LearnmoreMN Blog

Life decisions must not be left to chance

By Dave Ellefson, June guest blogger

Many high school graduates have been sharing handshakes and hugs with family, friends and faculty as they celebrated their recent graduation. Two questions they most likely were asked were: “Where are you planning to go to college?” and “What will your major be?”

From year-to-year a theme may arise where many students are going to a common college or to a group of colleges in a close area. This also applies to certain majors being popular. As a high school guidance counselor, I believe that the purposefulness of these decisions is a key indicator to the success the student will have. All students need to be taught how to make a decision.

I was just talking to a college student who decided to change schools after his sophomore year. Once he started at his new college, he found out he would need to attend an extra year of schooling to complete his major. Wouldn’t that have been an important question to ask before he left one school for another?

Great decisions require students to think about all the important questions that they must answer first. Are students picking a college because a friend is going there? Are they picking a major just because it will lead to a job that may pay a lot of money? How often are high school and college students given a chance to explore their career interests and aptitudes for different careers?

Students also need to think about how they will deal with adversity if it arises. They must have a growth mindset where they understand that dedication and hard work will be needed to achieve their goals. Students need to be taught how to think this way.

What about personal decisions that can get in the way of college success? Our society tends to project an image of what it means to have fun and students may not prepared for college or success when it’s not fun or easy.

When students ask the right questions about their future, have a positive mindset, and set well-thought-out goals — their chances of being successful are greatly increased. Without these ingredients it is easy to lose your way.

High schools must provide more than just the 3 Rs. High schools need to provide the following opportunities for post-high school success:

• opportunities for students to reflect on their future,
• opportunities to explore career options,
• opportunities to access their academic strengths and weakness,
• opportunities to improve on the skills they lack.

Students need to learn and practice persistence. Finally, students must learn to be goal oriented and taught how to create a four- year plan that will help them to explore career options and prepare for post-high school plans.

What ways have you found that help young people to navigate through life’s decisions?

Success in college starts in high school

By Dave Ellefson, June guest blogger

All of the calendars that I look at tell me that spring has begun and summer will be here on June 21^st. However, the reality has been that since spring was declared by my calendar, Minnesota has had record snowfalls and the temperature seems unwilling to stay above average for this time of year. The calendar says one thing; that doesn’t mean that the weather will be what we expect. Likewise, students earn diplomas, but that doesn’t mean they’re ready to succeed.

In other words, if our graduates have done all that is required of them, will they be able to take those skills and be successful at the school they attend? The National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS) reports that for the class of 2009 in Minnesota, 29% of students in associate programs completed them in three years, and 60% of students in bachelor’s programs completed them in six years. Bachelor’s completion numbers have been improving over the past 10 years, but the associate numbers have been trending downward. These statistics are shocking to me and I believe they should be shared with students, parents, educators and policymakers.

I know that academic preparation will always be an important component to students completing coursework in a timely manner. However, to obtain even better results we must focus on the career decision process. Students need to have time in their high school day to investigate, explore and set goals concerning their education and career futures. I believe that when a school begins to allow students to focus on career education in a purposeful and timely manner, it will empower its students to follow a path that will lead to successful completion of their post-high school experience.

In the K-12 Omnibus bill, Individual Learning Plans are now a required component of a student‘s education. The U of M’s Ramp-Up to Readiness program provides the scope and sequence, and the curriculum to develop an Individual Learning Plan for all middle school and high school students. Ramp-Up helps students learn about the soft skills that are needed to persist at college. Lessons teach students about the job market, choosing colleges, and about financial-aid. Students learn about how they may use advanced coursework to challenge themselves and get a jump start on college coursework.

Goal setting is a key skill which Ramp-Up uses to help students give direction and purpose to their learning. As my school began to implement Ramp-Up this year, it was interesting how students would come to my office and make comments about the program. From there they would ask a question which always related back to the topics that they recently covered in their Ramp-Up sessions. Our school did not implement Ramp-Up as effectively as it could have; however, this year we had more students complete college applications earlier in the school year. There was also an increase in the number of students registering for Advanced Placement courses and College in the School coursework for next year.

Schools must create a climate that will meet the needs of all students to be college and career ready. What examples can you share that are helping make students college and career ready?