President's Letter: Starting the College or Career Discussion

I hope everyone enjoyed and celebrated National School Counseling Week! This month’s newsletter focuses career readiness. When people find out that I’m a school counselor, one of the first questions I’m asked is “When should we start looking for a college?” I think get this so much because I’m in a high school. My response is usually surprising: “As soon as possible, and don’t focus on a college.” I’ve said this to parents of kindergartners and high schoolers. The parents of the younger students are the ones really caught off guard. The conversation about college and career needs to start when imagination and confidence have no limit! Research shows that the earlier kids engage in career exploration the more their likelihood of college increases. Parents play a huge role in this, but too often, the college/career discussion doesn’t start until their kids are older. This needs to change and school counselors can lead the charge!
 
Elementary and middle school counselors, however, often lack the resources and time to engage with students and families about the amazing possibilities out there for students. I hope this changes soon – schools need to let the school counselor do the job they were trained to do for the school. When they get to high school, many students don’t see college as an option, nor do they understand the difference between a job and a career. When I meet with new student, I ask what their plan is for after high school and far too many say, “I’ve never thought about it; I don’t know.”
 
I tell parents not to focus on a college simply because some students don’t or won’t need college to find an amazing career. Many well-respected careers start out as internships or apprenticeships. Many students benefit from learning by observing and doing. I learned how to cook by watching my mom and trying to do what she did. I made many a terrible dish but I figured it out eventually and I know my way around a kitchen. I watched my dad, who was an electrician and then a teacher, install lights and wire houses. I can install a light, but I can’t wire a house! He took in apprentices and taught them his trade, which was how he learned. He became a shop teacher to train young people to go out and make a living by learning a trade.
 
One final thing: always provide encouragement when a student show interest in something. Writer and director Kevin Smith said, “It costs nothing to encourage and the potential benefits are staggering, but discourage and you’ll absolutely get nothing in return.”
 
Contact Andrew Capone, DSCA president, at andrew.capone@mydsca.org