Family Career Tree
Jerry Langweirdt
Mary Dahnert
Guidance
Counselor
Intern 2000-2001 MSUM
Jordan
High School
Professional School Counseling
500
Sunset Drive
Jordan High School
Jordan,
MN
Jordan, MN
DESCRIPTION OF LESSON: The Family Career is a classroom guidance lessson developed on the internship site at Jordan High School in Jordan, MN. The lesson gives the learner the opportunity to investigate occupations chosen by members of their family over four or more generations. Students are given a Career Family Tree Activity Information Sheet, which describes the requirements of the lesson and provides them with a template for the family members name, relationship. and current occupation (more than one can be provided for a given family member if applicable). The information provided for learners follows:
1.
A memo
home to parents to inform them of the project.
2.
A
template resembling a geneogram used to develop a family tree.
3.
Lesson
objectives sheet to be signed by parents and returned to homeroom teacher.
4.
Requirements
for completing a career interview with once person on the completed Family
Career Tree.
5.
Requirements for completing a l page summary of the project.
LESSON
OBJECTIVES:
1.
Learners
will become familiar with the variety of occupational choices made by current
and previous generations of family members.
2.
Learners
will involve their parents in helping them complete the data for the Family
Career Tree.
3.
Learners
will contact, interview, and write a brief summary about the career choice of
one member of their Family Career Tree.
4.
Learners
will write a one-page summary of the project and indicate which occupation or
profession they plan to enter.
Session
One: In
classroom setting the guidance counselor presents the project information to
learners and shares a large-scale example. (Preferably the counselor’s Family
Career Tree). The counselor answers
any questions learners have about the project and distributes written materials,
including memo for parents.
Session
Two: (All aspects of the lesson, with the exception of the
interview and written summaries, can
be done in a block session, but there are always some learners who are unsure of
several family members’ occupations, so if time permits they will do more
complete job with parental assistance.)
Learners
have returned to this session with completed template.
Drawing and art supplies are provided and students create their own
version of their Family Career Tree. Learners have conducted a brief interview
by phone or in person with one member of their family tree and have printed a
finished copy. This interview is
based on the following format:
Occupational Interview Questions
1.
What is
your current occupation?
2.
How did
you decide on this occupation?
3.
Have you
tried other occupations in the past?
4.
Which
occupation have you held that you enjoyed most? Why?
5.
What
training is required to enter this occupation?
6.
How long
have you done this?
7.
Other relevant questions chosen by learner.
Many
students are surprised to learn about such patterns in their family history as
discovering that many siblings on a parent’s lineage may be homemakers and on
another be in the business careers. Other
interesting results are discovering that an aunt is the first family member to
work abroad, or first family member to get a college degree.
Converting the data template into a personalized art project allows the
learner to personalize their family career history, explore patterns in it, and
have a finished product reflecting family career choices.
The added dimension of this assignment of the career interviews, and
project summary give the learner a concrete opportunity to explore occupations
and individual careers they may be attracted to, and discover someone in their
family with the same career interests. If
a given family lacks a variety of diverse career opportunities the learner will
benefit from alternative ideas from the counselor.
Project
Summary Requirements
Using
the guidelines below, write a one page, double spaced paper to summarize this
project, and to identify which family careers (or those outside your family) are
you most interested in at this time and why.
1.
What was
the most surprising thing you learned in this project?
2.
What
aspect of the project helped you to start thinking about your own career
interests?
3.
What is
your own career interests?
4.
Does
anyone in your family share this interest with you?
5.
Do you
see any career patterns within the generations on your Family Career Tree?
Connections
to Related Standards:
The Family Career Tree lesson relates directly to the Minnesota
Graduation Standards Learning Area Eight (3501.0448), Decision making through
Career Exploration. Learners
are given an opportunity to explore career ideas within the generations of their
families. In addition, learners are
expected to choose one career within their tree, and do a brief career interview
with the purpose of learning specific information about that career.
Finally the learner speculates on their career interests by writing a
short summary about the project.
Each
of these competencies correspond directly to the National Occupational
Information Coordinating Committee Standards for high schools in the development
of career awareness in order to help students who may be interested to identify,
and select or reconsider, their interests, goals, and career majors, including
those options that may not be traditional for their gender, race, or ethnicity.
References
and Resources
Rief,
J.M., & Ernstveldt, J.K. (1993). The Minnesota School Counselor’s Model, Web Site of Counseling and Student Personnel Department at
MSMU Minnesota State University, Mankato.
Zunker,
V.G. (1988). Career Counseling 5th Edition.
Brooks/Cole Publishing: Pacific Grove, California.