From: Pete Orlich
Columbus
The Republic recently published a guest opinion written by a member of the State Board of Education outlining the new program entitled, “Pathways.” My reaction to the article was very positive as the program seeks to place students on a course leading to a future career.
I would submit one suggestion as an addendum to the effort. Perhaps it is a bias grounded from my years in elementary education, but why not get started at an earlier age, like the fifth and sixth grade. No, it doesn’t have to be a detailed finalized beginning, but expose them to some general categories of the career world. Then become more specific with the information relative to careers in middle school. It would seem to me that the young people would move into the Pathways program with a firm foundation.
Our local C-4 program is an exemplary program already in place, and combining experiences learned therein with the foundation that I propose at the elementary level would go a long way toward ensuring success with the State Board’s initiative.
