A few days ago we did an activity in Language Arts class (we do that a lot). A small part of the activity (a throw away piece really) required kids to say what they want to be when they grow up. I added it to the activity just because I thought we needed something more personal, but in the end it turned out to be one of their favorite parts (who doesn't like to talk about themselves in Middle School?) It was also very interesting for me to listen to their responses.
My low performing block said things like superstar athelete, game designer, model, superstar rocker, famous artist, music store owner, and superstar actress. You can tell that most of these kids either haven't really considered the question seriously, or they have a VERY optimistic view of their own potential.
My advanced block, on the other hand said things like mechanical engineer, neuro surgeon, biomedical engineer, corporate attorney concert pianist, and, I am not making this up, urban planner. I'm sure there's a lot of wanting to be just like Mom/Dad, but it's still a pretty serious set of plans. This whole conversation got me thinking about several sort of open-ended questions:
1) Does anyone actually end up in the job they imagined for themselves as a kid?
2) How much should you push the BIG dreamers to think on a more realistic scale?
(If you put all your effort into being a fabulous sports star, and you prepare for no other life, what happens when your knee gives out, or you just plain aren't good enough? At the same time I don't want to crush their little dreams. "I'm sorry Bobby, there is no way you can be a famous actor because you are short, funny-looking, you lack any kind of drive or determination, and you aren't bright enough to survive in that world. What about a job at a gas station?")
3) How much should you push the realists (Is this the best term?) to think about taking a few chances and being a little creative.
4) How much does socio-economic status determine a young person's opinions of what is possible and what is desirable in a job?
5) How much does self-image have to do with selections? Do kids who feel like failures choose really impossible dreams so no one will be surprised when they fail to achieve?
3 comments:
1) The teacher I had when I was 11~12 asked us the same question. Back then I said I wanted to be a mathematician. 10 years later I ended up with a major in math.
2) They'll realize it themselves sooner or later.
3) a lot.
As for socio-economic status, I came from a wealthy family, but was only encouraged to be a mother. I was encouraged to go to college because I wanted to and they knew I enjoyed learning, but why go to college when it was assumed I would just marry a well-off man and be the mother of his children? Now maybe it would have occurred to them that I should have been pressured to go to a better college (I went to a perfectly fine state college) where I would have been more likely to meet a future high-income earner, hehe.
> 5) How much does self-image have to do with selections? Do kids who feel like failures choose really impossible dreams so no one will be surprised when they fail to achieve?
I think in many poor neighborhoods the only out they see available to them is truly to become famous. They just don't have the realistic facts of how very, very few aspiring actors/models/sports stars actually do make it.
Post a Comment