According to a brochure prepared by the Minnesota School to Work Initiative, "We learn 10 percent of what we read, 20 percent of what we hear, 30 percent of what we see and 80 percent of what we experience personally.

Wednesday, February 02, 2000

According to a brochure prepared by the Minnesota School to Work Initiative, "We learn 10 percent of what we read, 20 percent of what we hear, 30 percent of what we see and 80 percent of what we experience personally."

This statistic represents a growing trend in schools across the nation, as educators strive to create opportunities for students to learn real-life skills outside of the classroom.

The ninth and 10th-grade classes at Austin High School had an opportunity Tuesday to leave their school books and pencils behind and go to work as part of a job shadowing program for the second year. Austin High School Principal Julia Espe said the job shadowing program allows students to get a glimpse into the working world, before actually stepping through that door.

"Kids think they’ll be in school forever," she said. "It’s a nice introduction for the students into the real-world environment, especially for the ninth-graders.

"They can go with parents or an adult friend of the parents and they can learn how to act in the workplace and learn the expectations for at a job."

Espe, who serves as the chairwoman for the area chapter of the "School to Work" program, said the idea of job shadowing also serves as a great tool for parents and children to grow closer. As the child gets a mentoring-like experience into the duties a parent may have, the parent can see first-hand the goals and dreams a student works towards each school day.

Both while on the job, and after, students were asked to complete questions regarding their experiences. Their first task was to conduct an interview with the "host," finding out the responsibilities, educational requirements and various skills needed to perform successfully.

After returning from the day at work, the student was asked to reflect upon the observations made at the workplace and what types of steps to take if they were interested in pursuing a career in the field.

Austin sophomores Jenna Cummins and Emily Wollschlager helped out at Ellis Middle School, in Erin Schoen’s special education class. Both have an interest in working with children in the future, and were able to see what the career entails, albeit only briefly. However, both said they were unaware of what a teacher actually had to do each day.

"It gives you an idea of what classes you need to take," Wollschlager said. "You can see that each group of kids is entirely different. The first group we worked with were relaxed and kind of quiet and the next group was more talkative and energetic."

Cummins, who took part in the job shadowing program last year, traveling to Hormel Foods Corp. with her parent, decided to work at the middle school this time around, as she is interested in teaching as a future career opportunity.

"Job shadowing gives hands-on experience, away from the classroom and books," Cummins said. "I think I found that I’d like working with younger kids," Cummins said with a smile.

As their mentor, special education instructor Erin Schoen helped to guide activities for the sophomores to help her students with.

"It gives the student to learn what teaching is all about, from the other side," Schoen said. "If someone is interested in teaching, they can also see the wide array of students and the different abilities we all have."

Other programs in place for students to gain insight into future work roles is DECA, which is a marketing cooperative for students. The Area Learning Center also has a work experience program that allows students to learn and work.

"With these opportunities, students can take the abilities and skills they’ve learned and put those towards their choices to either receive a secondary education or move into the working world," Espe said. "There’s a focus on students learning relevant skills and this helps to show students there is a connection between work in the classroom and the business world."