Where Does Work Experience Fit in High School Education?
When I was a high school freshman my first advisor was the teacher who taught auto shop. After my first day of school my mom found that out and she was livid. I remember how incensed she was when asking my dad (who taught social studies at the same high school) how her son ended up “out in the auto shop for home room?” Alas, her poor little baby out with cars, grease, and all!
Today I look back at my freshman year as a missed opportunity. Hanging out in the auto shop for my advisory period might have been one of most valuable experiences I could have had in high school. Instead, I got shipped out of auto shop back to another social studies teacher in my dad’s department and placed firmly on the standard academic track. And while it’s most likely 100% unlikely that by staying in that original home room I would have become an auto mechanic, I might have developed more appreciation and exposure to building things had I gotten a little dirt under my fingernails. Maybe spawning an interest in engineering or architecture? Who knows?
So what should a parent do today if their daughter or son ends up in the auto shop the first day of school? Well take heart from a recent report by Jackie Mader at The Hechinger Report that describes what’s happening in schools across Vermont (and in many other states for that matter). As Mader’s piece highlights, an increasing number of high schools are using work-based learning programs as a way to augment — not replace — learning that takes place in the classroom. For many families and educators, however, the question probably remains: “Why should schools invest in adding work-based learning programs to their curriculum?” Three distinct benefits jump to mind.
Contextualize academic learning
It’s absolutely critical that students graduate with appropriate levels of proficiency in math, science, language arts, and other foundational academic subjects. That said, not every kid is wired to sit in a form-fitting desk for several hours Monday through Friday, and then spend large chunks of their evenings and weekends pouring over study notes and textbooks. The Hechinger Report story highlights how one student augmented his math and science curriculum with 15 hours per week working as an apprentice auto mechanic.
Let’s face it, cars are basically computers today so if you can repair a car engine you darn well are learning real applied math and science. And while we can argue whether the attention spans of today’s youth are increasingly compromised by digital media to the detriment of their academic success, there is no questioning the fact that we all “learn by doing”. This form of learning definitely augments in classroom education by creating an important context that keeps kids engaged. As Silas Woods, the auto mechanic apprentice highlighted in The Hechinger Report piece so eloquently says:
“The main way I learn is by screwing up and doing it again, which is honestly a lot more interesting and definitely makes it stick in your head a lot more.”
Provide perspective on life after school
Earlier this summer I read Ben Sasse’s book “The Vanishing American Adult”, in which Sasse argues that American youth today struggle (and perhaps even consciously avoid a path) to grow into adulthood for many reasons. Sasse cites as one such reason the notion that given how family structures have evolved over the past few decades, coupled with the onslaught of social media, kids spend most of their waking hours socially connected to kids their own age and much less time interacting with adults than did prior generations. Basically, today’s students spend less time with adults like their parents, grandparents and family friends, and therefore less time being exposed to the kinds of challenges adults deal with daily.
Given Sasse’s premise — which may indeed have some merit since I’m not sure my daughters really know what I do at work each day — it makes practical sense to provide work-based learning experiences for students so they can begin to experience the world that they will be joining in a few short years. The earlier students have an opportunity to see how people work together in a company setting or how well (or not so well) a company employee treats a customer, the sooner they begin to internalize the types of behaviors that are appropriate regardless of the profession they ultimately choose.
Identify career interests earlier
Perhaps the best reason to incorporate work-based learning into high school curriculum is the fact that these programs help kids identify passions and interests earlier. Mader highlights that even though 88% of Vermont seniors graduate, only 53% go to college. Thus, counting the 12% who don’t graduate, more than half of all Vermont high school graduates would benefit immensely by having a better sense of what options might be available to them after 12th grade. More importantly, these work-based programs can shed light on what these students feel drawn to do, and therefore what will engage them every day. Again, as Silas Woods puts it:
“Every kid wants to find that job that they can just wake up and be stoked for in the morning which is my main goal right now. I look forward to waking up and going to work.”
Clarifying the benefits of adding work-based learning to a high schooler’s transcript is just half the equation. We must also consider the various layers of support required to enable the availability of work experience in all of our schools because adding this valuable element doesn’t just happen by waving a magic wand. Before a school community can add work-based learning we should evaluate the following dynamics.
First, we need our educators believing in the value of work experience and understanding that not every student’s path leads to college — four year non-profit, community college, or otherwise. Instilling this belief may require further studies or examples that showcase how students learn more effectively through work-based learning and that they might define career paths (or at least important starting points) through these experiences as teenagers. Supporting educators in this endeavor will also require support from state and federal education officials who may need to acknowledge the value of results that don’t always measure success in the form of a G.P.A. or test scores.
Second, work-based learning programs require that businesses both large and small provide opportunities for students in communities across America. Creating real depth of experience that helps kids make the connection between academics and their work experience (e.g. connecting the need for mathematics in one’s work as an auto mechanic or financial advisor), and that more importantly gives kids a real sense of what careers are available to them, can only come from companies willing to invest in high school students. Furthermore, broadening the reach of these programs may require that we rethink how we approach internships so that companies can financially sustain experiences for kids who are truly “learning on the job”.
Finally, we may need parents to view the definition they apply to high school education a bit differently. Specifically, families will best support their kids when they come to terms with the fact that students gravitate naturally to the things they love and that this is what makes kids happy, not pushing them forward on paths that don’t resonate with them. Not everyone is going to be a software engineer and not every job is going to be replaced by a machine. Let kids get time out of the classroom early in ways that aren’t cursory, but that deliver really meaningful experiences to shape how they see their future selves.
In all honesty, I know I would ended up in college even if I had stayed in the auto shop home room, but I also know that I would have benefitted from a healthy dose of real-life work experience during my high school years. Whether it came from trying to fix a broken radiator or working in a business office in my small town, I would have gained a whole new perspective of what mattered to me. Heck, at a minimum I could have at least learned how to change my car’s oil and today be a lot more helpful to my family as a husband/dad who can do more than change a light bulb.
Originally published on Medium on September 4, 2017. This Substack version is maintained as the canonical archive.