Blogs – Apprentice Learning

July 18, 2018

Goals and Dreams: It’s All About Action

Taylor Norman, Apprentice Learning Program Coordinator at the Boston Teachers Union School was invited to give a parting speech to the eighth grade class. We were inspired and wanted to share her words.

As you launch into high school, you will have a chance to choose your friends, choose your interests, and choose what path you will take. Although these choices aren’t permanent, make sure you’re building a firm and steady foundation. You have the option to start over and be who you want to be, without questions, or maybes. So use that opportunity and take action. Don’t wait for the approval of your peers, because they’re figuring it out, just as you are. Make your plan and ask for help. Tell them about your plan of action, and that you can’t do it alone.

I’ve helped many of you explore your career interests and earn an apprenticeships and summer jobs through Apprentice Learning. As that process unfolded, I got to learn more about each of you, and what makes you so unique. Like the fact that the majority of you like white bread because wheat bread is too crumbly. Some students like to blurt out their answers, while others refused to answer when called upon. How many of you like to help adults but don’t like being told what to do by adults. About ½ of you like an even layer of Mayonnaise on both slices of the bread while others like a big glob of Mayo on ONE side…

But what made you even more similar, was the fact that each of you had goals and dreams to be someone different, and to be a better version of your 6th grade self, or your 7th grade self. And even for the few students that I’ve met for the first time this year, better versions of your 8th grade selves.

Each year you made improvements, through action. And I’ve watched. We’ve watched.
I remember many of you saying, “Ms. T, I’m going to be in your class next year because I want a summer job. Just wait!” So I waited. We’ve waited. Not for the opportunity to get you employed for the summer, but for the lifetime of opportunities that await you…when you realize that you don’t need us as much as you did before.

Getting up for school every day, completing those assignments, making a pact to stay after school with your friends so you can all receive tutoring, supporting the one person in your crew who may have needed to attend. That demonstrates empathy, teamwork, proper planning, care, and commitment. You’ve stuck together, refusing to leave your classmates or friends behind. But keep in mind, it’s all about action.

Taylor (L) and Caleb (R) during a Workplace Exploration at Vertex Pharmaceuticals.

January 27, 2015

What is a Pot of Gold, Exactly?

I wanted to share a recent blog post by my dear friend and mentor Deborah Meier. Deborah offers an enthusiastic review of a book by Susan Engel, “The End of the Rainbow.” In it. Ms. Engel asks, “What if we made the implicit goal of education happiness rather than monetary attainment?” It’s a fascinating viewpoint that gives all of us on the right and the left, pause for thought. Here’s my thought…

Apprentice Learning is not teaching career education just to help kids make money. We do want Apprentices to have options other than a low wage, low skill job. The skills we teach help young people navigate a complex adult world–one that inevitably includes working–and feel confident in many workplace cultures. These professional skills such as communication, self-advocacy, cultural sensitivity, etc. are valuable in many settings, including those outside of work. Academic skills alone are not adequate.

Our students are motivated to practice and learn because they are eager to work. They want to join the adult world. Most so they can make money. That’s their starting point.

Kids believe happiness and money are related. What they don’t fully understand is the strange ways they are. Beyond the lifelong pursuit of these skills, we hope our participants grow to understand that attaining happiness is more than just making money.

December 19, 2014

What Was Your First Job?

“What was your first job?” This is one of the most common questions we ask at Apprentice Learning. Jobs are always on our mind. It’s what we do for middle school students. And as our fall process of apprenticeships comes full circle, I realize that the question is less about one’s first actual “job” and is instead about the first time you realized that your role in the working world mattered.

My first official job was working in a foster care office when I was about 14. I spent my shifts making copies and… well that’s pretty much it. But when asked about my first job, I always return to when I was 11 and selling frozen Capris Suns and Oreos out of a second book bag I would carry to school. It was a pretty nice setup for an 11-year old. I dragged that heavy second book bag to school filled with frozen Capri Sun juices and packs of Oreo cookies. The only thing I ever worried about was whether or not the juices in my bag would crush the cookies. It may not have been an official job. But I always go back to that as my first real working experience. That’s because it was one of the first “jobs” that actually needed me.

Your first work experience is more than just something to throw on a resume. It’s a way to instill a sense of worth and a feeling of being counted on. This newly support sense of worth changes the way you see yourself and shows you that you belong in working world. You have something to offer and that there are people ready and waiting to see it. This is the moment we are looking for when asking about someone’s first job; the moment when you see the connection between what you can do and what needs to be done.

Our apprenticeships for the fall are complete. I cannot express enough how proud I am of this group of Apprentices. Over the last 2 months we have had 21 Apprentices work at 12 different sites all over the city the Boston. As 8^th graders they have cared for infants, managed stocks, edited cartoons, built bikes, organized weights, sold comics, greeted customers, prepared meals, and so much more. They have matured into productive and more self-assured young people. One of them mentioned in his exit interview how special it was to work somewhere that “valued his input.” These Apprentices have all learned some incredible life lessons and are leaving work with new collection of skills that will matter for their entire lives. But along with all of that they are leaving with higher sense of purpose, a deeper understanding of all that they have to offer to the world, and most importantly a belief that the working world is somewhere they belong. Congratulations to the Fall 2014 class of Apprentices. We are so excited for your continued growth and can’t wait to see what other inspiring contributions you will make to the world through your work.

November 25, 2014

I Belong Here

I dropped by the Apple Genius Bar, a help desk where Apple employees known as “Geniuses” fix just about any computer issue you bring them. I was called for my appointment by a young woman who introduced herself with a joke highlighting the fact that she was the only woman Genius at the Bar. I didn’t even notice until she made the joke. But in fact, of the 15 Geniuses there that evening, she was the only woman working behind the counter. In 2012, women made up only 26% of the labor force in computer and mathematics related fields. Unfortunately, until she mentioned it, I barely paid any attention.

There are a variety of reasons why there is a shortage of women in STEM related fields. I won’t pretend to understand them all. But one barrier for young women is a lack of motivation to even pursue STEM related professions. Many young women in school right now aren’t motivated because they struggle to even imagine themselves as engineers, businesswomen, or computer scientists. For many girls, without positive first hand experiences in those fields, this very idea never even crosses their mind. The solution then doesn’t end with solely creating equal spaces for women in those fields. It goes further to make sure that our girls are exposed to those careers as early and frequently as possible. By providing opportunities for girls to not only see these careers but to learn them through experience instills a mindset that they too can do STEM related work. The sense of competency and belonging that is created through these experiences provides girls the chance to fully imagine themselves in those careers and thus pursue STEM professions.

Fall apprenticeships are halfway complete and young women comprise more than half of our Apprentices. It important to recognize that at this point, they are thinking about their futures in some new ways. At New England Baptist Hospital, Apprentices are getting hands-on experience in medicine, learning about knee replacements with a biotech company while Apprentices at WGBH are exploring the future television production working on digital billboards. Our Apprentice at NorthStar Asset Management, an all-women organization, is learning about the stock market by competing with her mentors and co-workers in an online trading game, and winning!

We are watching the imaginations of our female Apprentices expand in remarkable ways as each of these young women begins to see themselves in professions they never considered before. This is the next step for the young women in our society: It’s about allowing them to step through the door of any profession and say, “I belong here.”

October 19, 2014

A Nation with Shared Public Purpose

The title of this blog is one of my favorite phrases from Eric Schwarz’ s new book, “The Opportunity Equation.” Eric writes his story of creating Citizen Schools more than 20 years ago. Armed with an idea and willing teachers and volunteers, he created a wonderful program that invites ordinary citizens to volunteer their time and share their expertise with youngsters.

The book tells an engaging story. And it’s much more: it’s a call to all citizens to share the task of educating America’s children, particularly those who have few extra opportunities provided by their families. Service to others builds a shared public purpose. This is the purpose of civic education.

Civic education isn’t just about the three branches of government; it’s an understanding of the common set of beliefs that bind us together as a country. At the heart of democracy, there is a sense of belonging to something larger than us. Otherwise there would be anarchy. Education is at the heart of how we convey these beliefs.

At the heart of education are schools. At the heart of schools are communities of children, families and adult professionals who care about the welfare of the collective, not only the individual. Sometimes the betterment of the whole come at the expense of the individual. Sometime a painful lesson and one that is essential for success. At their best, communities create a powerful personal feeling of belonging because the welfare of the whole is at the center of the conversation. Just what the founding fathers had in mind: a shared sense of purpose.

Classroom teaching is a profession. Some would say an avocation or a calling. Civic education is both an opportunity and a responsibility. How we each contribute to strengthening the republic is a private matter but it is of the greatest public importance.

April 21, 2014

Needed in Education: Interesting Adults in the Workplace

An April article in The Atlantic magazine (“Don’t Help Your Kids With Their Homework,” Dana Goldstein) shares research on what types of parental involvement have an impact on academic achievement. Aside from reading aloud (good!) one practice stood out as particularly relevant: adult role models, especially those who have attended college and/or who are doing interesting professional work. These adults and the interactions they have with young people matter for their academic achievement.

“Robinson and Harris posit that greater financial and educational resources allow some parents to embed their children in neighborhoods and social settings in which they meet many college-educated adults with interesting careers. Upper-middle-class kids aren’t just told a good education will help them succeed in life. They are surrounded by family and friends who work as doctors, lawyers, and engineers and who reminisce about their college years around the dinner table.”

These conversations are at the heart of how children develop career aspirations at an early age. Having parents who are lawyers, technologists, or engineers means that children of these adults take college and professional success for granted: it’s normal.

And for those who have not attended college? It’s a different type of dinner table conversation. What are these young people taking for granted?

Apprenticeships can fill the gap. At Apprentice Learning, we create intentional relationships between a middle school student and an adult. Over an apprenticeship in the workplace, adults help a young person imagine themselves in their shoes. It’s powerful and something that is hard to teach in the classroom–or at home.