A New Year, A New Challenge

Yes, it is true, we have officially started the second semester of school here at Faulkton Area Schools District. The first semester went quick, and things may not have gone as well as your students may have anticipated, but the good news is, they have another semester to learn from possible mistakes that were made and finish the school year strong. In my morning announcements before Christmas break, I shared with students and staff that "With a new year comes new challenges and new opportunities for growth." It just so happens that with this new year, our staff were given opportunities for growth before heading back to the classrooms.

On Wednesday, January 3rd, Faulkton held an all day staff in-service with the Redfield and Ipswich School Districts. We had staff from all three school districts volunteer to present on educational topics, as well as Dakota State University faculty. This is opportunity for a joint in-service was great and our staff embraced the opportunity for growth. Our morning keynote was given by Corinne Hoisington that day, and she gave a couple of breakout sessions as well. Corinne presented on new educational resources that are available to improve the teaching happening in the classroom. She shared a lot about Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality, and how we can expand what we offer our students in the classroom, even being in rural South Dakota.

Another topic she presented was on "Emerging Career Trends". It was very interesting to hear what the actual job outlook is for our students. We have many students throughout the United States that are choosing majors and professions that have a very bleak job outlook. As educators and parents, we need to ensure that we are preparing our students for realistic jobs in the future. Some of the most popular majors are Exercise Science, Small Animal Veterinary, and Psychology, and they have the WORST job outlook. Believe it or not, the careers with the BEST job outlook are in the fields of Data Science, Data Engineer, Analytics Manager, and many others.  I do not recall hearing of these when I was considering a career path.  In light of this, we need to shift our message to our students about their future careers and expose them to new avenues.  It may seem as though their future employment is "forever" away, but it is closer than we think. A complete Top 50 list can be found here: https://www.glassdoor.com/List/Best-Jobs-in-America-LST_KQ0,20.htm.

As we begin a the New Year, I challenge us to look for new opportunities for growth in our own lives. It is easy to stay comfortable on the path we are on, but exploring new paths can lead to growth for ourselves and those around us. If we are stagnant we will become obsolete. Let's work towards becoming/staying relevant, even when it is not easy to do so.