When I was a child, we had Career Day and we spent a week learning about various vocations. We would go on field trips to the Fire Department, we would have police officers visit along with military recruiters, doctors, professors, architects, and parents of our classmates who stopped in to speak with us. We wrote papers titled, “What I want to be when I grow up” and our parents spoke to us about wanting us to achieve anything we set our minds to. So many of the vocations we explored as children were public service-oriented and even the Halloween and child play costumes we wore as kids put us in those roles (police, fire, nurse, doctor, etc.).
A few years ago, I was asked by my sons’ third-grade teacher to participate in a career day event that was set to take place after school. I was excited to participate and I gladly volunteered to talk about my chosen vocation. The setup was very unique in that all of the participants were given a card with a classroom number on it. I saw a Detective, a parent who served in the military, and a paramedic among some of the parents I knew personally who had been set up in adjoining classrooms to my assigned room. We had several other parents wearing various uniforms and professional attire who were participating. We all met the school principal in the library and were told that our names and vocation would be posted on a card outside of our assigned numbered classroom. At a designated time, hundreds of parents would walk with their children through the hallways of the school and they would select which rooms they wanted their child to enter. We were instructed not to ask any of the students to come into the classroom and to allow the parent to select which classroom they wanted their child to enter. I brought all kinds of swag with me to hand out and I had a really cool PowerPoint and even an activity for kids to participate in. At the time I was working as a Police Academy Supervisor.
When the event started, I saw hundreds of parents, many that I knew from school events who entered the building with their kids. The event was three hours long and in all, I saw five kids. It would have been six but a little girl who wandered into the classroom had her mother grab her as I started my presentation and she scolded her child for speaking with me. I was wearing my full police uniform. I gave the mother a sticker and she gave it back to me. The mother grabbed the young girl by the arm and said, “You will never be a police officer if I have anything to say about that!” I walked over to the next three classrooms only to find that the Detective, the Paramedic, and the Firefighter had the same experience.
There are so many factors to consider in why this happened, probably so many to vent about but I want to reflect on a few that could be within our control. Many of us as children looked up to public servants with an idea of what their role was all about. Many of us never thought we would end up as public servants but somewhere in our lives, we decided to follow a calling. I reflect back to my childhood memories and I wonder what those men and women who walked into my classroom hoped to impart on us.
I speak to public servants across the globe and I hear the same comments in which many say that they are working hard to give their own children a life that is better than the one they had growing up. This is universal and all parents want a good life for their children but many parents don’t wish for their children to follow in their own footsteps as public servants. It could be the hazards of the job, the lack of community support, the pay, the hours, the stress, etc. and the list goes on and on. I completely empathize with this and feel the same way, however, I would be honored if my son grows up to work in public service someday. I want him to respect the vocation and serve in any role that supports public service. Better for me would be that he become a city manager, county commissioner, governor, or even a soldier, police officer, firefighter, EMT, an artist, or whatever he sets his mind to accomplish in serving his community.
We are living in challenging times and challenging times are exciting times because this is a time for us to seize the opportunity to make our vocations better. Wouldn’t we rather say, I can’t wait for kids to get the opportunity to work in my career field, the pay is much better than it was when I started, the community support for our vocation is amazing, diverse, and reflective of partnerships we only dreamed of, and because of that the hazards have lessened, the wellness programs, benefits, and retirement plans are some of the best. If we don’t start winning back career day with our fellow parents, schools, and kids how will they get the opportunity to grow our vocations?
You don’t have to be a parent to influence a child. We need to start with the adults. It is no easy fix and easier said than done but we need to seek out relationships with adults outside of our own vocation and try to mend their perspective by educating them. We want all children to have it better than we did and we can all agree on that.
Public service is all about direct contact and if that direct contact is removed then we lose the opportunity to influence and inspire the current and the next generation. We need to think about new ways to further our reach, we need to mentor and support our peers in strengthening our uphill battles by supporting innovation, community outreach, education programs, and the use of technology and social media. So many of our high school criminal justice programs have been cut, technical programs have been cut, trade programs have been cut, Explorer programs cut, and with a global pandemic, there is no career day.
We need to rise up in a call to action to fill the voids. I believe that inventive use of technology and encouraging our peers to take the opportunity to have a one on one career day with every kid and parent they meet is the answer. If you look at any middle school-aged kid, they have a cell phone in hand. Viral videos, tech programs, social media, etc. are the preferred method of communication for kids and their parents. If creative use of technology opens the door for us then use it to regain direct contact and do all you can to keep it going. The reality of our vocations is that they are directly impacted by a community perspective on a tipping scale that always favors the community expectation. The community sets the budgets, benefits, rules and laws, and the expected level of service. The actual performance and the use of the tools we are afforded cause the scales to rock back and forth. In order to somewhat balance the scales, we need to exercise our influence not only with the adults who impact our careers but with each new generation proactively. The goal of our legacy is for good people to walk in our shoes and for their experience to get better and better. SERVIAM – “I Will Serve”
If you or your agency are using technology in an innovative way to reach the community please post about it in our blog. We want to share your ideas to impact the good work you are doing to serve.
