Getting Real: Helping Teens Find Their Future

By Kenneth C. Gray

Book Overview

"Gray provides a systematic method for working with students to look at opportunities after high school in a realistic way."
--Mary Reeve, Director
Services for Exceptional Students

Help teens achieve success after high school through meaningful career development

Without a realistic postsecondary strategy, more than half of students fail to graduate college or land rewarding jobs. Educators and parents can improve students′ odds by encouraging them to develop the long-term initiative and commitment of a solid career plan.

This updated edition of Getting Real examines real-world occupational trends and projections to help teens gain "career maturity" and a sense of direction. The second edition has been expanded to address students with special needs and those at risk of dropping out, and includes a new chapter on understanding today′s teens and parents. Offering a systematic, six-step plan for helping adolescents integrate youthful aspirations with economic realities, the author examines:

The fundamentals of the labor market Myths and misconceptions that can limit students′ choicesAlternative options to a four-year degree Career exploration strategies and activities, such as job shadowing and work-study

Develop confident, clear-thinking teens who can make well-informed academic and career decisions about their future

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1412963656
• ISBN13: 9781412963657
• Release Date: September 2008
• Publisher: Corwin Publishers
• Length: 216 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 8.8"

Customer Reviews

A must read for teens (and parents who want their teens to succeed)

First mechanics: Getting Real is extremely well written. Dr. Gray weaves together statistics, ideas and research into a well organized, easily read 128 pages. Secondly material: Sadly, too many teens are making career plans using information that is at least a decade out of date. Getting Real accurately updates readers at warp speed. Dr. Gray bravely tackles the myth that a university degree is the key to a successful career and that all university degrees lead to high paying jobs. In today's job market, this just isn't so. Dr. Gray shows why success for today's teens will depend as much on creating detailed and achievable post-high school plans as it does on getting good grades. His definitions of career maturity for 10th and 12th grade students are revolutionary. His ideas will come as a shock to Boomer parents who believe that teens should put off making career decisions as long as possible to keep all options open. Dr. Gray explains in detail why this old advice is bad advice. The global economy has created a job market is volatile and complex. High school and college teachers have little training about labor market realities or effective career planning techniques. Therefore, successful transition from school to work is an individual responsibility. Getting Real provides teens the guidance they need to create sound strategies for building their first career paths. Carol Christen, author What Color Is Your Parachute for Teens: Discovering Yourself, Defining Your Future

Thinking outside the box

Ken Gray has dared to challenge what we all have come to believe to be the "right" path for a student to follow after high school. The truth is that times have changed and the path to success no longer follows the same pattern it once did. I highly recommend this book for anyone who works in close contact with high school students. Many students go to college because they feel it's the only option... then drop out because it isn't for them. Ken Gray's book points to another option for helping these students to succeed.