Preparing Students for the 21st

Century Job Market

 

Mr. Gunthar Stroman

Gunthars@gmail.com

 

 

Introduction: 

Essential for surviving in the new global economy is at the very least, a fair understanding of economics, job skills, popular professions and hiring trends in these professions.  It is my assumption that many students in Harlem's District 5 lack the knowledge and the skills needed to succeed in the 21st century job market or who to turn to for said knowledge.   Education alone will not eliminate the disparity between rich and poor, nor guarantee a job, let alone one with a fair wage.  The goal of this web quest is to enhance student’s understanding of popular professions, skills needed to acquire these professions, causes (social and systematic) that aids poor preparation for many of the students from this district going into careers, and ways to overcome hegemonic and cultural disadvantages.

 

 

Task:  

Students will create a poster highlighting examples of knowledge they acquired and components of employability they have learned about what makes them better equipped for the 21st century job market. 

Students will write a letter to a politician: the Assemblyman or the Public Advocate to explain their concerns about being able to acquire gainful employment and the skills needed for it, outside of the general education curriculum.

 

 

Process/Resources:

1.      Students will be placed into groups (4-6) to ensure maximum completion of the work.  Next,  using the six steps of the Public Policy Analyst process students will  complete the PPA for the  problem.

·        Define the problem (Worksheet All)

·        Gather evidence    

·        Identify causes

·        Evaluate a policy

·        Develop solutions

·        Select best solution

2.  Students will learn about popular professions for gainful employment in their era. The process will start by identifying the most popular jobs in 2001 and 2011.  By using he World Wide Web and its search engines like Google, Yahoo and Safari we will gather this research information.

3. The next step will be learning about the top hiring professions over the rest of the years that came between 2001 and 2011. From there, we will identify any trends that appear within these popular professions and what we can do to prepare for these hiring trends.  

2nd   Part

4.  (Identify Causes) Students will hypothesize some of the issues that my lead to this problem.

 a. What problems do the students in District 5 have that may add to their having trouble finding certain jobs and professions?

b. What hiring trends go against the generic makeup of the typical District 5 student? What other factors, systematic (high rate of stop and searches, high rate of misdemeanor arrest and conviction criminal records) and hegemonic (Hiring practices of private companies based on education, race and geographic makeup, etc.)

5. ( Evaluate a policy)  What if anything has been  done to remedy this problem?   Who is doing it ie churches, government officials, schools etc ?

What should we ask of our elected officials to help us become more job ready? What type of programs or classes will help you to become ready for the 21st Century.  

 6. (Develop Solutions) How can students improve their chances of getting into a top profession by advocating for the skills needed to acquire opportunities in these fields? What should or can government do to level the playing field for disadvantaged students?     

7. Select the best solution) Based on the research we uncover what will be the best solution based on feasibility and effectiveness.

 

 

Evaluation:

Students will write a short 1-2 page(s) paper about 3 professions from the top professions over the past 10 years that they are interested in possibly pursuing. 

Students will complete a poster that highlights the skills that will be necessary for these professions and other professions for the 21st Century.

Write a letter to a politician, like the public advocate or the borough president asking what programs, skills and/or classes they think would help them to acquire these skills.

 

Rubric  for Letter

Rubric for Poster

Student Name ___________________

 

CATEGORY

4

3

2

1

Required Elements

The poster includes all required elements as well as additional information.

All required elements are included on the poster.

All but 1 of the required elements are included on the poster.

Several required elements were missing.

Graphics - Relevance

All graphics are related to the topic and make it easier to understand. All borrowed graphics have a source citation.

All graphics are related to the topic and most make it easier to understand. Some borrowed graphics have a source citation.

All graphics relate to the topic. One or two borrowed graphics have a source citation.

Graphics do not relate to the topic OR several borrowed graphics do not have a source citation.

Attractiveness

The poster is exceptionally attractive in terms of design, layout, and neatness.

The poster is attractive in terms of design, layout and neatness.

The poster is acceptably attractive though it may be a bit messy.

The poster is distractingly messy or very poorly designed. It is not attractive.

Grammar

There are no grammatical/mechanical mistakes on the poster.

There are 1-2 grammatical/mechanical mistakes on the poster.

There are 3-4 grammatical/mechanical mistakes on the poster.

There are more than 4 grammatical/mechanical mistakes on the poster.

 

 

Conclusion:

I think that this unit will help the students far beyond the classroom and give them valuable skills that they will need in the future. 

Send the best solution to the Elected officials.

 

 

Standards:

1. Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9–10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.

          a. Come to discussions prepared, having read and researched material under study; explicitly draw on that preparation by referring to evidence from texts and other research on the topic or issue to stimulate a thoughtful, well-reasoned exchange of ideas.

4. Present information, findings, and supporting evidence clearly, concisely, and logically such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and task.

5. Make strategic use of digital media (e.g., textual, graphical, audio, visual, and interactive elements) in presentations to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence and to add interest.

6. Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate.