You must have three different choices or options of careers
2. Captions:
3. Reasons for choice:
Comprehension - Your Career Options and Choices
1. Each year thousands of school children have to decide what to do with their future. Most leave the decision for the last minute and want to decide what to do with their lives when they are in matric. By then, they are so overwhelmed that they cannot make up their minds.
2. The trick is to start as early as possible. When you reach Grade 8, you should have many ideas floating around in your head about possible career options. These should be based on what you are interested in, your personality, your skills and your dreams. You would be extremely fortunate if you were to gain experience by volunteering your services to a company or organisation. Many such ‘job shadowing’ programmes are available. Volunteering your services will aid you in identifying your strong points and enhancing your capabilities. You can also find out what challenges and stimulates you.
3. It is important for high school students, to be sure of which subjects bestsuit their many career options and choices. Also, participating in as many extra-mural activities as possible, will also benefit the learner in terms of what can be learnt outside of school. Doing various projects at school exposes the learners to fantastic facets of development. More than anything, through extramural activities and volunteering your services, you gain self knowledge, develop skills and resources, which in turn enable you to recognise and optimise your potential. Apart from gaining in-depth knowledge about yourself, you also learn to explore life circumstances and discover your areas of effectiveness as well as learning to apply resources learnt in the roles we play.
4. This gives us a chance to consolidate career choices with personal worlds. 5. Above all, you are improving your qualities and your abilities when you join an extramural group and commit yourself to a project. If you are just about to start with high school, this is a good time to think about all facets of your character, and all your personal skills and talents.
5. Above all, you are improving your qualities and your abilities when you join an extramural group and commit yourself to a project. If you are just about to start with high school, this is a good time to think about all facets of your character, and all your personal skills and talents.
6. One can also read about the various career options. My Career, published by the Department of Manpower is available at your school or in the public library and will be a great help. The Department of manpower, Universities, Technikons, private career counsellors as well as career information centres offer career guidance. Schools also offer career guidance, but the ma
jority of children waste the time afforded to them for this crucial part of their school education.
7. It pays to plan ahead. Make yourself available as class leader, library monitor, prefect or any other position of pupil leadership. Offer your services free of charge to an old-aged home, day-care centre, museum, hospital or art centre.
8. These positions will prepare you for various careers and give you confidence in yourself and teach you responsibility. You will also learn the value of respect for others and the work they do as well as increase your feelings of self worth. It might get you a job one day and help you relate to jobs where leadership is required.
9. Be true to yourself. Make use of your time and your opportunities.
Questions – Understanding what you read
1. Other than schools, mention two other places where one can find information on different careers. (2)
2. (a) Identify and quote the advice given to the reader in paragraph 3. (2)
(b) Say in your words what is meant by this advice. (2)
3. Choose two answers, which show what “tertiary student” means:
University
Home School
Shop Stoep
Technikon (2)
4. “You would be extremely fortunate if you were to gain experience by volunteering your services to a company or organisation.” (par.2)
5. What are the advantages of volunteering your services? (3)
6. Where would one be able to find the book My Career? (2)
7. Circle only the letter option of the answer you choose. (1)
Your ideas for a career should be based on . . .
A what your parents do for a living.
B your dreams and interests.
C which subjects your friends choose.
D what your teachers say.
8. How does participating in extra-mural activities aid the learner to prepare for a career? (3)
9. Write down one sentence from the article that you would choose as a motto for yourself. (1)
A motto is a slogan you live by, for example:
“TRY AND TRY AGAIN. OBEY YOUR THIRST.”
“SEIZE THE DAY. JUST DO IT.”
/20/
| Comprehension | 0 - 7 out of 20 | 8 out of 20 | 9 - 13 out of 20 | 14 - 20 out of 20 |
| Understanding | Poor | Reasonable | Good grasp | Excellent comprehension |
| Language use | Poor | Some serious errors | Careless errors | No errors |
There are many factors which could influence your career choice. These factors include unemployment, affirmative action and problems in the world. You need to be able to select the information which you need and discard that which is less important.
Summary
There are a number of myths and facts about career decision-making, that restrict individuals from making a sound, final choice. It is understandable that we tend to feed the myths, instead of concentrating on the facts. Never believe that there is only one career for you. We are all suited for a variety of careers. The making of a career choice is a process, which takes time. If you wait too long to give it serious thought you leave yourself little time to explore different fields. Some children stupidly believe that they should first take a break from studying after matric. As if their parents have not struggled enough, these children sit on street corners like hobos. Some young people believe that they do not have to take the responsibility of their final career choice; that is what teachers and parents are there for. Teachers and parents can guide you, but ultimately you must take charge of your own life.
“When matriculants are done with school, there will be a job for each one of them”. Or rather, this is what all of us want to believe. The reality is: unemployment if you do not plan, which is why you need to equip yourself with as many skills as possible. Most people need to face the reality of working towards having a career and to begin to consider other alternatives such as self-employment. Also, they need to equip themselves and expose themselves to the world, by joining clubs and participating in various extra-mural activities.
If life were a journey and one is supposed to enjoy the ride, one must climb on board, not sit on street corners while many rides, in the form of opportunities, fly you by. (283 words)
Adapted from Career pamphlet Department of Manpower
Learning Outcomes(LOs)
LO 1
LISTENING
The learner will be able to listen for information and enjoyment, and respond appropriately and critically in a wide range of situations.
Assessment Standards(ASs)
We know this when the learner:
1.6 recognises and accepts a wide range of different varieties of the language such as different accents and dialects and the language of different age groups (e.g. slang).
LO 2
SPEAKING
The learner will be able to communicate confidently and effectively in spoken language in a range of situations.
We know this when the learner:
2.2 communicates ideas, facts and opinions on challenging topics accurately and coherently, using a wide range of factual oral text types (e.g. explanations of technological processes such as how to use a computer or video player);
2.4 demonstrates a range of complex interaction skills by participating actively in group discussions, conversations, debates, group interviews and surveys.
2.5 gives oral presentations confidently and creatively, paying attention to:
2.5.1 pausing and variation in tempo and volume at key points;
2.5.2 purpose and audience;
2.5.3 posture, gesture, body language and facial expressions to engage audience interest;
2.5.4 variety in presentation modes;
2.5.5 register;
2.5.6 tone;
2.5.7 degree of formality;
2.5.8 different social and cultural conventions;
2.5.9 appropriate figurative devices such as climax, anti-climax, hyperbole and rhetorical questions.
LO 3
READING AND VIEWING
The learner will be able to read and view for information and enjoyment, and respond critically to the aesthetic, cultural and emotional values in texts.
We know this when the learner:
3.1 reads spontaneously and extensively for pleasure and information across the range of text types studied, compares personal responses, and makes motivated recommendation to others;
3.8 responds critically to texts:
3.8.1 evaluates writers point of view.
LO 4
WRITING
The learner will be able to write different kinds of factual and imaginative texts for a wide range of purposes.
We know this when the learner:
writes a wide range of imaginative texts:
4.1.1 to express imagination, ideas and feelings about self and others.
LO 5
THINKING AND REASONING
The learner will be able to use language to think and reason, as well as to access, process and use information for learning.
We know this when the learner:
5.2 uses language to investigate and explore:
5.2.3 questions and weighs options;
5.3 processes information:
5.3.2 chooses best and most appropriate information from various sources and individuals, and synthesizes contributions with own ideas into a coherent piece of work or presentation;
5.5 uses language to reflect:
5.5.1 reflects on and evaluates the quality and accuracy of information in own work and that of others;
5.5.2 reviews own critical reading, writing and listening skills, habits and experiences, and notes strengths and areas for development.
LO 6
LANGUAGE STRUCTURE AND USE
The learner will know and be able to use the sounds, words and grammar of the language to create and interpret texts.
We know this when the learner:
works with words:
uses common abbreviations and acronyms appropriately;
explains and uses word families and words of the same field to develop vocabulary in context;
uses common prefixes and suffixes to work out meaning.
Activity 2
1. Any two: libraries, universities, technicians, career counsellors, or career information centres. (2)
“…be sure of which subjects best fit their many career options” and “participating will also benefit the learner”. (2)
3. circle: university and technician. (2)
Own words must be used. You will gain experience, realize what you are good at and practise those skills and realize what really interests you. (3)
(Also accept ‘at the Department of Manpower’). (2)
7. Circle: B (1)
8. Own words. These activities help you to know yourself better, help you to improve your skills, and help you to realize your talents and to cope with various situations. (3)
Give a mark for a suitable answer. For example: “Be true to yourself” or “It pays to plan ahead”. Quotation marks are important (1)
Mark according to the rubric given.
Activity 3
Myths
Facts