Lesson #1 - Getting in is half the battle.
Upon arriving at the Raub Middle School in Allentown for my annual Career Day address, I realize how much life has changed in this country and in the Lehigh Valley. The order of the school day now is cordoning off the periphery with signs that limit automobile access to the front doors. This is just something that has become a societal norm. The kids outside waiting for the bell to ring are nonchalant. I am nonplussed. I approach a security guard for direction. She is lovely and leads me inside, astride a mass of swarming kids.
Truth be told, I cherish this opportunity to talk about my world at work. I say this knowing full well that not all the kids will be interested in what I have to say, but I figure that if it gets even one child's mind thinking about something positive, it is time well spent.
Lesson #2 - Kids will be kids.
Once inside, I am welcomed by the cacophony of sounds that you can only hear in a middle school hallway—the slamming of locker doors, the spinning of the locks, the raucous chatter of pre-teen youth—and oh, the drama! Thank goodness some things never change. I was happily reacquainted with the aroma of sneaker leather and textbooks. I stood and pledged allegiance to the flag with the class in Mrs. Urban's homeroom number 114. Good stuff.
Lesson #3 – When you are 12, the celebrity role model looms large.
Our show of hands proved that everyone knows who Kim Kardashian is. This is the material I covered when searching for common ground after I gave the most compelling, 15-minute Journalism with a capital “J” speech I could muster. Thankfully, the kids know what a Step-and-Repeat-Wall is, so even the most sleepy and disenfranchised of my audience perked up a bit when they heard that Lehigh Valley Style has one and uses it when we attend or hold our own events.
Ah, I have them for a few moments and use the opportunity to preview our website with its own Style Scene module. They can relate and I feel briefly redeemed. Thankfully, the kids were given worksheets that they had to turn in about what they had learned on Career Day. There were some kids that took completing these very seriously and asked follow-up questions in their quest to do so.
Lesson #4 – We really have to work hard as adults to change what we know is true about Lesson #3.
Reality TV aside, I only used Kim K. to poke a hole in the kids' morning funk and then I re-directed our discussion to speak to the ever-changing face of Journalism and its place in our highly-saturated social media landscape. The kids left knowing that above all you have to get it right if you want to be a good journalist and you have to be ethical. You have to be a good writer, a strong reader and you have to be able to communicate effectively—even if means making eye contact and actually speaking with a person for a specified period of time.
Lesson #5 – Some kids ARE already thinking of life beyond middle school.
A lovely young girl came up to me after our discussion. She was already well-spoken, polite, shook my hand and introduced herself. She understood the importance of doing that. I saw her enthusiasm and made her my honorary Style Girl of the day. Thanks, Jolitza! Your welcoming smile made me feel right at home at Raub Middle School.
Lesson #6 – Educators rock!
At the end of the session, Raub School administrators treated us to some breakfast pastries and coffee, and the director of career programming at the school addressed all the career professionals in attendance. She could not get even get through her brief thank-you speech without tearing up when she spoke about “her kids” and how pleased she was with how well the Career Days are being received by our Lehigh Valley professional community and the students alike.
And that's when I learned that there is something to be said for a career that makes you well up when you talk about it—even if it's not journalism with a capital “J.” LJG.
