Speak Up: 10th Grade Launch Curriculum - 2024 - 243

unIt 5: Mock Job IntervIew
best practices for: classroom guests
bringing college-educated and/or professional adults into the classroom is a great way to help students learn
about their options after high school. to facilitate this, consider the following:
clearly articulate the activity in which you'd like adults to participate
Having a clear plan will help you figure out who to invite, when, and for how long. Also, being able to present
your guests with an organized itinerary and supporting documentation will make them feel more comfortable,
especially if they are not used to being in a high school classroom.
Note: For Lesson 26, you will be asking adult guests to serve as interviewers. Students will be pretending to interview
for a job of their choice. The adult will ask interview questions which you will provide and fill out a feedback form that
will rate the student's answers to questions and professionalism.
identifying adult guests
there are many adults who may be willing to visit your classroom. these include:
* other adults in the school building. other teachers, administrators, support staff, etc.
* upperclassmen. While not " adults " yet, per se, mature older students can often play the role of an adult,
depending on the activity you have planned.
* Your school community network. often, your school will have ties to many community organizations,
including parents, board members, and others. Ask your coworkers if they know adults who are willing
to visit the classroom, or connect with the guidance counselor or outreach coordinator to identify
community partners.
one teacher's story: We were doing a project in Humanities class about the history of our neighborhood. I wanted
students to capture oral histories of local folks, but kids were having a hard time finding people to interview. I
asked one of my coworkers, who had lived in the neighborhood for thirty years, if she knew anyone. By the end
of the week, she had helped me bring in ten old-timers from around the community for my students to meet. We
served cookies and juice, my students got to hear some hilarious and fascinating stories, and their final oral history
projects were amazing!
one teacher's story: We were hosting a Saturday College Academy event at the school to help seniors finish their
applications before the deadline. I asked my friend who is a college admissions counselor if she could come by to help
students with their personal statements. Not only did she come, she brought with her several volunteers who sat and
worked with my students one-on-one, all day, for hours. It was great!
* Adults in your personal network. often, friends and family are excited to come to your classroom and
help out. it never hurts to ask! depending on your network, you can often find professionals from a wide
variety of careers who are willing to interact with your students.
one teacher's story: I wanted my 11th graders to get out of the school for the day but we didn't have any money
for an expensive field trip, so I asked my husband if his company wanted to host a quick tour of their downtown
offices for the day. A few days later, I took ten kids on a field trip to the busy, chaotic office of a successful internet
start-up. My husband's coworkers were so excited to meet my students, they offered to host after-school SAT prep for
the kids once a month for a year! My kids loved the look and feel of the office so much, five of them decided on the
spot to major in computer engineering so they could grow up to work in such a cool place. None of this would have
happened if I hadn't asked!
LeSSon 26: MoCk Job intervieW event
243

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