The future is a story

The future is never far from students' minds, writes Neelam Davies from Kristin School, NZ. Even the quietest student is thinking deeply, slowly building a story they want to tell about about their future, if we can invite and support them to share it. 

Neelam Davies is Senior School Assistant Principal of Kristin School, New Zealand. She has used the BECOME program with her Year 8-12 students with fantastic results, using it to help them make a proposal for their senior years subject selections. Neelam is a guest speaker in our short course for all teachers, explaining why every teacher, regardless of their expertise in career development, is so important to how students shape their aspirations for the future. She writes: 

Students never cease to amaze me with the insights and ideas they share. I’ve learned that even the quietest student is thinking deeply about their future. They're often waiting for the right moment to express it.

Every student has a story to tell. But crafting a story takes time, and it's no different when it's a career story about who future me might be.

Having worked with students across all the high school years, here are the top things to help find the story a student wants to tell, and supporting them to practise it in all its varieties, adjusting and adding to it as they develop. 

But first, a word on time

For young people, the concept of time is different. They don't have the length of experience of adults, which can make thinking about the future or even imagining the future challenging. As educators, we need to take time into account when guiding students to consider their future pathways and aspirations.

Introducing career ideas, themes and concepts gradually and in stages throughout a student’s education is essential.

Developing a programme of career education at the right stage, be that Year 8 through to Year 13 ( here in NZ), has provided many benefits:

Fostering a sense of belonging

• Knowing that a trusted adult has a genuine interest in students’ aspirations and wellbeing can go a long way in building trust, which is a great relationship builder between educators and young people. (Editor: And the OECD recognises this as an indicator of career readiness.) 

Acknowledging that the future is uncertain

• For many young people, the future can seem distant or unclear. Open any social media platform to see the overwhelming number of negative influences out there that can shape a student's outlook. Many students are concerned about the AI revolution and job security. Let’s add in the MegaTrends (Climate Change, Persistent inequity, Polarised perspectives) and that too can get our young people a bit anxious. 
• It’s not all bad; there are positive influences out there, too - but we need to acknowledge that a part of what's hard about careers is that so much is unknown. Negative influences hype up anxiety about the unknown for effect. Career development includes learning how to navigate not-fully-known possibilities. 

Building confidence

• Help students gain and use the language and confidence they will need, to discuss career options with adults, peers, and especially their parents and caregivers. Help them practise articulating ideas, aspirations, preferences, capacities and interests.
• Help them build that story we started with - 'Who might future me BE?' (Not what job do I want to do.) - and practise telling it in many forms to see what fits. 

Making decision-making relevant

• When choices need to be made (like subject selections), link those choices to careers and make the ramifications real. When decisions feel more meaningful, students can make better decisions. 

Encouraging meaningful reflection

• Young people are naturally reflective, and we don’t give them enough credit for doing this in our digital world. The sheer number of daily interactions they make on social media - connections or “likes” about their interests and experiences and their futures - is increasing. For the many critics of social media, and there are plenty, using it in career education is an easy win for us educators. (Editor: see point 3 in this blog post for just some ways to do this.)
  
  

The world is constantly changing, and careers education needs to adapt.

By giving students time and space to reflect, adjust, and try new strategies, we help them prepare for a future that is constantly evolving.

We should be empowering them.

To be honest, the only constant they can truly control is their agency to think and adapt, so let’s give our young people these tools and, in particular, TIME - and see where that takes them.

I think that sounds like a story I would like to read, don’t you?

Let's hear about it from a student's perspective

Extract from a letter from Ella: 

"I joined Kristin at the beginning of year 9 and have since grown, learned and thrived as not only a student but an individual. I am now reaching the final chapter of my high school journey in my last year, I look back with gratitude for the guidance and opportunities that have shaped me.

Become Education introduced the idea of careers being less about choosing a “job” and more about exploring who I want to become.

At first, I didn’t comprehend the importance or how relevant this concept was but as I moved through school and was faced with the challenge of subject choices, I soon realised the significance of the Become concepts.

Asking yourself “Who do you want to be?” is a broad and daunting question. It can feel like the weight of your entire future rests on decisions made at such a young age. While there is some truth to that, it shouldn’t be a thought that fills you with fear. Your future is something exciting, something you can work towards and shape yourself. Having the freedom to make these choices is a privilege, and it’s important to remember that nothing is truly final. It’s okay to change your mind. It’s okay to ask for help when the choices feel overwhelming. What matters is trusting yourself and recognising that every decision you make will bring both lessons and blessings.

There is no “final destination” when it comes to education or careers. We are constantly evolving, learning, and adapting. I don’t believe in regrets, it is an easy trap to fall into, leading you into endless “what ifs.” Instead, I believe in seeing every step, even the missteps, as part of the journey.

You are in control of the decisions you make. Your future is not something that happens to you, it’s something you create, one decision at a time. Whenever I felt lost or uncertain in terms of my next steps, Become was a reminder that there is no single “right” path and that it’s okay not to have everything figured out straight away.

With this mindset, I began to approach subject selection with purpose. I kept my pathways open, balancing my personal interests with opportunities to explore new ones. Alongside subjects I loved, such as Psychology, English, and History, I also chose Chemistry and Statistics, knowing they would keep a wide range of doors open. I also learned, these subjects didn’t just serve as “backups”, they provided me with opportunities and knowledge but most importantly, these subjects validated my passions in other areas.

Through this process, I discovered how powerful it is to follow genuine interest. It’s in the subjects we truly care about that we work hardest, think most creatively, and succeed to our full potential.

Now, as I prepare to study Law and Psychology at university, I carry forward the confidence that I am not limited to one path, that my curiosity will continue to guide me, and my interests will lead me to where I will thrive most."