I agree w/ you girls about the pathways. First of all, it is too early to choose what you want to do w/ the rest of your life at that age. Also I think that some students feel a sense of committment like now that they have decided they may not be able to change their mind or go into something that may interest them more or be a better pick for them. Or now that they have decided they may simply not explore other possibilities. I think it is a much better idea to show them lots of different options and have them explore and learn about as many as they possibly can. I think this will be more interesting anyway and may make them want to continue learning and education in college.

When I posted this I had not read the article on tracks and I was thinking about the paths that we were given to choose from in high school to choose from for your future career
After I chose my "path" I almost felt like I was committed to that one particular career and did not make much of an effort to explore other options
I did not realize that I should see what else is out there before I made my final decision and that the path I decided on in high school was not written in stone until I got to college

So I guess this thread is to ask you guys what you think about having highschool freshmen try to decide what career they want to have at such an early age
Personally I think it is a bad idea, yes I do think it is a good thing to bring up the subject and get them thinking about it early on but I don't think it should seem so definite

I agree with you Jenny. Students need to think about what they think they would like to do in life at a early age, but no definite decision needs to be made until late in their junoir year and preferably not until early into their senior year in high school. The experiences students have in high school will largely affect what they want to do.

I don't think the students should have to make a definite decision about what they want to do with their lives because they can hardly make a decision about what to do for the weekend. I know when I was a freshman in high school I knew I wanted to go to college because otherwise I would be stuck in a dead-end job wasting my time, but I figured that I would want to be a lawyer. I have changed my mind several times until I really started thinking about what would make me the happiest doing and that is why I went into education. Big choices like what you want to do really shouldn't be made until they come close to graduating high school, that is something they just do not need to worry themselves with.

In my county, they are trying to start a program that will require students to pick a "track" their freshman year and stick with it throughout high school. I'm not sure of the specifics of the plan, but that is ridiculous. I have changed my mind as to what I want to do many times. It took three years of college and some trial and error to finally figure out what I wanted. High school should not be used to push students into their future careers, but rather to give them the skills needed to make them successful in whatever career they choose.

Wow; following a career from high school on is a scary thought. We often aren't even ready as COLLEGE freshmen to choose our major - most of my friends have changed at least once.

I kind of did that by studying music during high school at NCSA - they put us in college classes and ensembles with college students. I really felt that I was "trapped" in performance because I had put so much time and effort into studying it and because that's what everyone expected me to do... when I started to work with children and felt the passion to teach, it took me a lonoooog time to make the transition from "I really wish that I could teach because that's all I can think about, but I have to go into music" to "I don't have to go into music - I want to teach and I will make it happen."

With that - the idea of that type of track worries me because students may feel trapped and unable explore other options as they learn and grow and become more aware of who they are. The time and energy that they have invested in whatever career might also seem too monumental to leave behind. Dusty, I also agree that high school needs to give students the skills to do ANYTHING, not one particular thing.

And of course there is danger in the fact that you can't do your best at any career if you don't love it...

I am glad to read that there is a concern about pathways in high school. As a soon to be student teacher in Technology Education, It is my desire to help 6th,7th, and 8th graders to start thinking about their futures by exposing them to the opportunities that exist in the world today. This would be much easier with an integrated curriculum. If students have a better understanding as to why they need to know something at an earlier age, they may be more inclined to think about the future with more excitement.

I too am concered with pathways and tracking in high schools. Not only do I feel that we are limiting student opportunties, I also feel that pathways are another way for administrators and number crunchers to make themselves look better. Many students do not know what they want to do in college let alone in middle school or high school. I believe that students should be put in classes that they are interested in and that will challange them to succeed. I realize that not every student wants or needs to go to college, but shouldn't we prepare them so that if later in life they decide to go back to college they can?