3 Ways to Help Students Discover Their Passions
Passion evolves while aptitude holds steady. Should careers align to one’s passions?
I’ve always thought you are lucky if you are born knowing what you want to do with your life. For me as a child, I knew I wanted to be a teacher. I used to play “school.” I used to give my friends assignments and grade them.
By the time I graduated from college, I had three potential careers: actor, disc jockey, teacher. I desired all three equally, although I thought teaching seemed the most dull yet stable. I applied for jobs in all three areas and the first one I got was as a high school English teacher. So I went the teaching route, performed improv on the side and amused my friends spinning records.
After seven years I left teaching, had babies, joined a start-up. But here’s the thing. I never actually stopped being an educator. I realized that my life’s passion was actually supporting learning for others. As a child I had mixed up that passion and defined it as “I want to be a teacher.” But in fact my journey as an educator has taken such amazing twists and turns.
The Passion Spectrum
I’ve observed thousands of students explore their interests. There’s two extremes on opposite ends of the spectrum for…
