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Wednesday, April 16th 1:00 p.m. (CST)
Conversation with Stephanie Pace Marshall

Wednesday, April 23rd 1:00 p.m. (CST)
Discussion of www.TalktoYourKids.org

Plan Your Participation in Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day®

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Designed to be more than a career day, the Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work® program goes beyond the average practice of "shadowing" an adult. Exposing girls and boys to what a parent or mentor in their lives does during the work day is important, but showing them the value of their education, helping them discover the power and possibilities associated with a balanced work and family life, providing them an opportunity to share how they envision the future and begin steps toward their end goals in a hands-on and interactive environment is key to their achieving success.

Here are some tips on how you can plan your participation in this year's celebration of Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day®.

Create a planning committee: Involve different departments and employees at every level of your organization. At least two months before the Day, spread the word to let your colleagues know that your company will be participating in Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work®. Extend an invitation to all employees, encouraging them to assist in planning and participating on April 24.

Children can learn from every employee and department: Ask employees from every level and department within the organization to share their work experiences, and encourage girls and boys to ask questions. For example, ask the payroll department to demonstrate how employees get paid, explain why deductions are taken out, how time off is factored in, etc.

Keep activities short: Interactive activities that are 45 to 55 minutes in length are best. You can download official Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work® activities at www.daughtersandsonstowork.org or call 1 (800) 676-7780 to learn how to obtain a copy.

Activities are recommended for girls and boys ages 8-18: Younger children may have a shorter attention span during activities.

Encourage your company to "adopt" a group of girls and boys on April 24: Contact a local school, public housing authority, shelter, Big Brother/Big Sister chapter, Girl/Boy Scout Troop, etc. about hosting a group of children at your workplace.

Introduce children to technology: Show girls and boys how important technology is to your business by scheduling time for them to work on computers or other office equipment. For example, let them view your Web site and see how business is conducted through the site or have them participate in a conference call with another office that is participating in the program.

Talk to school officials about Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work®: Work with your child's teachers to let them know that s/he will be spending the day doing educational activities.

Create a participation form or checklist: Children can take this back to school to demonstrate their participation in the educational activities at your work place.

This year's theme is Making Choices for a Better World. You can help make our world better by participating in Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day® and encouraging girls and boys to start thinking about their futures. Visit www.DaughtersandSonstoWork.org to download the complete Workplace Coordinator's Toolkit for sample day plans, activities, gifts, and more.

This article provided courtesy of Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work. For more information go to www.daughtersandsonstowork.org.

IEM Helpline now available!

Having trouble communicating with your child's teacher? Are school administrators being difficult? Is your child having a hard time and you don't know what to do to help? Answers to these questions, and much more, can be accessed via the IEM Helpline. Just call the Helpline anytime during business hours Monday-Friday and an IEM Resource Specialist will get back to you within 48-hours.

Teachers are also encouraged to contact our Resource Specialists, too. Educators will find a wealth of parent-approved resources, ideas and help in providing their students with the best educational experience possible.

To contact a Resource Specialist, call the Helpline at (800) 893-6199.

Quotes from the IEM Employability Survey.

The IEM Employability Survey is going strong. Here are just a few comments we've received:

"I'm seeing a huge gap in general business and computer skills over the past 10 years. Equally important is the basic theme of lack of commitment."

"Too many young employees have the attitude that the rest of their life is more important than the job they're supposed to be doing at work. That attitude comes across in their tone of voice, the follow-through on issues that don't get resolved immediately, and the way they dress and carry themselves."

Click here to take the survey.

Does Your Child Really Understand Reality?
by Jim Phelps

This being Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work month, a great question to ask is this: Does my child truly understand the reality of living in this society? Do they understand why work is so important?

Texas Workfoce Solutions has a terrific website on which your teen can go to get this kind of reality check. By going through a guided system, your child will discover what it costs to live on their own, which careers pay the amount of money they'd like to make, and what course they need to follow in order to establish their desired career.

This is the kind of thing that isn't often taught in our public schools. And, based upon the early feedback we're getting from respondents to our Employability survey, it's an area that needs real attention.

One employer said this: "The younger, fresh out of college (plus a few years) have fundamental educational gaps -no knowledge of history, science, geography, literature. But they sure know who Paris and Brittany are. And their arrogance is not matched by their education."

Hopefully this person isn't talking about your child (or mine). But, all too many young people entering the workplace for the first time are not ready.

Several years ago there was a real emphasis placed on school-to-work programs. In certain ways they were successful. ROP programs cropped up and helped many kids learn valuable skills on their way to entering a trade.

However, as a society we're fundamentally beyond this approach. While our children may choose varied specialties, the global market dictates that all of our children need many of the same skills. Communication. Teamwork. Problem solving. Add in a deeper knowledge of art, literature, math and science. We don't necessarily need to prepare our kids to have a trade, but to prepare them to have a life.

But, every child is different, with unique talents, abilities, senibilities and proclivities. The only way to adequately prepare a child for the realities of 21st Century work is to introduce Individual Learning Plans across the board. ILP's are the surest way to preparing kids to become lifelong learners. and that's important.

Why? According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics an American between the ages of 18 and 34 will have 10 jobs. Plus, over the course of his or her life, the average American will make three career changes. An ROP program doesn't prepare a child for this reality.

The ILP does. By it's very nature, this approach allows a child to develop his or her innate creative abilities, substantially develop their interests, and apply the basics of education to these interests. The ILP makes learning relevant.

And, in a world where reality comes pretty fast, being relevant is an absolute necessity.

Jim Phelps, www.jamesphelpscreative.typepad.com, is a writer and creativity consultant living in Penn Valley, CA.