NOW and LATER

The Earth rockets around the sun at 67,062 miles per hour, hurling us into the future.*

The Earth rotates on its axis every day and revolves around the sun every year.  It moves.  It moves with purpose and according to a plan. It does not aimlessly expend energy.

We all move.  We expend energy.  We play hard. We work hard.  Moving is not enough.  Working and playing hard is not enough.  We need our own purposes and plans.

Consider . . .  playing basketball without knowing which was your goal.  You play hard though.

Consider . . . playing football without knowing what the rules are.  You catch the ball more than anyone else.

Consider . . . running in a race but skipping part of the track.  You are the fastest runner.

Consider . . .  being in a room full of money and getting to fill a bucket with it to keep.  You fill your bucket with change because it weighs more.

Consider . . . playing baseball and doing whatever the other team yells at you to do.  You are a good listener.

Peek into a Possible Future

• You are interviewing for jobs that don't exist right now. 
• You want an interesting job.
• You want a job that pays well.
• There is so much competition for these jobs!
• You want to live independently.  (Not with your parents! You are tired of roommates!)
• Housing costs a higher percentage of the average gross monthly salary than ever before in history.
• Everything is so much more expensive than it is now.
• You need to pay off college/school loans, but at least you don't owe hundreds of thousands of dollars like some of your friends because you were able to get some scholarships.

Back to the Present

So, the essential questions are . . .

• What do you want NOW and LATER?
• What academic and social skills will you need?
• What academic and social skills will you need that will give you the most choices?
• What do you need to do NOW that will give you the most choices LATER?
• What academic and social skills can help you both Now and Later?

Find out NOW . . .

Reliable Resource #One: Oklahoma Career Information System

Before you begin:  Go to the library and get the Now and Later bookmark.

First Exploration:

Ever wonder, "Why do I have to take this class anyway?"  This exploration will help you answer that question.

• Click on Occupations in the top, left-hand column.
• Find the blue bar at the top of the page.  Click on the Search TAB.  Click the Search Tab.
• Type in the name of the class in the box.  DO NOT HIT ENTER yet.
• Put a check in Full Text Search.  NOW hit Enter.
• Now you will see a list of careers that will require that class. 
• Consider . . . do you really want to decide NOW that you don't ever want to do any of those jobs?  Remember you will be limiting your choices for LATER.

Second Exploration:

• Be sure to click on Occupations in the left column.  Click on the Clusters Index tab.  Explore. 
• Notice that there are 16 different clusters. 
• What academic and social skills will you need in the future to work in clusters you find interesting Now?
• Which of those skills would help you Now?
• What can you do Now to help yourself learn what you will need later?

Third Exploration:

Next, while on the Occupations page, click on the Compare tab.  Select two careers and compare them. 

Fourth Exploration:

While on the Occupations page, click on the Clusters tab. 

• Select a cluster.
• Select a career in that cluster.
• Read At a Glance.
• Are there any surprises there?
• What academic and social skills do you need to learn Now to prepare you for what you need to learn Later?

Fifth Exploration:

Click on Home. Click on Keep That Job in the left hand column.  What character traits are good to have Now and Later?

Sixth Exploration:

Click on one of the Real World Interviews in the right hand column.  What does that occupation require that would be good to have Now and Later? (Examples: organizational skills, promptness, etc.)

A TREASURE CHEST of MANY Explorations

• On the Home Page look in the right-hand column.  Find More Learning Activities for Teachers.  Click on it.
• Make sure that the Clusters Tab is clicked.
• Click on the Activity Overview to find out general information about the focus and purpose of the activities.
• Click on Employability Skills to find lifeskills activities that address skills that are important NOW and LATER.
• Click on any subject folder for activities.
• Choose and then click on one of the activities.

Reliable Resource #Two: SIRS Discoverer

Go to SIRS Discoverer

Before you begin:  You need to get the password information from the library! Directions to SIRS Discoverer:

• Go to Carver web page. 
• Click on Library Media Center. 
• Scroll down to Information Literacy section. Click on the 3rd item, Tulsa Public Schools Library Resources. 
• Type in username and password.  Hit Enter. 
• Click on Online Databases. 
• Click on SIRS Discoverer.

First Exploration:

• Now that you are on SIRS Discoverer . . .
  • Click on Notable People. 
  • In the right had column there is a list of Topics/subtopics that includes many careers. 
  • Click on one of the careers that you are curious about. 
  • When you get to a page, pay attention to the tabs at the top.  You can look at All Articles, Newspapers, Magazines, etc.

Second Exploration:

• Try something else on SIRS Discoverer
  • Click on Home Page. 
  • Click on Biographies. 
  • Click a letter. 
  • Click a person's name. 
  • Explore their career(s). 
    • What was necessary for them to be successful in their field? 
    •  Do you think things have changed?
    •  Why?

     

  Resource #Three: Newspapers

• The newspaper isn't always reliable.  Do you know why?
• This exploration will use the classified section of the paper.  Why is it okay to use this?
• he school gets 30 copies of the Tulsa World every day.  These newspapers are free to us and available on a first come, first served basis.  You may have as many as you need.
• Tulsa Public Schools has a list of  Online Newspapers that you can use.

First Exploration:

• Use the newspaper to see job listings.
• Which jobs/careers are most in demand?
• Will those same jobs/careers be in demand in other cities?  Why or why not?
• Will those same jobs/careers be in demand in ten years?  (This is an opinion question.)  Why or why not?

Reliable Resource #Four: DVD's Your teacher can show you

Resource #1.  In the Classroom with David Robinson (DVD)

Includes the following segments:

• Segment 1:  Love  (14:15 minutes)  Concepts:  Love and affection, Sex and responsibility

• Segment 2:  Hate  (3:58 minutes)  Concepts:  Consequences of hate, conflicts

• Segment 3:  Leadership  (7:30 minutes)  Concepts:  Leadership skills, Characteristics of role models

• Segment 4:  Temptation  (6:28 minutes)  Concepts:  Types of temptations, Ways of Resisting

• Segment 5:  Balance (3:48 minutes)  Concepts:  Determining priorities; Attaining a healthy balance in life

• Segment 6:  Faith  (5:21 minutes)  Concepts:  Confidence and determination, Belief system

• Segment 7:  Success (6:51 minutes)  Concepts:  Kinds of success, Confidence and determination

A teacher's guide for this program is available in PDF format online at www.izzit.org.  (Teachers, you can get one free DVD from www.izzit.org per year.  You can have your own copy of this DVD or select a different one!)

2.  Good Conversation!  A Talk with Christopher Paul Curtis (DVD)

• Find out more about this DVD and the Good Conversation! Series at http://www.goodconversations.com/authors/curtis.html

• The DVD is approximately 20 minutes long.

• Think about . . .

  • The author talks about being "trapped" by money.  What is he talking about?

  • The author mentions several times that he loves his work and appreciates that he gets to do something he loves doing.  Since most people work at least 45 years, you will WANT to begin working NOW so that you will love what you do LATER.

  • Why does he think that sports is often a dead end?    What does the phrase "putting all your eggs in one basket" have to do with this?

3.  Good Conversation!  A Talk with Richard Peck (DVD)

• Find out more about this DVD and the Good Conversation! Series at http://www.goodconversations.com/authors/peck.html

• The DVD is approximately20 minutes long.

• Think about . . .

  • The author says that he grew up in a place where "even a child could see money earned and money spent."  Why would that be important?

  • The author says that "Revision isn't supposed to be easy."  He does something that he accepts as hard, but is worth doing.  What are some things you will need to do that you know will be hard, but will be worth doing?

  • The author loves two things that help him with his writing.  What are two things that you love?  Is there a career cluster that those things point to?

  • The author says that he knew exactly what he wanted and all of those things have happened.  He jokingly comments to be careful what you dream of because you might get it.  What are some things that you really want in your life? 
     

4.  Connect the Dots:  How School Skills Become Work Skills (DVD)

• This DVD is on order as of 8/1/07.

• DVD is 20 minutes long.

• School Library Journal** Review excerpt,  "This program will help middle graders make a direct connection between what they learn in class and what occurs in the workplace."

*Saintonge , Amelie . "At what speed does the earth move around the sun?." Curious about astronomy? Ask an astronomer. October 2002. Astronomy Department at Cornell University. 30 Jul 2007 <http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/question.php?number=356>.

**School Library Journal; Feb 2007, Vol. 53 Issue 2, p55-55, 1/5 p.  (Full review is available through EBSCO, one of the many online databases that Tulsa Public Schools subscribes to.)