Watch: 4th-Graders Talk About Careers

BRADENTON, FL — Volunteers from the Manatee Chamber of Commerce converged on more than 150 fourth-grade classrooms across the county Friday to get kids thinking – and talking – about their futures. While a video that explains the massive undertaking includes some hysterical responses from kids to questions posed by volunteers, Project TEACH has a very serious mission at its core, chamber officials say.

Now in its 26th year, Project TEACH stands for “Teach Everyone About Career Horizons.” It’s meant to get kids to think about their future paths and to stress the importance of making great first impressions, according to the chamber.

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To make it all happen, the chamber assembles a team of volunteers each year to head into classrooms across the county. The day began for volunteers with a 7:30 a.m. orientation and breakfast sponsored by the Manatee Education Foundation. After fueling up and getting instructions, volunteers visited 33 public and private elementary school campuses across the county on May 19, reaching out to students in more than 150 individual classrooms.

The hour-long presentation volunteers give is designed to engage students directly and to get them talking. The highlight for kids, chamber members say, is the part when students get to design their own “business cards based on their future career aspirations.”

For Jahna Allen, the chamber’s vice president of community development, Project TEACH is a labor of love that fits in perfectly with the organization’s mission to help businesses in Manatee County.

“The Manatee Chamber has been diligent in ensuring our employers have a talented pool of employees both today and in the future,” Allen told Patch. “Project TEACH is just one of the initiatives that enhances our future workforce.”

Allen said she’s heard some out-of-this world responses from kids through the years about their future aspirations, but she always encourages youngsters to shoot for the stars.

“We often get the kids who want to be comic-book heroes and such and I always encourage them to pursue this dream,” she said. “Even if it doesn’t seem real today, who knows what science and technology will be available when they’re adults?”

As part of Project TEACH, volunteers also ask kids to make assumptions about them based on those critical first impressions. This, Allen said, is where hilarity often ensues.

“I enjoy hearing the kids’ responses about how they view me,” she said. “I’ve been aged from 24 to 88.”

William Poulton, Tropicana’s director of manufacturing, also volunteers for Project TEACH. He said the program fits the chamber’s mission most assuredly, but also appeals to him as a father of four.

“I believe strongly in supporting our public schools in any way possible,” he said. “You cannot start too early in helping kids understand the importance of their education, even in the fourth grade.”

Poulton’s been volunteering with Project TEACH for seven years. He said he loves the “kids’ enthusiasm and engagement. They show genuine interest in my career and education, and they have no problem asking me questions about anything!”

Poulton said one of his favorite responses from a child about future career came from a fourth-grader he spoke with on Friday. The little girl told him she wanted to be a nurse to be able to help people, “but she also knew that she would have to be strong in math and science to be a nurse. I loved how she had already connected her education to her career aspiration. That is exactly what Project TEACH is all about.”

To find out more about the Manatee Chamber of Commerce, visit it online. To hear some of the responses volunteers received this year, check out the video below:

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Photo and video courtesy of the Manatee Chamber of Commerce