04/18/2006
Dressing the part for Career Day
By: Jessica Selby , Kent County Daily Times

Fifth grade students at Western Coventry Elementary School left their school clothes at home one day last week. Instead, they wore lab coats, business suits and baseball uniforms to school.

They were dressing in the attire of the type of career they wish to pursue some day. It was all part of their assignment for Career Day.

"The kids have been researching different careers and they had to pick one that they would like to be someday and then play that person for the afternoon," said Pat Maxwell, a fifth grade teacher at Western.

Each student took the information that they gathered during class time and as homework from books, interviewing and the Internet and used it to create a persona. They also created a poster board to use as a backdrop to present their career choice. The students took those boards and set them up in the school gymnasium for presentation day last Tuesday. They invited their parents, members of the staff at Western, school administration and their peers to walk among the projects and ask them questions about their career.

"Parents were invited to come through to see the kids' presentations and ask them further questions about their career path," said Maxwell.

A list of possible questions was handed out to parent guests as they arrived. Some of the questions on the list that the students were told they had to be prepared to answer if asked by a visiting parent were what does a person with your career do, where do they work, how much money do they make, what type of education or training do they need and what are the chances of getting a job in this field.

Jan Sullivan, the school principal, asked Brody Bedard, a fifth grader at the school, all of those questions as well as others about his aspirations of someday becoming a professional jockey.

Brody answered her by saying, "I know the chances of my becoming a jockey are one in a million, but that's OK because maybe I'll have a better chance when they find out I am not in it for the money, just the thrill."

Tyler Miller, a fifth grader, had a slightly different objective. He had high hopes of some day becoming a property manager. Miller, dressed in a sleek black suit with a maroon button-collared shirt and tie, said, "In this profession, you've got to look your best."

"I think it would be neat to buy and sell all those houses, hotels and duplexes," Miller said. "And I know there is more to it than that, like when you get called when something is wrong. My friend's mom is a property manager and she told us all about it, but I still think I would like it."

Jazzlyn Brown said she hopes to someday be a veterinarian. But she wishes she could alter the role of a veterinarian slightly.

"I've always loved animals, so I thought becoming a vet would be a nice way for me to help them if they needed me, but I thought there was a different person, like a surgeon, who would do the operations on the animals for you," she said. "I don't know if I could do that part of it."

Ryan Brodeur wants to be a professional wrestler. He said watching matches between characters in the squared circle, their face masks and the action figures piqued his interest.

"I know that it takes real hard training and that it can be a brutal career but I still want to do it," Brodeur said.

William "Billy" Stiles demonstrated his dream of someday becoming a civil / technical engineer by constructing a roller coaster using a K'NEX set, known as the world's most creative construction toy.

"I was born to make things like this," Stiles said.

Lisa Tingley, Austin Tingley's mother, visited the Career Day exposition to see how some of the other students' projects turned out. She was impressed with the outcome.

"I think it looks like the kids really put their all into these projects," she said. "Between the research, and their poster boards and their outfits - when you put it all together, it is just a great presentation."

Some of the other professions represented included a hockey player, a K-9 officer, a nurse, a wedding planner, a photographer, a court reporter and a chef.
"Between the efforts made by the kids and the turnout of the parents, I think the event turned out great," said Jeff Stevens, a fifth grade teacher. "We had done something similar in our individual classes but there wasn't nearly as big of a turnout as there is here today."

This was the first official fifth-grade-wide career exposition at Western. It is, however, an event that Sullivan said they plan to make annual.