What do want to be when you grow up?
That question was pretty much the most popular question in school.During the kindergarten stage,my teacher will make us say what we wanted to be when we grow up. It was fun how each of us raised our tiny hands to say loudly
"I want to be a doctor!"
"I want to be a lawyer!"
Sometimes some of the kids will put up their hands more than twice to say different things they want to be when they grow up.
It was fun then
We were just kids. I bet becoming a doctor or whatever was the last thing on our minds then.
Career day in kindergarten was just your regular play-pretend or make-believe occasion
Teacher will assign different professions to us,making us wear their attires to make a 2-sentence speech that said;
"I am a nurse. I care for patients"
Yep
I can remember saying mine exactly that way but I'm not a nurse today by the way.
It was not the same in highschool.
"What do you want to be in the future?"
That question became tougher to answer because growing up,we have a choice to make. A definite choice that'll affect the way our life is going to turn out. It was no longer a classroom fun activity where you raise your hand and say what ever you like. This is a time to really have a deep thought on what exactly you want to do with your life,what exactly you'll like to spend the rest of your life doing.
Making that choice is not easy, because growing up we find ourselves becoming interested in many things and wanting to be many things too.
During my first year in highschool we were allowed to study all the arts and science subjects combined. This was to help us to know exactly which subjects we'll carry on with as we enter the second year. Still,the choice was not easy on some of my classmates then. I remember some who decided to go with science courses in their second year,only to come back in the final year to do art courses because they were not coping in those science courses.
Was it due to indecisiveness or seriousness on the part of the students?
Or was it due to lack of direction from the teachers and parents?
Not outruling the fact that teachers and parents have a role to play in helping a child decide on how to build his/her future. However,each one must also have a person decision to make on how his future career will turn out.
It is common for parents to want their kids to choose the same profession they had chosen. It is not odd to see most proffession being passed down from the parents to the kids,but parents do not have to make it seem like an unwritten rule that their kids must follow the same path of career as themselves.
Parents need to find out first whether their children are already interested in joining the family profession or not. This needs to be considered carefully because most times,one may choose to continue with his/her parents profession just to please the parents and make them proud,not because he/she actually wanted to do it. When this happens there is usually no commitment,no enthusiasm or even happiness on the part of the one choosing.
Therefore parents should allow their children to choose for themselves what they actually want to be when they grow up. Parents should avoid pressuring their children or even discouraging them from choosing their own careers because they think it will not be suitable for the child or even acceptable,when judging from the family standards. Turning hobbies into lifetime careers can be the best thing to ever happen to anyone. There should be no limitations or barriers in a world where there is a wide range of options to choos from and explore. Parents can help their teen to discover their interests and support them to work toward building a career from something they already feel satisfied with doing it.
In school,teachers spend more time with the students. They can tell each child's academic strengths and weaknesses and they are also in a better position to help them work on their academic strengths. Teachers of course have the responsibility to inculcate academic knowledge to each child,but they can also help a child build his/her future.
Teachers can organise different groups for the students and encourage them to join their groups of interest. If a student is aspiring to become a doctor for example,he/she should join a science group for students aspiring to go into the medical field.
Teoachers should not just encourage students to find lucrative careers for themselves. Financial output should not be a major driving force for choosing a career. Students should know the risks involved in choosing a lifetime career,the steps that can be taken to achieve a dream career and also how to continue to be positive during challenging moments of a career. And most importantly,the passion for a particular career should be a driving force for choosing it.
Teachers should educate students also on the reality of life. They used to tell us that after highschool, we'll go to university and study whatever we want depending on the careers we have chosen,we graduate and get well paying jobs for the rest of our lives as if it's a movie script that is meant to happen that way. Sometimes,it doesn't really go as planned. Students should learn skills or develop skills that can help them keep going even when things don't go as planned.
While some discover the careers earlier in life,others however take longer to ascertain what life exactly has in store for them. No matter the pace or time, choosing a good satisfying career can be one of the best things that can happen to anyone.
