Have your adult working DC returned to their olds schools

[PaddingtonLikesMe]

To give a career talk? What was their experience like? Did the students find it useful?

Why?

No, and neither of my working children have much interest in it - they want nothing to do with their old schools.

I have an old colleague who has done it, he does a lot of school talks not only at his own old school, but ones in our area. He also does community talks around his work. He regularly would say he hopes or thinks they found it interesting for this or that reason and would probably argue that there is value in ideas, communication, and social connection even if they aren't directly useful.

My DD has volunteered to do one about her career in engineering. She still is in email contact with the STEM teachers at her school.

Teacher

Very few ex-students do this.

We used to get some in, mostly to yell at the year 11's about how they wished they'd worked harder but that was usyally students who had just moved in to college.

DD went to an all girls grammar from Year 7 to Year 13.

She now works as a Civil Engineer

I actually did one at my old school and it was really lovely. It was a real full circle experience. And actually made me feel like my somewhat circuitous route in my career was so much more sensible than it felt living it.

DD (currently med student) has already been back to talk to Med Soc about the maze that is Medicine applications.

Once (fingers crossed) she’s qualified, she’ll do it again as she got so much from Alumna doing this in the past.

DD has in the past returned to give a university admissions talk and talk about engineering at university. Now the whole entrance test stuff and curriculum has changed she feels it's more appropriate to give a talk about her job. She enjoys going back and catching up with former teachers.

I've done this regularly, left school mid 1990s.

Are the same teachers still there??

Mine are 18, 20, 22 and 24.
Dh works at their old primary school and some of the staff there taught them.
The eldest did a talk a coupon years ago and they all occasionally go it to help at after school discos or fates.

One! I think she's retiring soon.

DS did this at his primary school. He has an unusual job for a man, so it was part of a ‘boys/girls can do any job’ thing.

My dc1 did this for a Sixth Form Careers Focus Day at his old school. The company dc1 works for encourages community engagement, and dc1 and the school hope to develop a work experience scheme with this company.

Dc1 gave a talk on his industry and university experience, and did mock job-interviews with feedback for the students - one of which was his youngest sister! Although she interviewed with a different interviewer.

Ds1 said he enjoyed the day, sharing knowledge, being treated as an equal by staff and as staff by students. He will probably be invited back this year, and will probably be happy to do it again.

Yes, a few times and the students did find it awful.

Why do they find it awful?

Both my DDs have. DD1 has been in when y12 start looking at UCAS things in the summer and she has done mock Oxbridge interviews online for a couple of years now as she is nearing the end of a PhD there. DD2 did a cultural exchange in Japan as part of her STEM degree and the week before she went, she was asked to go in and talk about resilience to y8. This was because she was meant to go in the September but couldn't get a visa due to Covid restrictions. She was studying online with them in real time (getting up at 2am to watch live lectures in Tokyo) until restrictions were lifted in March.

I still work there; around a third of DD1's teachers are still there and most of DD2's. The y8s that DD2 spoke to often ask after her and they are now in y11.

My youngest son has as he is the only student from a very small SEN school to go to a Russell group uni and move away from home. They wanted him to talk about what is possible and what he has gained.

He is going back in the summer term to do it again :)

DD did her talk a few weeks ago and it went really well. Bumped into a few old teachers who were happy to see her!