A Letter From The Principal: What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?

Editor's Note: The Parkway School District publishes letters from school principals in an electronic form on a regular basis. With permission, Creve Coeur Patch will share those messages here.

We begin with Dr. Kim Brandon, principal at

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What do you want to be when you grow up?

This is a question I remember people asking me as I was growing up.

My response would vary from becoming a nurse, the Secretary of State for the United States, or a teacher.

These were all careers my teachers could help prepare me for and they did so by helping me research and identify the knowledge and skills needed to be a nurse, the Secretary of State, or a teacher.

What does your child want to be when he/she grows up? 

I still have kids tell me they want to become professional athletes, but more and more often, kids tell me they want to work in the field of science—doing research, or they want to work in the field of medicine, or they want to work in the area of technology. 

Do you notice how different these responses are from my responses of the 70’s and 80’s?  Mine were specific; whereas, the responses from today’s kids are much more general. 

Why is this?  This is because we cannot fully predict what careers and jobs will exist when today’s students enter the workforce. 

This doesn’t mean we can’t prepare today’s students to be successful in the careers and jobs they will eventually do when they “grow up.”  This does mean; however, that we must shift our thinking from high school completion to college and career readiness for all students.

To do this, as educators, we must begin by asking this question:

“Are we focusing our teaching and learning systems around the right college and career ready outcomes for all students?”

Over the course of the next few weeks, I will use my e-newsletter to share more information regarding 21st Century Skills needed by all students to prepare them to “deal with the complex challenges of our age.”  (P21 Common Core Toolkit:  A Guide to Aligning the Common Core State Standards with the Framework for 21st Century Skills)

I will also share examples of how the three R’s of education (relationships, rigor, and relevance) are aligned with the four C’s (critical thinking and problem-solving, collaboration, communication, and creativity and innovation.)

And I will share specifics about the Common Core standards and how they “establish the levels of performance that students, teachers, and schools are expected to meet.”  (P21 Common Core Toolkit:  A Guide to Aligning the Common Core State Standards with the Framework for 21st Century Skills)

The media references these terms when discussing teacher accountability, Race to the Top, and other educational reforms. 

I want to make sure we all understand what is being discussed and that we all have an understanding as to the purpose for this shift in focus.

Thank you!

Kim

P.S.  Click on this link to read an article and watch an animation about preparing students for jobs that don't exist yet.