Thirteen Going on Thirty

At thirteen, what did you want to be when you grew up?  Did you have a clue? 

I recall being in 8th grade and, while I was a good student, had no idea how my parents would afford to send me to college.   When our English teacher asked us to write an essay on what we'd be doing in ten years, I wrote that I would be a secretary.  I sure knew how to dream big, didn't I?

This past Sunday, the Boston Globe Magazine ran a piece , "Hurry Up, Grow Up", which discusses a growing trend for kids as young as 13 and 14 to decide on their future occupation.  Kids then enroll in a career-specific public high school that specializes in their field of choice.  (Apparently, parents are fed up with their offspring spending 3 years of college 'finding himself' only to ''discover' he wants to attend law school or get a graduate degree to stave off the need to find a paying job).

Florida passed a law in '96 requiring all students chose a 'major' during their first year in high school.  In total, seven states require a student chose a major.  In Massachusetts, this decision is being made by individual school districts and mostly occurs in urban areas.  In Greater Boston, students can attend Health Career Academy (founded in '95), Monument High School, with its focus on public safety, TechBoston Academy or Media Communications Technology High School.  Students are strongly encouraged to go on to college to complete their education.

I understand the purpose of these schools.  I agree that schools should teach children marketable skills and should show them how their education applies to their life.  But, I was struck by the first child interviewed, a freshman who once had had dreams of becoming an actress.  Those dreams were put aside to pursue a more practical route in healthcare.   

What I don't understand is what happens to the 15 year old who realizes, after arriving at the 'healthcare school', that she absolutely hates the medical field and wants nothing to do with it anymore. 

I'd hate to think that the choice someone makes at 13 is going to stick with them for life.  I'm sure glad that wasn't the case for me. 

Comments

[margaret]

I STILL don't know what I want to do.