Register for the April 5, 2019 Event

The Conversation Continues:

How Prepared are Students for the World after High School (2019 edition)

Hosted by Westminster College

April 5, 2019

8:00 AM—Noon

No Registration Fee

Breakfast Included

 

This event is designed to be interactive with participants encouraged to participate.

 

Who should attend: Administrators, Counselors, Teachers, Parents, Students, Admission Counselors, Everyone who is concerned about How Prepared Students are for the World after High School

 

A Two Part Event

PART ONE: A Presentation by Dr. John Rindy

Presentation Title:  “What are you going to be?” 8000 reasons why we need to stop asking that question.

Subtitle: Today’s Keys to Career Readiness for all grade levels and training beyond high school preparation.

 

“You should know exactly what you’re going to ‘be’ before graduating from high school!  Set goals!  Don’t let anything get in your way!”  Most of us have said, or insinuated things like this when engaging young people.  “Get that degree! It’s your ticket to a good job!” is a common assumption, especially among the parents of first-generation college students, but this is an incomplete truth – in fact it is not true of any postsecondary education.  Traditional, applied career research using career matching systems and theories such as Holland, Strong, Myers-Briggs, Strength Finders and many others, as well as ASVAB, FOCUS, Discover, Jobzology, Kuder Journey and other systems carry the implied promise to “match individuals with occupational destinations.”  So why do 60-70 percent of college students still change their major?  Why is it that only 27 percent of Americans with a bachelor’s degree ultimately end up working in a job that is related to what they studied? Why is it that 70% of college graduates’ first jobs have more to do with networking than their degree?  Does traditional goal-setting “Set that goal! Don’t turn your head! Stay focused!  Keep your ‘eye on the prize’!” make sense in today’s job market?  Theorist, Dr. John Krumboltz would likely say “No”.  Our presenter, Dr. John Rindy, Director of Career Education and Development at Slippery Rock University also says “No”.  In his presentation, Dr. Rindy will poses some tough questions to a Focus Group of recent high school graduates and current high school students and offer a career presentation based largely on Krumboltz Theory of Planned Happenstance. Find out if this innovative, yet realistic and practical theory resonates with the Focus Group?  What kind of questions does this approach raise?  Does it sound anything like what we are saying to our students at any level? Educators, does your Chapter 339 plan include the ‘real’ career development that Dr. Krumboltz would espouse?  What do, educators, parents, counselors, and other attendees want to know from the Focus Group of students?

 

Outcomes

• Student Focus Group, parents, educators, counselors and others will gain a realistic sense of the world of work beyond formal education
  • What the labor market really looks like
  • What the labor market really values
  • What career management students must undertake – no matter their continued educational pathway – be noticed by employers

• Attendees will demonstrate an understanding of 4 core principles of Krumboltz Theory of Planned Happenstance
  • Guidance/counseling should support the student taking action to achieve a satisfying life -not to make a single, arbitrary career decision
  • Career assessments should not be used to match people to careers but to stimulate learning
  • Students need to be encouraged to take exploratory action to create unplanned events
  • A “successful” career counseling outcome should be based on what the student accomplishes in the real world (examples of discovery/discernment)

• Attendees will complete the day with at least three ideas of how Krumboltz Theory could be operationalized to a greater extent at their school or in their

PART TWO: A Focus Group of Students will share their real world experiences about how well they have been prepared for the world after High School. This is information that school districts can use to assess their 339 plans and make adjustments if necessary.

Sample Question for the Focus Group: On a scale of 1—10 with 10 being the highest, how do you feel about being prepared for the world after High School? Why?

 

Moderators: Mr. Vince Gratteri, Pittsburgh Technical College/ Dr. John Rindy, Slippery Rock University

 

Attendees are encouraged to submit questions for the Focus Group. Send to hhevents@zoominternet.net

 

ACT 48 Hours: Some districts will accept a memo from me indicating your attendance at the event and then the memo is submitted for approval through the district’s plan. If this is your district policy then I will provide you with a memo following the event indicating your attendance if you request it from me via email—Herb

 

Thank you to the following for supporting this event. We are “Building Partnerships for Student Success”

 

Pittsburgh Technical College, Mr. Vince Gratteri, Gratteri.Vince@ptcollege.edu

Westminster College, Amy Camardese, camardah@westminster.edu

First Choice Federal Credit Union, Mr. Michael Vatter, CEO, mvatter@firstchoicefcu.com

Slippery Rock University, Career Services, Dr. John Rindy, john.rindy@sru.edu

 

If you have problems registering online send the information in an email to hhevents@zoominternet.net or call 724-494-0968. Your registration will be confirmed by email within a week or less. Register early because space is limited. I look forward to seeing you. We are working hard to make this another quality event.