The MEF IS College Counseling Department will continue to coordinate with the Student Support Team, to incorporate various careers-related activities for MEF IS students in high school and middle school. Recent research indicates what educators have known for years – that real-world experiences and applications of knowledge make learning much more authentic.
To better prepare our students for college and career readiness, it behooves us to assess a broader range of skills than in the past. The educational system of today is tasked with preparing today’s middle school students for jobs that likely do not yet exist. These statements are supported in The Condition of College & Career Readiness report compiled by the ACT in 2016, which highlights the necessity of expanding opportunities for students, including programs geared toward middle school students, as seen in the ACT report, The Forgotten Middle.
Our academic departments create field-trips that provide our students with authentic experiences allowing them to see how their learning can be applied to solve real-world problems. Examples include how our computer science, mathematics and science teachers involved STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) components in the grades 6-8 field trip to the Rahmi Koc Museum and the grade 7 adventure to IYZICO Software Company. We hope this will allow our students opportunities to better explore a more comprehensive menu of real-world applications for their academic knowledge, so they may better design and adapt their long-term plans.
On the other hand, each student is offered three assessments not to determine a path but to initiate a conversation about students’ possible strengths and their future choices. These assessments are Learning Styles, Multiple Intelligences, and Personality Types. Some of the other resources the Career Counseling department will share with students will include various articles found on the likes of CollegeBoard.org Explore Careers page. As our program continues to expand, more resources and opportunities will be highlighted.
Many of our parents are professionals working in various dynamic fields; we were fortunate to have several join us for the MEF IS Careers Day in previous years. Our students were inspired by all they learned in these parent-run seminars. If you’re a MEF IS parent with a great profession or life lesson to share, please contact Mr. Onur Unver, so he can be sure to include you in the next Careers Day event.
