Here is another great article from Professor Anderson on job development for students. Are you wondering how to support job development in your classroom or with your students or homeschoolers? Read below for some great tips on how to bring specialized skills to your students based on their strengths, abilities, and interests.

Pulling from the Past for Job Development

There is dignity to every type of work. Although the focus seems to be that only jobs that make the most money are worth the pursuit; the truth is, not every child who crosses our classroom threshold is going to be the president of some large conglomerate or famous sports star. As teachers, we meet students with areas of excellence in many different areas. Our job is to find those areas and nurture them to bring forth the hidden gift that is the student. The most important thing that we do is to help children grow into adults that have purposeful, enriched lives that provide for every aspect of the student, a job that brings fulfillment.

I once read an article that talked about industrialization and technology of the 20th century which created a larger gap between those who have jobs and the jobless. It specifically addressed the student with mild to moderate intellectual challenges who would have been able to work on a farm or in a craft with the correct training but due to the vocational demands of the current society they were jobless. This article was thought-provoking. Having spent a great deal of time trying to match students to jobs the inevitable question arose, how can this be done better? How can we as a culture support those students who may never go to college in finding meaningful and purposeful employment that will help them to live independently?

We have spent decades on assessments and vocational training and yet, our success rate in finding students with special needs fulfilling careers are limited. The truth is only 17% of people with disabilities are employed. It makes one wonder what hidden talent is being neglected or not seen. Thinking back to our agrarian model, what did they have to offer that we do not? Three things spring to mind, the on-hand training, the immersion, and the mentor.

Some students exhibit early proficiency in their areas of interest. In the past, this early skill would be seen and mentored by the parent who was caring for the child. Historically, the help of every family member (on a farm) was necessary for success. The children were taught to do chores early and learned under their parent/mentor. This is an area that we lack in our current education system. Perhaps vocational training and assessment should be taught a little earlier, especially since the majority of our students probably live in an urban area with very little ability to have chores that could lead to vocations later in life. Having a garden and animals on a school campus may be a way to enhance this area that we are missing. Even for the college-bound child, the rounding out of their education can only be beneficial. Beginning to notice a student's strengths early and making note of them somewhere in their educational plan will help the next teacher build on what is already there without wasting the time of reassessing. New areas of strength could be noted so as the child matures we begin to get a whole picture of who the person is and what they are purposed to do in their lives.

As the student ages and their skill set increases, immersion could be added. Finding environments that meet the student's interests and skill set could be helpful in gaining new skills and deciding how far the interests go in a specific field. Bring back home economics, auto shop, art classes, and add more trades. These would not necessarily need to be required classes but the taking of them would only increase and enhance the student's skill set and make them a more independent and fully functioning adults. Plus, it would open more opportunities for education for the not necessarily college-bound. These classes could open the educational process to chefs, electricians, carpenters, hairdressers at an earlier age and help the student decide what it is they want to do with their lives. The early education and training may enlarge the opportunity for students who would otherwise be employed at the most basic level if at all. Every job has dignity and if you want to wipe tables for a living it should be honored, but your opportunities should not end there.

Finally mentoring, this important aspect of training is one of the most vital. As the student progresses to the last years of their education and begins to choose a field of work or study, it would be great to pair the student with a mentor who would educate that student on what it takes to be successful in that workplace. Set up a volunteer position in the company with the mentor and allow the student to work there as a way to increase their comfort level, interest, and skill set. This would be a great time to make sure this is what they are interested in before they continue on for more education. They can see the upside and downside of the position and determine if that particular position is for them or if they need to fine-tune their interest area a bit more. A mentor can help them decide and also be an ongoing support as they move into their own position. It gives them a taste of reality before they commit to a particular vocation or career. Not to mention, it is great community support and brings a vested interest in the educational process as the employer begins to tie into future employees. For our special needs population, it brings the support they deeply need. The importance of the mentor is irreplaceable and is lacking in our student's lives.

An agrarian society was more community-minded, the communities survival depended on not only themselves but the others in the community. People hired each other's children and family members to do work they could not do themselves. Giving jobs to those who may not be able to be employed otherwise. I am not suggesting that we reverse progress and somehow step back into the culture and purpose of the agrarian society but that we learn from history and bring with us the good things that can help us move forward meeting more of the needs that are before us. Homeschoolers actually have the potential of excelling in the area. These parents are working with smaller class sizes and have the ability to specialize their child's education to include the above-mentioned aspects of the job and career development. Hopefully, this article will open your mind to the possibilities. After it all, it is all about raising exceptional human beings.