{"id":29425,"date":"2019-06-29T15:50:08","date_gmt":"2019-06-29T19:50:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.backtobasicslearning.com\/?p=29425"},"modified":"2019-06-29T16:07:28","modified_gmt":"2019-06-29T20:07:28","slug":"career-goals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/backtobasicslearning.com\/career-goals\/","title":{"rendered":"Rethinking questions about career goals"},"content":{"rendered":"\n[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.25.2″ custom_padding=”||5px|||” custom_margin=”||-252px|||”][et_pb_row custom_margin=”-24px|auto|2px|auto||” _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” min_height=”1201px”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.25.2″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_margin=”||-8px|||”]

Adam Grant recently asked us all to <\/span>stop asking kids what they want to be when they grow up<\/a>.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_video thumbnail_overlay_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0.6)” src=”https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=7xNGVzlG11o” _builder_version=”3.25.2″][\/et_pb_video][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.25.2″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”]

Grant, a regular contributor to the New York Times opinion section and a professor of management and psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, has grown disillusioned with the age-old, small-talk question for kids<\/span><\/p>\n

He offers three considerations that might make us think twice before the next time we ask.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

1. The question forces kids to define themselves in terms of work. <\/strong>And when we define ourselves by our jobs, our definition of success depends on what we earn or achieve. A 2014 Harvard study<\/a> found that the majority of young people report that they value aspects of personal success over caring for others. Which of those two options is more of a focus in school? At home?<\/span><\/p>\n

2. The question implies that there is one calling out there for everyone. <\/strong>But searching for that one \u2018right\u2019 career may not lead to clear-cut answers. Many passions won\u2019t pay the bills, and some may not align with personal strengths.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

3. Careers rarely live up to childhood dreams. <\/strong>College graduates who focus on looking for the \u2018best\u2019 job feel more anxious, stressed, and overwhelmed during the process\u2014and less satisfied with the outcome, according to research<\/a>. The reality is, our entry- or mid-level jobs seldom measure up to our early aspirations. Learning to temper expectations helps us to seek out opportunities for growth.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Better Questions<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

So\u2014 what sorts of questions might you ask instead to get kids thinking about aspirations that might be bigger than work? Or about the type of person <\/em>they want to be?<\/span><\/p>\n

In our office, Administrative Assistant Marianne DiCugno<\/strong> <\/a>is the first point of contact with students who arrive for tutoring sessions. She recognizes that students may be a little uneasy about getting extra help\u2014so she focuses on engaging them on what their interests and strengths are right now.\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cStudents will come in with their sports gear\u2014 knee pads, wearing uniforms\u2014so I\u2019ll ask them about what they are playing and how the season is going,\u201d she said. \u201cThey light up when I ask about that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

She also asks about their current school and what some of their immediate goals are. \u201cStudents come from all over\u2014so what is their current school like, and where are they aiming to go? If they are coming in for test prep\u2014are they taking the SAT<\/a> or the ACT?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

DiCugno finds that conversational questions like these help to set up a climate for learning at Back to Basics.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Managing Director Scott Bennett<\/strong><\/a> is a parent of four who has explored many different ways to guide his own kids. His first question when he\u2019s mentoring a young person: \u201cWhat jazzes you? What gets you excited?\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That question can lead to a more practical one, though: \u201cHow could you see yourself spending twelve hours a day, when you\u2019re working hard?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

A true idealist, Bennett believes that everyone, at their core, wants to help others. \u201cThere would be a lot more people in social work if our society paid social workers what they are worth,\u201d Bennett said. \u201cSame with teachers.\u201d\u00a0 He finds that asking students how they might want to make the world a better place steers them to channeling personal strengths towards realistic long-term goals.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s worthwhile to reconsider ways to reframe a timeless question away from career goals, and towards strengths and aspirations. Perhaps Oprah said it best<\/a>: \u201cRemember that your job is not who you are, it’s just what you’re doing on the way to who you will become.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

What do you think? What are some of the best questions to help guide young people?<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

<\/span><\/p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An idea: Stop asking kids what they want to be when they grow up. Start asking questions that help them determine how strengths lead to goals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29441,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"\n

Adam Grant recently asked us all to stop asking kids what they want to be when they grow up<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=7xNGVzlG11o\n<\/div>
Sure, it's cute, but is this the right question to ask?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Grant, a regular contributor to the New York Times opinion section and a professor of management and psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, has grown disillusioned with the age-old, small-talk question for kids. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He offers three considerations that might make us think twice before the next time we ask. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. The question forces kids to define themselves in terms of work. <\/strong>And when we define ourselves by our jobs, our definition of success depends on what we earn or achieve. A 2014 Harvard study<\/a> found that the majority of young people report that they value aspects of personal success over caring for others. Which of those two options is more of a focus in school? At home?<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
    1. The question implies that there is one calling out there for everyone. <\/strong>But searching for that one \u2018right\u2019 career may not lead to clear-cut answers. Many passions won\u2019t pay the bills, and some may not align with personal strengths. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
      1. Careers rarely live up to childhood dreams. <\/strong>College graduates who focus on looking for the \u2018best\u2019 job feel more anxious, stressed, and overwhelmed during the process\u2014and less satisfied with the outcome, according to research<\/a>. The reality is, our entry- or mid-level jobs seldom measure up to our early aspirations. Learning to temper expectations helps us to seek out opportunities for growth. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

        So\u2014 what sorts of questions might you ask instead to get kids thinking about aspirations that might be bigger than work? Or about the type of person <\/em>they want to be?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        In our office, Administrative Assistant Marianne DiCugno is the first point of contact with students who arrive for tutoring sessions. She recognizes that students may be a little uneasy about getting extra help\u2014so she focuses on engaging them on what their interests and strengths are right now.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \"\"
        Marianne DiCugno<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

        \u201cStudents will come in with their sports gear\u2014 knee pads, wearing uniforms\u2014so I\u2019ll ask them about what they are playing and how the season is going,\u201d she said. \u201cThey light up when I ask about that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        She also asks about their current school and what some of their immediate goals are. \u201cStudents come from all over\u2014so what is their current school like, and where are they aiming to go? If they are coming in for test prep\u2014are they taking the SAT or the ACT?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        DiCugno finds that conversational questions like these help to set up a climate for learning at Back to Basics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Managing Director Scott Bennett is a parent of four who has explored many different ways to guide his own kids. His first question when he\u2019s mentoring a young person: \u201cWhat jazzes you? What gets you excited?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \"\"
        Scott Bennett<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

        That question can lead to a more practical one, though: \u201cHow could you see yourself spending twelve hours a day, when you\u2019re working hard?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        A true idealist, Bennett believes that everyone, at their core, wants to help others. \u201cThere would be a lot more people in social work if our society paid social workers what they are worth,\u201d Bennett said. \u201cSame with teachers.\u201d  He finds that asking students how they might want to make the world a better place steers them to channeling personal strengths towards realistic long-term goals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        It\u2019s worthwhile to reconsider ways to reframe a timeless question away from career goals, and towards strengths and aspirations. Perhaps Oprah said it best<\/a>: \u201cRemember that your job is not who you are, it's just what you're doing on the way to who you will become.\u201d<\/p>\n","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[39,40,1323],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29425","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-for-parents","category-for-students","category-resources"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/backtobasicslearning.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29425","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/backtobasicslearning.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/backtobasicslearning.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/backtobasicslearning.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/backtobasicslearning.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29425"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/backtobasicslearning.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29425\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29442,"href":"https:\/\/backtobasicslearning.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29425\/revisions\/29442"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/backtobasicslearning.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29441"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/backtobasicslearning.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29425"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/backtobasicslearning.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29425"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/backtobasicslearning.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29425"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}