Amanda Miller
May 14, 2009
Curriculum Map
Statement of Purpose

A job preparedness unit is an essential unit for OWE/CBI students, as these junior and senior students are actively preparing to enter the workforce as part of the OWE program requirements.  The major problem or issue this unit addresses is the challenge of finding work during the current economic crisis.  On May 7, 2009, the Associated Press Article published the article “New Jobless Claims Unexpectedly Plunge to 601,000” where it is noted that while the numbers of jobs lost has decreased slightly, the unemployment rate still sets at 8.9%.   These numbers indicate a competitive job market.  Workers applying for jobs must be highly qualified and must know the traditional steps successful employees take to find a job. Gone are the days when high school students could simply apply for a job and show up for work.  The Job Preparedness Curriculum is designed to help OWE students find and keep a job in this competitive economy.  This unit will begin in the fall of 2009.  
	This curriculum is centered around the needs of the learner.  The needs of the learners in this unit are based on their social and economic success and the need to help them develop into well-balanced individuals.  
This unit will help students achieve their maximum social success.  To help students reach their maximum social success, this unit will provide the 
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following benefits: it will provide students with opportunities to improve their verbal communication and writing skills, such as proper phone skills and writing letters; teach students about proper interview skills, such as how to dress for an interview and how to answer questions; and teach students about successful habits of employees, which includes effective communication skills.  
	To help students reach their maximum economic success, this unit will first allow students to determine the best career choice based on their skills, aptitudes, and interests.  The unit will then teach students how to find a job, how to apply for a job, and how to keep a job.  These skills are essential for students to become financially successful.
	This unit also considers the role of education in developing a well-balanced person.  Each student will identify his/her personality type and will take a variety of tests that measure skills, aptitudes, and interests; this allows students the opportunity to seek employment that takes into account the “whole person”.  In   addition, this unit provides each student the necessary skills to reach his/her career goals and teaches students the process of finding and keeping a job.  This progression of this curriculum provides students with the means of actualizing his/her dreams and offers the means for students to be successful and in charge of their success.
	This unit also considers the needs of society by preparing students to 
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better adapt and succeed in an ever-changing world.  In particular, this unit considers preparing students to meet the social demands in the world of work.  This unit achieves this goal by modeling the steps that career employees follow in order to find and keep a job, from job searching to practicing traits of effective employees.  In this sense, this unit works to properly acclimate students to the social standards found in the world of work, the preservation of current standards, and preparing students to be active and productive citizens.  Upon completion of this curriculum, students will be model employees, rather than deviating from accepted workplace norms.  
	This hands-on and reality-based curriculum directly benefits students who are entering the workforce, students who have not traditionally been successful in high school, and who are attending school on a part-time basis and working part-time.  This curriculum is of great importance for student success in the workplace, and this course offers in-depth and a practical, hands-on approach that is not covered in any other high school course.  No student will specialize in “Job Preparedness”, but every students who goes through the program experience positive benefits that have the potential to last a lifetime.
	There are many purposes for this course:
to meet the needs of the individual student in exploring career opportunities, 
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to teach students how to find a job, 
to teach students how to successfully applying for a job by completing standard documents for career employment, 
to teach students about proper interview techniques,
to teach students about the characteristics employers seek, 
to teach students about workplace safety,
to teach students about minor labor laws.

				Work Cited
Associated Press (2009). “New Jobless Claims Unexpectedly Plunge to 601,000.”  	The Toledo Blade.  Retrieved May 14, 2009, from www.toledoblade.com