The future of work starts early in this California school district — ask a fifth grader.
SAN DIEGO — Walk into a classroom in the Cajon Valley Union School District and you’re likely to meet students, such as fifth grader Giovanni Maroki, who can already describe the careers they’re most suited for. Giovanni — known as Gio — recounted a TEDx Talk he once gave, and told me what stocks are a good buy, based on what he and his classmates are learning through a set of curriculum tools that introduce them to the work world.
“I want to be a lawyer because I like to speak, and I like getting my points across,” said Gio, in what was clearly an understatement: Watch this video where he explains how technology he uses in class helps him plot future career goals.
Gio’s focus on the future is part of “The World of Work,” a curriculum that begins in kindergarten and continues through high school. It appears to be the most advanced career development framework of its kind. Other school districts are beginning to introduce career planning, but at nowhere near the level that I saw in San Diego during a recent visit. I watched kindergartners learn farming techniques and spent time with Gio and his classmates as they studied the stock market and made their own mock picks, part of a game and lesson teachers designed for their grade.
