Our society dictates that our youth begin to think about and even decide “what they want to be when they grow up” even at the 6^th or 7^th grade level. This dictate is paired up with the dictate to start working on what college to go to and that the best grades in K – 12, will yield the best college offers. For a small percentage (the tip of an iceberg,) the path of choosing college and career early works well. For the rest, the massive iceberg under the surface, not so much. Fifty percent who do attend and graduate from college don’t find the jobs and careers that were implied to them. Some find they don’t like the chosen career as much as they thought they would. So, they finish college, many saddled with college debt, having to set out to find something to do with their lives that has little to do with their degree. 

Many of these young students, under the surface, don’t do well with textbook learning and don’t want to go to college. They are subtly branded as “not college material” and relegated to being lucky to work for someone else the rest of their lives. Some go to various kinds of trade schools. There is certainly nothing wrong with trade school, but every implication, from the commercials on television to the way the politicians and policy makers speak is all about getting a job working for someone else. It’s never that they could own a trade business. Indeed, the subtle, and sometimes not so subtle message from American society is that if you don’t go to college, you won’t be successful, and you’ll have to settle for some low paying job your whole life. This message is not true, and we need to change it. College can be a valuable tool for those who engage to learn things, but those who think the degree guarantees success have a 50% chance of being very disappointed.

The career guidance counselors present lists of the “top (paying)” careers. The lists change slightly from year to year. Politicians and policy makers make educational funding decisions based on these lists. The only problem is that these lists represent the tip of another iceberg. Under the surface are the thousands of careers, occupations, and businesses that it takes to make the world work. The list below the surface is more fluid than the list above in the tip. New technologies render many on the list obsolete while creating many new ones. No one can make an accurate list of everything. No guidance counselor, no politician, no policy maker. Not only can we not grasp the opportunities under the surface at any given time, but we’re also absolutely no good at predicting, and responding to, the constant churn of obsolescence of certain opportunities while new ones are emerging.

How do we change this messaging and show young people how to self-discover the vast and fast-changing opportunities in the massive iceberg under the surface? First, we need to quit asking kids what they want to do or be when they grow up. Instead, we need to ask what kinds of problems they would like to solve. This changes the whole dynamic of their thinking leaving their mindset open for all the various ways they might be able to work on the solutions for which they are interested. Second, we need to quit pressuring them to figure out their career paths at such an early age. Grades K – 12 should be a time to learn a variety of knowledge that will, perhaps, uncover new interests and change the way they think about the kinds of problems they want to solve. Even for those that choose college, there should be some flexibility in the academic schedule to explore learning that is outside of the “major.” Third, we need to incorporate more project-based learning and entrepreneurial thinking in our children’s education, if not at school at home and at places like Fab Lab ICC. Project based learning makes for a better problem solver. Entrepreneurs are the ones that can look at all the problems in the mass of the iceberg and discover for themselves which to leverage into opportunities for solutions in the marketplace, that can also provide for a beneficial and fulfilling way to be successful.

Fab Lab ICC will continue to offer project-based learning experiences for youth through various summer camps and classes. Nearly all will include elements of problem-solving and entrepreneurial thinking. Starting in 2022, we have a goal to provide these kinds of learning opportunities year-round, perhaps starting with Saturday sessions covering various topics and activities. Some could even be considered “life skills.” There’s a “Class Wish List” tab on our web site at www.fablabicc.org people can use to tell us what classes they’d like to see us offer.

For our restored and continued success in a competitive world marketplace, it is critical that we figure out how to engage and support the youth that are not flourishing in our current educational models. We have to stop showing them limited lists of the “top careers” and show them instead how to look at the world in a new way and discover for themselves what problems they would like to solve.

Jim Correll can be reached at (620) 252-5349 or by email at jcorrell@indycc.edu. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of Fab Lab ICC or Independence Community College. Archive columns and podcasts at www.fablabicc.org.