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RETIREES ARE
A RICH RESOURCE
Retirees are:
- a rich and largely untapped resource of experience in the
world of work;
- a growing proportion of our population;
- a potential source of positive adult interaction and influence
with young people too often isolated in youth culture with
few good adult relationships and models;
- the voice of experience about the connection of school to
work.
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Retirees could:
- present career information and experiences to classes. Make
work real and POSITIVE. Most schools have some career information
available, but retirees can provide information tempered by
time and experience. They also make a personal connection
between students and career information.
- connect students to age-appropriate opportunities for tours,
job shadowing, and internships with their former employers
or business friends;
- provide mentoring and tutoring;
- provide professional development advice to teachers--increase
teacher's understanding of the workplace outside of education,
and help them develop materials and ideas that teach concepts
using work examples or in a work context;
- team up with their local Education-to-Careers partnership
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Retirees can:
- reach out to School Boards--many retirees are members and
can educate their Boards;
- promote the idea of retirees as a significant resource available
to schools. Promote to administrators, teachers, counselors,
local ETC partnerships;
- work with education to develop guidelines to help schools
and retirees know what is useful at various grade and age
levels;
- develop ideas of ways that retirees can approach schools
to become involved and that schools can reach out to retired
people in their communities.
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Guidelines would help:
- to prepare retirees to have a positive impact on kids. An
interview or planning session with teacher, administrator
and/or counselor would help retirees understand what students
need at what ages.
- to ensure that retirees are informed about the career information
and guidance services available in the school and the community
so they can refer kids to more information or additional personal
help;
- retirees to present information that is up-to-date and positive
about the workplace. The information students get needs to
be relevant to THEIR future, not just about the retiree's
past (I never used any math in my job).
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I wish my Father had had a chance to share his wealth of experience
with young people. He wanted to keep thinking and talking about
ideas and sharing his experiences long after he retired, but
had few outlets.
Ideas from Sarah Hawker, Governor's Assistant for Workforce
Preparation
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