Deciding Your D-School Major - Part 1

If you are an educator or a counsellor who works primarily with students from Grades 9 – 12, you've probably had plenty coming to you utterly clueless about what to do with their careers. 'She's very creative and is always drawing or painting at home but she's also very good at science and she enjoys that too', will be a typical statement from a parent. But how do you make sense of a student's interests and his/her desires to suggest a career path that might be the most suitable?

As an artist and an educator who has been working with such students since the past 6 years, I have learnt a few things about facilitating creative careers. In this piece, I am going to share some of these insights that might enable you to do the same.

Conduct a Review with some self-reflection and dialogue

I am certain that you already perform a review to understand a child's interests, desires and goals. But in addition to the review, engage them in a directed exercise in self-reflection. You will be surprised to learn how little most students know about themselves. Schools don't often encourage a child to reflect on their self in a manner that is meaningful. In my practice, along with other faculty members, we have developed a reflective exercise that allows students to dig deeper into understanding themselves. But there are a few imperative points that contribute to the successful use of this exercise.

1. Allow complete flexibility in responding to the exercise. For instance, for our questionnaire, we allow students to write an essay, write points or even record voice notes. Make the exercise as simplified as possible for them and you'll see them become more participative.
2. Create an environment of inclusivity that allows them to be themselves without any fear of judgement. Children are never transparent in front of their parents. If you can maintain confidentiality between you and the student where necessary, that will not only build trust, but also allow the child to make an effort to be honest and transparent with you.
3. Have a one-on-one dialogue post the reflective exercise. This not only helps in drawing more information from the student, but also allows for building further trust with the student. To be heard and to be understood without any judgement is not very common amongst students in the high school, especially by adults.

Encourage Pursuing Courses

Your review - in any format - is going to give you a few directions for the student. Once you're able to narrow down on 1-2 directions, encourage the child to learn more about those directions. For instance, if a child is certain that s/he enjoys working with 3-dimensional objects, then encourage that child to explore the realms of product / industrial design, architecture or interior design. In another, if the child is a little vague and says something like 'I'm okay with fashion or graphics, maybe even product, but definitely not architecture' – then suggest a foundation course or sampling of multiple short courses across disciplines. Chances are, this child has not had the chance to have guided exposure to art and design as a subject which can often create a confusion. A foundation course allows for a systematic learning journey that builds skills, explores subjects and even allows for sampling. These courses can help a child eliminate subjects that they do not enjoy and help them narrow down to what they may enjoy as a potential career.

Facilitate Research

The amount of information that is accessible at the expense of a few finger taps is just mindboggling. And to make sense of that information can drive any individual, let alone a kid, a little crazy. Facilitating research can ensure that a student has an easier starting point with necessary information that you, as a counsellor or a field expert, are able to provide. Engage in dialogue perhaps after every research session so that the students are able to delve deeper into their interests. In the past, I have put together a list of videos, podcasts, articles, books and even movies for students to help them understand a subject a little better.

Encourage Shadowing or Interning

In my opinion, interning for a 16 -18 years old student is not going to reap many benefits. But the internships available at this level can do a slightly better job than shadowing. And for that reason, I'd still recommend it. Encourage students to spend anywhere between 2 days to a month at an office / studio. Ask them to observe things happening around them above everything else. If they like it, they'll naturally be curious and their dialogue with you after will be enough evidence for the same. If not, you know what direction is closed or perhaps left for later. Shadowing and Interning reduce the gap between education and practice, allowing firsthand experience into what their own careers might look like. These opportunities may be hard to come by, but when they do, students should definitely grab them.

I wish I could create a guide that listed all permutations and combinations of situations with recommended courses for each. That could perhaps even go in a book of world records if someone manages to do so. But unfortunately, our professions may not allow us so much time. The things I recommend above are only the first few steps to guiding a student interested in pursuing a creative career. These steps can help you lay the groundwork for what follows – narrowing down to suggest an apt career path or a college course for the student. Sometimes, even the groundwork may not be conclusive, but there's a way out for that too. And I'll mention that in Part II of this piece.