Sunday, May 6, 2012

Just Wondering


Kendall again sang The Crucifixion, at State Solo and Ensemble last weekend, at U.W. Green Bay She did not receive a "First" but was happy with her performance as, of course, was I. Know what I find most remarkable about this photo taken during Kendall's performance?


Yes, that's an old-school black chalkboard behind Kendall in the photo.  In this world of exploding technological growth and skyrocketing college costs, they are "preparing our students for the future" using chalkboards. Wow. I wonder what, exactly, is the cause of exponential growth of college tuition.

And speaking of college, I've been spending a lot of time researching potential colleges for Kendall. She isn't sure what she wants to study yet, but she really enjoys chemistry and is pretty good at math, too. When she hears the word "engineer," she's turned off.  To be honest, when I think of engineering, I think of men with glasses and pocket protectors, so it's no wonder Kendall cringes a little when she considers the field. What I've learned through some other recent research is that we have stereotyped the field of engineering and need to learn more before rejecting it as a potential career area for Kendall.

My goal this summer is to expose Kendall to opportunities that will give her a little exposure to real-world examples of happy, dynamic, preferably female engineers who love their careers and could talk to Kendall about them. (She said she would really love that.)  If she doesn't choose engineering, I'm certainly fine with that; I only want her to be able to make an informed decision.

In regard to college choices, Kendall would like to attend a school within a few hours of home (Green Bay, Wisconsin). Now, if she had a full scholarship, she would certainly consider other options! :)

Any other suggestions are welcome...

2 comments:

  1. HA! Perhaps that the professor who uses that room PREFERS the old fashioned chalk board, as do I when I teach.

    However - - - unlike moi, he/she does NOT know how to take care of it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. There are so many different types of engineering; mechanical, architectural, environmental, etc. I remember in high school they had shadow days where we could go and shadow a person in a career field we were interested in. I shadowed an architect and an interior designer. (I studied marketing, worked at an investment/commodities firm, and now I'm a mom, so yeah, it works well! lol)

    I'm sure any place that takes on interns (most of the fields do) would probably be okay with letting her shadow someone or talk to them. That way she gets a feel for how cool it can be to be an engineer :)

    ReplyDelete

Your 2 cents...