CURRICULUM FOCUS:

Business. Adaptable to any subject area.

INTEGRATE WITH:

The School Guidance Department, Drama, English, Social Studies.

OBJECTIVES:

Students will:

Identify personal strengths and weaknesses
Investigate characteristics and requirements of personal career choices and their effects on lifestyle and multiple life roles
Investigate a variety of careers and analyze findings in terms of interest and abilities

NON-FICTION LINK:

Many unemployed people search the want ads trying to match themselves with the skills listed by prospective employers. But Bolles' What Color is Your Parachute? is a job hunting guide that empowers the job seeker to be proactive based on personal strengths and interests.

PRE-VIDEO ACTIVITIES:

1. Guest Speaker:
Invite the guidance counselor to speak to your class about the nature of today's changing job market.

2. Career Change Survey:
Assign each student in the class to ask the following survey questions to two adults (one parent/guardian and one non-family member).

How many jobs/careers have you held?
What were they?
Why did you change jobs/careers?
Do you expect to change jobs/careers again?
When did you know what you "wanted to be when you grew up?"

Have the class tabulate and chart the results. Either create a list on the blackboard or place the data on a computer program for creating charts and graphs. Once the class has sorted through the information, lead a class discussion in which students draw conclusions based on the data. Be sure to allow students to share information and stories from their research subjects that may not have been included in the answers to the four questions.

WATCH THE BROADCAST OR PRETAPED VIDEO OF ATV'S "CHANGING LANES."

POST-VIDEO ACTIVITY

1. Follow Up Discussion: After watching the video, lead a discussion of the program. Did the guests' responses match the class survey? What was similar? What were the surprises? Were any statements made that struck a personal note?

2. Personal Research Project: [Copy and paste this section into your word processor to create a student handout.]

When starting a journey, it might be best to know where you are now. Asking the question "who am I and how did I get here" is great way to plan for the future. To answer that question, a personal research project will look at a variety of sources and processes. Use a journal, a scrapbook, or a multi-media computer with a scanner to collect the data.

The Mind - Source One: Write reflective journal entries about:

My happiest moments...
My saddest moments...
I most enjoy doing...
I least enjoy doing...
I am great at...
I know a lot about...
I wish I know more about...
I am strongest when...
I am weakest when...
Others think I'm good at...
Mom and/or Dad think I should...
My grandparents think it would be great if I...
If I could change the world, I would...
The thing I would most enjoy doing today is...
I fantasize working as a...
I would like people to think that I am...

Interviews - Source Two: Ask people who have known you for a long time:

What do you see as my strengths?
What do you see me as being the most interested in?
If you needed help, why would you call me?
What do you expect me to be?

Artifacts - Source Three: Collect or list the artifacts that have accumulated in your life:

describe the objects in your bedroom
photographs of yourself, family, friends, activities
describe favorite possessions
report cards, tests, school work
awards and certificates
pay check stubs
clubs, teams

Conclusions: After gathering the data, try to identify themes or strands of connections. Then extend those strands into the next fifty years by imagining three different possibilities for your future. Base these alternate scenarios of your possible life on the "facts" that you have collected. Eventually select the one for your final "draft."

Present your final "draft" to the class in one of the following products: a Ken MacRorie I-Search paper [see Resources], a personal "To be, or not to be" soliloquy, a video montage of your past, present and future, or a multi-media presentation.

BUSINESS ON STAGE

The world of theater has not ignored the business world. A wide range of plays and movies focus on the lives of business men and women. Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller is a play is set in a time when an employee could expect to work for one company for his or her entire career; it is a poignant tragedy and worth serious consideration by your students

A study/viewing of the play could focus on the following questions:

What is the American Dream?
Is it possible to find both money and meaning in work?
What is the secret to success?
What is success?
What is wealth?
Is life a dog-eat-dog, competitive world where the only respected dream is to be #1?
Is "the jungle" a good metaphor for business? What other metaphors might be possible?
What does an employee owe an employer?
What does an employer owe an employee?
What is ethical business behavior?
What does it mean to "grow up?"
What does it mean to waste a life?
How much do I owe my parents?
How much do I owe my children?
How and what should I teach my children?

INTEGRATE: Cooperate with the Drama Department to stage a production of Death of a Salesman.

ASSIGNMENT: Have students create an annotated bibliography of additional films/plays/books that comment on a business career. The annotation should be more than a plot summary; it should identify the themes and conclusions. (i.e. The Glass Ceiling, Grand Canyon, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, The Paper, Network, Nine to Five, or Wall Street).