordinator guide, teacher guide, student guide and certificate of achievement.
CareerKids' “Careers for Me Interest Assessments (available for Grades K-9, plus a special needs version)”: a paper-pencil assessment or software that encourages students to think about their interests to guide them towards careers.
If this is your first or second year of exploring careers with your students, visit CareerKids.com, where you will find a wide variety of guidance and life skills materials for K-adult.
©2008 Career Kids, LLC Lisa Fredriksen Bohannon is a writer and speaker on a variety of work related issues, as well as women and civil rights history. She has written articles for various publications, including Career World and has published numerous books. She is a popular speaker for organizations and schools. You can contact her directly at lfredbohan@aol.com.