Standard 9: Career Education and Consumer, Family, and Life Skills

 

 

Standard 9.1:     (career AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION)     All Students will develop career awareness AND PLANNING, EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS, AND FOUNDATIONAL KNOWLEDGE NECESSARY FOR SUCCESS IN THE WORKPLACE. 

 

Descriptive Statement:  All students will explore career opportunities and make informed choices based on aptitudes and interests.  Students will identify and pursue career goals, apply communications skills in work-relevant situations, demonstrate the ability to combine ideas or information in new ways, make connections between unrelated ideas, organize and present information, and allocate financial and other resources efficiently and effectively.  Students will identify and use various print and non-print resources in the home, school, and community to seek and plan for employment.  They will be able to use the job application process, including resumes, forms, and interviews.

 

Career and technical education, formerly called practical arts, is the application of life, academic, and occupational skills demonstrated by student-centered experiences in courses related to the sixteen States’ Career Clusters.  The intent at the elementary and middle school levels is to prepare all students for the option of further study in career and technical education at the high school level.  These courses typically include business education, family and consumer sciences, and other courses related to careers and life skills. Career and technical education programs establish necessary pathways for secondary vocational-technical education programs, entering the world of work, continuing education (such as college, post secondary vocational-technical education, specialized certification and/or registered apprenticeships), and lifelong learning.

 

Those students electing courses in career and technical education should demonstrate both teamwork and problem-solving skills through a structured learning experience.  This could consist of an experiential, supervised educational activity designed to provide students with exposure to the requirements and responsibilities of specific job titles or job groupings, and to assist them in gaining employment skills and making career and educational choices.  The experience may be either paid or unpaid, depending on the type of activities in which the student is involved.   Examples include, but are not limited to:  apprenticeships, community service, cooperative education, internships, job shadowing, school-based experiences, vocational student organizations, paid employment, and volunteer activities.  Structured learning experiences must meet all state and federal child labor laws and regulations.

 

 

Cumulative Progress Indicators

 

Building upon knowledge and skills gained in preceding grades, by the end of Grade 8, students will: 

 

A.     Career Awareness and Planning

 1.         Demonstrate the ability to distinguish between job, occupation, and career.

 2.         Outline the steps in the career planning process.

 3.         Apply research skills to career exploration.

 4.         Analyze personal interests, abilities, and skills through various measures including self assessments.

 5.         Explore careers using hands-on real life experiences within the sixteen States’ Career Clusters.

 6.         Develop an individual career plan and include in a portfolio.

 7.         Plan and conduct a cooperative project that addresses one of the problems faced by the school and/or community.

 

B.     Employability Skills

 1.         Research local and state employment opportunities.

 2.         Develop an employment package that includes a job application, letter of interest, and resume.

 3.         Demonstrate job-seeking skills.

 4.         Describe and demonstrate appropriate work habits and interpersonal skills needed to obtain and retain employment.

 5.         Compare and contrast possible choices based on identified/perceived strengths, goals, and interests.

 6.         Identify and develop skills that are transferable from one occupation to another.

 

 

 

 

STANDARD 9.2 (CONSUMER, FAMILY, AND LIFE SKILLS) ALL STUDENTS WILL DEMONSTRATE CRITICAL LIFE SKILLS IN ORDER TO BE FUNCTIONAL  MEMBERS OF SOCIETY.

 

Descriptive Statement:  All students need to develop consumer, family, and life skills necessary to be functioning members of society.  All students will develop original thoughts and ideas, think creatively, develop habits of inquiry, and take intellectual and performance risks.  They will recognize problems, devise a variety of ways to solve these problems, analyze the potential advantages and disadvantages of each alternative, and evaluate the effectiveness of the method ultimately selected.  Students will understand the components of financial education and make economic choices. Students will demonstrate self-awareness and the ability to respond constructively to criticism and potential conflict.  In addition, students will work collaboratively with a variety of groups and demonstrate the essential components of character development and ethics, including trustworthiness, responsibility, respect, fairness, caring, and citizenship.  Students apply principles of resource management and skills that promote personal and professional well-being.  Wellness, nutrition, child development, and human relationships are an important part of consumer, family, and life skills.  However, wellness, nutrition, and human relationship cumulative progress indicators are not listed here as it would duplicate those in Comprehensive Health and Physical Education Standards. 

 

 

Cumulative Progress Indicators

 

Building upon knowledge and skills gained in preceding grades, by the end of Grade 8, students will:

 

A.     Critical Thinking

 1.         Demonstrate the ability to communicate, analyze data, apply technology, and problem solve.

 2.         Describe how personal beliefs and attitudes affect decision-making.

 3.         Identify and assess problems that interfere with attaining goals.

 4.         Recognize bias, vested interest, stereotyping, and the manipulation and misuse of information.

 5.         Practice goal setting and decision-making in areas relative to life skills.

 

B.     Self-Management

 1.         Develop and implement a personal growth plan that includes short- and long-term goals to enhance development.

 2.         Demonstrate responsibility for personal actions and contributions to group activities.

3.      Explain the need for, and advantages of, lifelong learning.

 

C.     Interpersonal Communication

1.           Demonstrate respect and flexibility in interpersonal and group situations.

2.           Organize thoughts to reflect logical thinking and speaking.

3.           Work cooperatively with others to solve a problem.

4.           Demonstrate appropriate social skills within group activities.

5.           Practice the skills necessary to avoid physical and verbal confrontation in individual and group settings.

6.           Participate as a member of a team and contribute to group effort.

 

D.     Character Development and Ethics

1.           Explain and demonstrate how character and behavior affects and influences the actions of others in the home, school, and community.

2.           Describe and demonstrate appropriate character traits, social skills, and positive attitudes needed for the home, school, community, and workplace.

3.           List problems and their causes, effects, and solutions that are faced in the home, school, and/or community.

4.           Describe how personal ethics influence decision making.

 

E.     Consumer and Personal Finance Skills

1.           Identify and demonstrate personal finance skills in checkbook maintenance and investing.

2.           Construct a simple personal savings/spending plan.

3.           Understand that people make financial choices that have costs, benefits, and consequences.

4.           Explain the difference in cost between cash and credit purchases.

5.           Compare prices of similar items from different sellers.

 

F.     Safety

1.           Demonstrate appropriate safety procedures for hands-on experiences.

2.           Demonstrate the use of recommended safety and protective devices.

3.           Describe appropriate response procedures for emergency situations.

 

 

 

Link to Standard 9 Grade K-4

 

Link to Standard 9 High School

 

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