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Superintendent of Instruction Jack O'Connell watches over kids at Lee Middle School on Monday. (Courtesy)
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With a class of middle school students busy making career, budget and educational choices on interactive laptops around him, state Superintendent of Instruction Jack O'Connell launched two new career education resources at Lee Middle School.
The Real Game California and California CareerZone "teach career self-management skills and expose students to more than 900 occupations and show them how life skills are crucial to success. Teamwork, responsibility, timeliness are learned by doing: Students make choices of jobs, housing, food, entertainment and education - and they immediately see what they'd have to earn, learn and budget to achieve their individual lifestyle choices," O'Connell told the Lee students on Monday.
"Just as student jet pilots practice their future flight skills on real-time simulators today, the simulation in The Real Game California and California CareerZone allow our middle school students to make and learn from their real-time choices of life goals, occupations and educational emphasis," said Lee Middle School counselor Michael Gangitano, who uses these resources in his school. "Plus, they're having fun!"
O'Connell was on hand to spearhead the state adoption of the resources that allows students to learn by doing, making potential career choices, and seeing them translated on screen into wages, living costs, and life quality levels.
The Real Game California has been aligned with state Content Standards and California Career Technical Education Model Curriculum Standards making it a complement to core curriculum and the public school environment.
CalCRN, a separate state agency, has piloted both resources over this last year.
Together, the two career education tools consist of role playing as adults, interactive computer exercises and printed material that allow students to learn firsthand about hundreds of occupations, some requiring college, some not. All require lifelong learning.
Currently in California, more than 300 public school teachers and counselors at 110 schools are trained facilitators in The Real Game Series, and 15 schools piloted The Real Game California.
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