Getting Real: Helping Teens Find Their Future

"Gray provides a systematic method for working with students to look at opportunities after high school in a realistic way."
―Mary Reeve, Director
Services for Exceptional Students

Help teens achieve success after high school through meaningful career development!

Without a realistic postsecondary strategy, more than half of students fail to graduate college or land rewarding jobs. Educators and parents can improve students′ odds by encouraging them to develop the long-term initiative and commitment of a solid career plan.

This updated edition of Getting Real examines real-world occupational trends and projections to help teens gain "career maturity" and a sense of direction. The second edition has been expanded to address students with special needs and those at risk of dropping out, and includes a new chapter on understanding today′s teens and parents. Offering a systematic, six-step plan for helping adolescents integrate youthful aspirations with economic realities, the author examines:

• The fundamentals of the labor market
• Myths and misconceptions that can limit students′ choices
• Alternative options to a four-year degree
• Career exploration strategies and activities, such as job shadowing and work-study

Develop confident, clear-thinking teens who can make well-informed academic and career decisions about their future!

Kenneth C. Gray is a professor in the Workforce Education and Development Program at Pennsylvania State University. Prior to joining the faculty at Penn State, he was superintendent of the Vocational Technical High School System in Connecticut and has been a high school English teacher, guidance counselor, and administrator. He has published widely and is frequently quoted in the national press. He is coauthor with Edwin Herr of Workforce Education: The Basic. His latest book, Getting Real: Helping Teens Find Their Future, addresses the importance of helping teenagers develop career direction as a prerequisite to postsecondary success. He holds a BA in economics from Colby College, an MA in counseling psychology from Syracuse University, and a doctorate in technical education from Virginia Tech.