When discussing the Maslow’s Triangle activities in Chapter 3 of Career Choices, don’t be surprised if Cabrillo High School teacher, Kari Rosson, mentions the movie The Croods. The animated comedy adventure follows the world's first family as they embark on a prehistoric journey. As Kari explains, “It goes to the heart of the question: Why am I here? The film vividly illustrates the need for family and the need for community.” After discussing The Croods in class, one of Kari’s students who had moved multiple times over the past couple of years said, “Now I know what my parents went through!”
Kari Rosson and fellow teacher, Dave Riley, have been driving the College and Career Readiness courses at Cabrillo High School, which uses Career Choices as the foundation. These two teachers are each charged with 180 students. Rosson has the freshman class, while Riley continues the process with the sophomores.
It all began when Kari Rosson attended a one-day workshop presented by Academic Innovations, the creator of the Career Choices curriculum. Rosson was immediately impressed! She went back to campus and expressed her enthusiasm to Principal Jeff Wagonseller. He immediately saw the value of the program, and together they began to plan for implementation of the curriculum.
According to Rosson, “The curriculum was very self-explanatory and the implementation of the curriculum was easy. Dr. Monica Carmo, Educational Consultant for Academic Innovations, was there every step of the way when I did have questions.” She went on to say, “Academic Innovations’ technical support staff has been superior—there to help 100%. They always took suggestions for improvement,” Rosson stated, praising the entire staff for being focused on a single goal—helping students.
One student in particular, Cason, was in a quandary about where to begin exploring career options. After some discussion about likes and dislikes, the popular TV show Face-Off entered the conversation. This launched an intensive examination of what it would take to become a professional make-up artist. “The lights came on...and the enthusiasm was over the top when that student caught a vision of what he could become!” exclaimed Ms. Rosson. This kind of self-discovery is what Career Choices is all about!