THE EMPLOY + ABILITY SKILLS STUDENTS are usually 10th graders with a history of special education services. Typically, they have been determined to have a Specific Learning Disability(SLD), or they are higher functioning students with varying educational classifications/issues. It seems as though not a few of these students have adopted a less than positive attitude regarding their educational abilities. As hard as special educators try to build student esteem, there is a component of failure often associated with needing additional academic support. (And, sometimes in today’s culture these children are coming from surroundings which are less than nurturing relative to school performance, work ethic & self-esteem.) As our students near the end of their secondary educations and face their new realities; they must proceed with a “can do” attitude. They cannot afford to think of themselves as less than average. The Ponderosa restaurant in Ludington receives approximately 30 job applications a month and holds them for six months (180 active applications). Walgreens pharmacy in Ludington receives upwards of 90 applications a month and holds them for 6 months (540 active applications)!!!!!!!! When our students turn in a job application it must be exceptional. The concerns above, are in a nut shell, what the Employ + Ability Skills Class (ESC) tries to address. Our curriculum focuses on skills that are not job specific, but on skills that are common across all industries and relevant to all employees, from entry level to CEO. What are these “employ + ability skills” or “soft skills”? To list a few: dependability, conscientiousness, responsibility, positive attitude, confidence, motivation, initiative, ability to use criticism, decision making, problem solving, honesty …
Specifically, the ESC incorporates the following themes; ‘Who am I”, “Basic Work Habits for the Beginner”, “Eight Ways to Find a Job”, “Above Average Applications”, “Budgeting”, “Selling Yourself In An Interview”, “Anger Management” and more. Over the course of the year as many as 30 local businesses will be visited. While visiting each job-site the students tour the facility and have the opportunity to interview the management. We try to instill in each student an “above average” attitude. We help students to recognize their abilities, potentials and interests as well as help them identify their weaknesses and work on them. If our kids believe that they are “below average” their futures are woefully dim. With this understanding, we recognize that each student's future successes are dependent on the positive nurturing of their abilities, self-esteem and motivation.
“I will not be labeled as average.” Rachel Joy Scott
“To be great is not to be higher than another, but to lift another higher.” The Tower; Richard Paul Evans
