When I was 11, the entire sixth grade went on a field trip to the former IUPUI campus. The entire time I was there, I was so uninterested, and thoughts of how pointless the trip was were endless in my mind.

“I just started middle school. Why do I need to know what college I want to apply to?” I asked myself.

But while sixth grade was an early start for only one mandated college visit from the school, it was needed.

Schools pushing a focus on career paths and colleges from a young age is beneficial and in good practice. 

Even with exposure to future careers and post-secondary education, I, extremely-last-minute, decided I wanted to major in a completely different field than what I had been preparing myself for since I was 11.

It’s only now when I’m reflecting back on my high school journey that I realize how hard schools were trying to avoid that.

The entire pathways system may seem pointless. However, the whole point of it is to have a plan for after high school. That way, students are prepared for what they want to major in and have some experience and prerequisites out of the way. 

Because the Indiana State Board of Education says that a graduation pathway is required in order to earn a general degree and not a certificate of completion, preparing and thinking about one’s future in middle school is essential in order to be the most prepared and successful. 

According to the Hechinger Report, a survey of high school graduates said that two-thirds of them felt that they would have benefitted from additional career exploration in both high school and middle school. 

Whilst Perry Township has done a good job of incorporating future careers into middle and high school education, exhibiting the diverse choices of occupations and niche fields could help kids and show that there aren’t only a few core career blocks that they have to choose from.