High schools can help students embrace the chaos

St. Boniface

High schools in Manitoba are very successful in helping students earn high school diplomas.

According to Manitoba Education and Early Childhood Learning data, this focus has resulted in a provincial 2023 4-6-year 89.2 per cent graduation rate. In the Louis Riel School Division, the 4-6-year rate is 95.5 per cent.

With grad rates showing excellent progress, it’s time to think about what happens to students after they stride across that stage in June.

And those learners want their schools to step up when it comes to preparing them to leave high school with confidence and focus.

A 2024 CERIC survey conducted with a pan-Canadian group of high school students revealed they’re worried about what AI will do to jobs, how to avoid heavy student debt, choosing the wrong career path, and how to make purposeful decisions about their future.

Ihuoma Ogbonna, Grade 11 student and co-host of the Adventures in Careerland podcast in the Broadcast Media Program at the Louis Riel Arts and Technology Centre believes that “high schools barely touch on career education that gives students clarity and confidence in a world that feels anything but certain.”

Ihuoma’s uncertainty is a common feeling among Generation Z students (those born between 1997 and 2012) exacerbated by the reality their future will rarely take a linear route and will more likely follow a series of twists and turns despite any best effort to stick to a straightforward path. Workers today admit they would be hard pressed to say, “This is exactly the way I planned it.” The journey forward will be chaotic and messy.

University professors Jim Bright and Robert Pryor, authors of The Chaos Theory of Careers, espouse that career pathing has a “happenstance” aspect about it and that effective career development programming can mitigate the chaos inherent in the unpredictable road that students’ lives will undoubtedly take.

How can schools help students navigate the chaos?

First, create short career units for every high school course that detail why the course is important, which skills it develops, and who values those skills in professional contexts.

Second, add a trained or certified career coach to every school to ignite conversation and reflection about uncertain futures and to connect students to mentors who offer sage advice, industry insights, and skill-building experiences.

Third, ensure that all students have access to online career development tools (LRSD chooses www.myblueprint.ca) that allow for personal exploring and career engagement both within and outside school walls.

With minor adjustments to school plans and staffing, students can leave high school ready to embark on the adventure of their lives.

Students don’t have to fear the chaos. With thoughtful and strategic support, they can embrace it.