STARTSOLE

Many students don’t like working in groups. Honestly, one of the most consistent questions I received when running a SOLE was “Miss, can I do this by myself?”. I can’t say I blame them-- some personalities just prefer doing work alone. Many people (students and adults alike) dream of a quiet office where they can sit and work in peace. However, something that becomes very apparent when looking at career paths is that almost no one works in isolation anymore. Gone are the days of sitting at a desk doing work alone-- even if that’s what you do most days, you’re still going to be on a team at some point. More often than not, you’ll be expected to collaborate with others almost daily, and it’s not the easiest skill to develop, especially if it doesn’t come naturally to you. Collaboration is more than just throwing a few people onto the same project, and hoping they don’t murder each other; it takes practice. But knowing how to collaborate isn’t just a perk for employers anymore--it’...

 It’s not the most flattering thing about myself, but I’ll admit it--I’m lazy. Or, as I prefer to say it, I’m picky about where I focus my energy. I’ll work incredibly hard on something that warrants it, but I’ll also avoid doing anything to make that job any harder at all cost. Which is probably why, despite being a digital native, I never used an education app in my classroom. I know I’m the prime demographic for them--I’m a millennial, I’m completely addicted to technology, and I’m used to using it every single day (including at work)-- but every time I tried one it either felt too “kiddish” for my high schoolers, or was way more work than I was willing to do. Teaching is already more than a full-time job, and I wasn’t going to take away the energy that I was devoting to my students in order to focus on getting an app to function for my classroom. A lot of my friends and colleagues used them--I heard endless recommendations for different trendy apps through the years-- but wi...

I have a friend who has had a seemingly endless list of “cool” jobs. He worked with Google, he ran research labs at Emory, he’s currently working as a Disney Imagineer. In pretty much all of these positions, he’s had to hire people, usually undergrads, and he always ends with the same question: “If you don’t know how to do something, what do you do?” The answer that gets you an immediate rejection is, “Well, I ask you!”. Employers don’t want their employees to be another task-- they should be helpful, not a burden. The best answer is “well, I google it.” The most successful people I know use asking people as a final option-- an option that is there and consistently available (and sometimes very necessary), but the least convenient and the most hassle. Knowing how to find answers on your own is more and more becoming a vital skill, and one that top tier employers don’t just want-- they demand. Traditional education doesn’t fit this model. Traditional education hands students i...