Construction Career Days – Open Opportunities to Learn
Students can prepare for their careers now and have
alternatives to higher education….
William Jackson, M. Edu.
World Metaverse Council
GatherVerse / GatherVerse Africa
https://www.nflccd.com/
This is a long post, but important because of the opportunities that
Florida students were exposed to during the “Construction
Career Days” event at the Equestrian Center.
Take the time to read it or listen to it and ask your high schooler about
their visions for their future. Photos will be posted in a video to
correspond. If you don’t see your child’s high school in the video ask why not!!
This week was an eye opener for me, and I know my wife Aida
enjoyed the week as well. Being able to teach high school
students from across Northeast Florida about Construction
Careers that are available.
The Construction Career Days was AWESOMELY AMAZING at
the Equestrian Center in Jacksonville. These are my views as a
parent, teacher of 33 years, business owner, Certified VR and
STEAM+M educator and member of the Metaverse World
Council and GatherVerse Metaverse Community.
That says a lot because our youth, teens and young adults have
so many opportunities for careers outside of college/university.
Using Science Technology Engineering Arts Math Metaverse
using and applying Logistics and Shipping for diverse careers.
Using project-based learning and allowing the students to be
creative, innovative, discovering and exploring using water,
Legos, mini boats and their imagination. Allowing students to
explore, experiment, and be excited with no limitations.
Unfortunately these are missing in the educational system of
traditional classrooms and our students are losing interest,
lacking a vision for the future and are not prioritizing their
lives because of limited choices.
Too many times students are not allowed to be creative and
innovative and have fun thinking and reasoning to their lives.
Thank you to Florida State College of Jacksonville for allowing
Aida and I to participate and share our knowledge, passion,
purpose in the journey of STEAM+M and show the students
just a bit of their potential in the future and unique
career opportunities.
Thank you, St. Johns State College for your information and
sharing the diversity of education. Having the students plan,
build, create, experiment, design “on the fly” and love learning
and creating. It was great to experience these things for and
with them. What a wonderful week to see the potential of the
future of Florida in the young people.
Thanks to the school districts to allow their students to
attend and a big thanks to the bus drivers that transported
the students safely there and back to their respective schools.
We should always celebrate our bus drivers because they endure
so much and get very little recognition.
Aida and I were able to engage with White students, Hispanic
students, Black students, Mexican students, Haitian students,
Asian and European students. Male, female, and LGBTQ
students, all the colors of humanity, the beauty of genders
and generations and diversity of races working together with
the purpose of helping students learn about future careers.
The cowboys and cowgirls across our state, the Rednecks,
country students, city students, suburban students, inner
city students. They all are part of our educational system
and should be respected, and valued. Altogether attending
high schools that are the developing foundations of the
future workforce to help Florida prosper. Each of these
students are important in helping our state to be successful.
Florida will only be as successful if the lowest economic
student is recognized, supported, embraced, respected and
helped to be successful in whatever they choose to be.
The State of Florida must begin the process of looking at all
our students as part of the State of Florida community of
future leaders, business owners, entrepreneurs, mentors,
innovators, and creators.
Our students chosen lifestyles should not be an issue because
of gender choices, it should be the humanity that they bring and
the skills, talents, creativity and innovation that they bring to the
table to make our communities better and more inclusive.
DEI Diversity Equitability Inclusion are not cuss words, they
are not slanderous, they are not racial epitaphs. DEI is an educational,
economic, social, humanistic understanding that the collaboration
and cooperation of diversity is beautiful, rich in cultural love and
blessings, and relevant to everyone being successful and productive
in the global economy.
Florida will only be as great as the least of us, the least of the
families struggling, the least of us that are homeless, the least
of us that are struggling in the educational systems, the least
of us that are in the criminal justice systems and the welfare
systems of this state.
We have to do better in supporting families that are struggling.
We are all held accountable when we have growing homeless
children, families and seniors.
Thank you to JEA, JTA, FDOT, Highway Patrol, JSO, our military
services. Construction companies, big, medium, small, mom
and pop businesses and entrepreneurs that volunteered
their time.
This is what life is about, helping others and looking past the
differences, embracing the opportunities to help youth to grow
into productive adults and sharing why creativity, innovation,
having fun in learning and networking with others is so important.
These are value foundations of education outside of the classroom.
As a teacher of 33 years I use to wonder why student’s disconnect
from learning, asking honestly why at the middle school I taught
at we had a “come to Jesus” moment. Being open, honest, and
supportive. Their combined replies were they did not feel welcomed
not included in the educational process to achieve their dreams.
The current states of divisive language, the use of negative languages,
trying to turn people against each other just because they have different
color skin, different races, differences in lifestyles and even putting
generations against each other is totally wrong. How will our youth, teens
and young adults take over as leaders if they are blinded to listening to
their seniors in the community. The same seniors that built the
communities, the neighborhoods, the cities and build this State of Florida.
Florida will never grow if we cannot love each other, respect each other,
listen to our young adults and unify to make the state better for all citizens.
Everyone counts, everyone matters !!!
During the Construction Career event students that were either physically,
mentally, or otherwise challenged brought tears to my eyes because they
were allowed to be kids, to explore, to learn, to have fun in learning, to see
their potential and value in future careers. Their hard work in discovery,
exploration, creativity and innovation is a testament to the human spirit
to overcome obstacles to be successful. The teachers and chaperones
need to be celebrated as well because of their guidance, encouragement
and willingness to be of service to the students.
This event is held every year, this event should be attended by every
student across the State of Florida and provided resources to help
them find where they fit in professionally and not just provide one option:
Collage or University. Not every student needs college, not every
student wants to go to college and not every student needs to attend
college to be successful.
PARENTS !!!!!
Take the time to allow your children in middle school and high school
to talk to you about their lives, to share their dreams, to share their
hearts, beliefs, desires, aspirations, visions, excitements, challenges,
worries and all that is human about them.
Give your children a chance to TALK and SHARE themselves with you.
Be patient with them, be sympathetic, be loving, be engaged, be
trusting, be there for them. Even if your children think differently than
you do, that is OK they are their own unique individuals. They did not
ask to be brought into this world, they should be given every
opportunity to be successful.
They are part of your DNA and genetics, they are still their own
persons with their own vision of life, parents are the role models,
influencers and levelers of success and elevation for their kids.
Allow and invite your kids to learn from you, allow them to share
with you, allow them to trust you and allow them to be who they
are because during the course of their lives they will change,
adapt, pivot, grow, mature, and be the person they need to be
and should be. Just like you did.
Events like the Construction Careers each year should be growing,
not all youth want to go to college, many want to start working
before they graduate high school and have the skills, maturity,
and desire to do so. Encourage them, support them, inspire
them and surround them with good, honest, hardworking,
smart, intelligent, dynamic, creative, innovative people that
are already working hard, supporting their families and building
communities across the State of Florida.
Education is a tool to level the playing fields of careers and
life, but should be fun, enjoyable, exciting, discovering,
creativite, and a sense of service for our neighborhoods,
communities, cities, counties, state and nation.
Allow our youth to see positive people with positive
directions to help others, to bless others, to inspire others,
to be of service to their families, communities, neighborhoods
and state.
Construction Career Days https://www.nflccd.com/
#constructioncareers
#floridastatecollegejacksonville
#constructionjobs
#steameducation
#steamlearning
#stjohnsrivercollege
#steamlearning
#steameducation