Chapter 1 What is School Guidance?
To orient oneself is to find one’s way, to take a path that directs one’s steps toward dreams, values, needs, interests, talents, and personality traits.
It is to decide to choose orientation, to build a study project step by step, without rushing things, that corresponds to one’s taste and personality.
It is a journey that takes time and requires reflection.
In building their career plan, your child needs you and your presence as much as they need to distance themselves.
Keep in mind that it is your child who needs you and not them who need to reassure you.
You need to find your place and take a step back if necessary.
Adolescents seek answers within their families, from those around them (friends, teachers, etc.), and in society.
According to a survey conducted a few years ago, 75% of young people consider parents to be essential partners in building their study plan. Career
guidance professionals who regularly hear from young people note that many expect their parents to approve of their choice.
You probably have a hard time giving them advice, you may have had the same difficulty at their age finding your way, you have changed direction several times, you felt alone at a certain point, and you would have liked to have someone to talk to about it.
This period takes you back to your history and how you managed your choice.
You got there by asking yourself a lot of questions, by positioning yourself on what you liked to do.
This period demands a lot from you and your full attention.
Take stock of your history to avoid projecting your desires and worries onto your child.
As a parent, you want the best for your child, you are driven by “the desire to do well”, and you want to fulfill your role toward him.
During this orientation period, young people are in the process of building their autonomy and identity. They need the benchmarks they expect from their parents, with whom they have an emotional relationship.
You may be feeling overwhelmed by this expectation.
Currently, there are a multitude of training courses that reinforce your doubts, which one is best for your child?
How to find your way around? How to help him?
Your child must learn to define goals to pursue, to discover the values ​​that fulfill him as an individual.
Chapter 2 What is the role of parents in academic guidance?
Your role is to:
- TALK with your childÂ
- TO ACCOMPANYÂ
- STAY CONFIDENT IN YOUR FUTUREÂ
- SHARE YOUR PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCES
- TALK with your child:
It’s listening to him to get to know him better.
Who is he?
What does he like to do, want to do?
It’s letting him express himself about what he likes, what he likes or doesn’t like. Dialogue gradually begins to more easily approach the choice of studies, and his academic orientation.
- TO ACCOMPANY :
It’s walking alongside him,
it’s helping him move forward on his path, being present in his schooling and his journey.
- STAY CONFIDENT IN YOUR FUTURE:
It’s about communicating your confidence,
making him feel that you have confidence in him,
having a positive outlook on his choice of study project.
- SHARE YOUR PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCES:
1. WHAT YOU DO: whether you use equipment, treat people, install machines, repair tools, etc.
2. WHEREÂ YOU WORK:Â the city, what is the environment like, in an office, on which floor, whether you take public transport to get there, etc.
3. WHO YOU WORK WITH: you are alone, you have colleagues, you have a boss, you are responsible for a team, etc.
4. WHY YOU DO THIS JOB: what motivates you or not, you need to be of service, tinker, be concrete, analyze, observe, create, innovate, communicate, lead people, respect rules, etc.
5. WHO YOU WORK WITH: you are alone, you have colleagues, you have a boss, you are responsible for a team…
6. WHY YOU DO THIS JOB: what motivates you or not, you need to be of service, to tinker, to be concrete, to analyze, to observe, to create, to innovate, to communicate, to lead people, to respect rules….
You can also talk to him about the process of choosing your orientation if you were influenced by your parents, if you like your studies if you like your job.
You can talk about your failures, your successes, how you got through them, and what you put in place as actions to get there.
You take a step back and think about the best attitude to adopt.
Your teenager becomes aware of the professional environment in which you work and the missions assigned to you.
Chapter 3 What are the steps in choosing a school orientation?
When building their project and choosing their academic orientation, your child goes through 4 stages:
- Exploration
- The analysis
- The selection
- Realization
- Exploration, he sets off to discover himself, he learns:
– to know himself,
– to observe himself,
– to listen to himself,
– to identify what is important to him such as his values,
– to discover his talents, what makes him unique,
– to clarify his criteria and his needs, your child likes to work for example with tools, and machines, study physical, and biological phenomena, create new things, help others, lead others, organize, process data…
– to understand his mode of operation, he likes to draw, build, move, be in motion, solve problems, listen to music, compose, read, write, express himself, be outside, collect, help, have his opinions….
This first step is very important to become aware of his potential.
– to determine the professional environments that attract him, if he wants to work indoors, outdoors, alone, with a team in an office, with machines, with people, with animals… - Analysis
He will structure all the information he has collected, make links, see common points, and make associations.
He will verify the information collected on training and professions. - Prioritize, select
He makes his final choice, he makes the decision based on the criteria he has established and validated.
During this step, it is important to ask him the question:
– What will help you in your thinking, who can help you? - Realization, commitment:
It defines the actions to be put in place to commit to one’s choice.
It is a new step in your child’s life.
Chapter 4 How can you concretely help your teenager
choose their direction?
In this chapter, you will find tips and ideas to help you support your teenager throughout their school career and when their choice of direction is confirmed.
13 tips to help you talk to your teenager about their academic orientation
Your child develops and builds himself during his childhood, during adolescence, dialogue is necessary to promote good communication.
1. Talk to him about his childhood, his qualities, his talents, and everything that you have observed.
2. Accompany him and help him make connections between his interests, his abilities, his personality
3. Talk to him about his dreams, and help him identify his aspirations.
4. Examine with him the advantages and disadvantages of each path considered
5. Respect his opinions, you have your needs,and those of your child are not the same.
6. Listen, be interested in what he wants, take the time to understand each other have respect for each other, and advance in self-knowledge.
7. Encourage him in his efforts, your child will choose a direction, he may be faced with difficult times, show him that you are happy, satisfied, that you are proud.
8. Talk to him about your story, how your choice went, what your dreams, your desires, your buried wishes…
9. Have confidence in his future, he will feel that you believe in him, and he will give meaning and motivation to his choice.
10. Suggest that he meet professionals, and discuss with other adults.
11. Discuss as a family, and go together to discover new things.
12. Let him express himself, do not judge.
13. allow him to live experiences outside, participate in trips, do volunteer work, and vacation jobs, and meet in different professional environments.
 7 ways to help your child when they confirm their study plan
1. Help them prioritize all their ideas, according to their values, needs, talents, etc.
2. Welcome their choices and their decision with kindness,
3. Listen when the plan is determined,
4. Examine with them the advantages (everything their decision can bring them), what they will gain, and the disadvantages (what they will lose),
5. Encourage them to take steps to enroll in higher education, universities, and training courses,
6. Make yourself available,
7. Encourage them, and give them confidence.
Conclusion
All these tips and ideas are suggestions to support and concretely help your child or teenager in choosing their academic orientation.
Dialogue, support, remain confident, share, listen, and encourage, are verbs, and words that summarize the actions you can put in place to be present alongside your child.
If, despite everything, you have difficulty communicating, or dialoguing with your child, or your teenager on the choice of his school orientation, call on a professional.
Why?
The professional, coach has an external, neutral, and objective view possible.
By listening, empathy, powerful questioning, and constructive feedback, the professional can seek out the motivation, values, and needs that are buried in your child.