Notes from Millie D

Doug Johnson posted an interesting entry on his blog today, How many jobs have you had?  He talked about the average person holds 10.2 jobs between 18 and 38, based on an article from T.H.E. Journal (July 07).  I thought it was interesting reflecting on my job so here we go with my jobs…

1. Operating the go-karts at the local waterpark (Not a great job but I got to be outside and had a tan that lasted until November)
2. Working at the deli at a Supermarket (”Would you like anything else?”)
3. Assembly line work at the plastics company (Boxing CD jewel cases and VHS sleeves, so 20th century)
4. Making donuts for a Supermarket (I’ve never looked at donuts the same way, being at work at 4 AM in the summer took a while to get use to)
5. Caterer for the college dining services. (Free food for a college student, clutch!)
6. Bartender at the college pub (I paid for my senior year spring break trip within the first month)
7. Substitute Teacher (So starts my journey in education.  I mostly substituted for my 7th grade teacher who was the high school Algebra II teacher)
8. Title I-Educational Technician (A great experience)
9. General Education Technician (I literary worked with kindergartners and 8th graders back to back)
10. Math Teacher (My own classroom)
11. Computer Coordinator (On the cusp of the Internet but I missed the traditional classroom)
12. Executive Director for Maine Academic Decathlon (I loved this job and I wished it could have been full time as I had to teach in order to pay the bills)
13. Technology Teacher/Integrator (The job I have now, I have the best of both worlds: using technology and working in the classroom)

I guess I have had more than the average (and I’ve still have time for more).  With the exception of the assembly line work the common skill trait is the customer service component.  Whether the customer was a student, deli customer, or a parent success was based on how well I knew the content behind the job while offering the best service for the customer.  With the world flattening school reform should look at these trends:  more customer service type jobs mixed with technical knowledge vs. assembly line, industrial age jobs.  We are trying to prepare the next generation workforce for jobs that may not be known yet so the focus on “soft” skills (thinking, reliability, cooperation, communication, etc.) mixed with some technical knowledge may be our best bet.  This approach is not sexy but sometimes practicality is more important than flashiness.