Let's face it. These kids are eighth graders--so, thirteen to fifteen years old--and they're pretty ego-centric and now-focused. Most of them haven't thought that much about the future, except when forced by some cranky teacher who assigns them an essay telling about what they want to do over the next five years of their life and where they think they want to be at the end of that time.
I was pleasantly surprised by how much thought some of them put into it. They're really excited about high school and all the things they want to do during those four years. Many of them want to get involved with sports: tennis, football, golf, basketball, and soccer were the top pics. A bunch of them are going to continue with band and orchestra while a pile want to get involved in something but they're not sure what's available to them. Guess they'll have to explore.
A good chunk of them want an after-school job of some sort--money's a priority, after all. Well, that and a car. What made me giggle were how many really wanted to work at Chik-Fil-A. Maybe it's because they're guaranteed Sundays off?
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| Kristevik, Sweden (CREDIT) |
Many said they really have no clue what they want to do but they are going to try a whole bunch of different things until they find something that sticks. A lot mentioned the pressure they feel to please others when choosing their future paths. Some talked about their dreams and how they didn't feel that their family believed in their ability to succeed, which made me sad.
But the assignment accomplished what I set out to do: make the kids think about their future and get excited about what the next five years might bring.
What about you--where will you be in five years?
Wow! That's awesome. It's a time for kids to dream and plan and dream some more. To find out who they are in the deep deep down of their beings. Sounds like they're well on their way!
ReplyDeleteMe? I'm old enough to prefer to take it one step at a time :)
This was interesting. It's great to see such variety! My own daughter (13) wants to become a fashion designer and a hobby dancer. I smile, but would never get in her way. Where would the world be without dreams?
ReplyDeleteAnd me? Hehehe... I'd rather not know.
That was my favorite Dr. Seuss book. Must be neat to see them go off and try out their wings.
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing job you have. And how cool to see their brains at work. My daughter is a freshman now and we talk about this sort of thing all the time. Above all I try to instill in her how wide open doors are for her and to keep a lot of options open by trying out different things and doing well in school. She excels in G&T and is a talented musician, but I'm not always sure she actually believes she can do anything. When I was growing up, nobody told me I could, not really. Certainly not my teachers. It took going to Haiti for me to realize I might have made a really great dentist had I ever thought I could do it. Alas, I went the easy route and decided to become published. Snort.
ReplyDeleteI love this project of yours. Also, that's my favorite Dr. Seuss book.
Wonderful direction you are giving your students.
ReplyDeleteLynn - visiting from the challenge.
Hello! What a great question. Such a variety of answers too :)
ReplyDeleteI'll still be mummy taxi.. Probably still be homeschooling and will still be writing... Though i hope to be selling books by then :)
My students are in 1st Grade and this year we did a similar writing project for Leap Year where they wrote about what they'd be like in 4 years when they're in 5th Grade. Hilarious! I kept them and plan on mailing them to them in 4 years! :)
ReplyDelete