Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion What do they want to be ?

I've struggled a bit with DD's frequently expressed goal to be a teacher. I think teaching is certainly a noble profession, but an embattled and hard one. She is probably simply looking up to the teachers in her life. I don't really want to say anything against it to her at this age, though I've pointed out that many jobs involve some kind of teaching and that one can be a professor as well as an elementary school teacher (which is what she means).

Man, I want to be a pirate. Life is so unfair.

At 10, my son has big dreams - he wants to be a professional soccer player, playing in the Premier League in England He does know that probably won't happen (he's a great player, plays up a year, with kids who are now turning 12, so we can dream). Yesterday we were talking about how his soccer coach is already talking about getting the kids seen by college recruiters, and how it's pretty clear that some of the parents are, indeed, hoping their sons will get soccer scholarships. Yikes - so young! My son said that if his soccer career doesn't work out, he'd like to be a teacher - something he's never mentioned before. I asked why ? He said that when he's finished with his math in 5th grade, he helps the other kids out, explaining stuff to them - and he really enjoys that !
(I should also mention that he does go to 6th grade in Middle school for math, so I don't have a problem with him spending time helping in 5th grade). I realise that he will change his mind many many times over what he wants to be, but I do like that he thinks being a teacher is cool Much better than the politician that his teacher suggested he might be last time we spoke !

ElizabethN, my DH is a well-respected research materials scientist at a Fortune 25 Tech company. I have a broader background even than that, having done everything from in vivo electro-analytical chemistry and neuroanatomy to environmental biophysics and elemental analysis, structure-activity modeling, and natural products isolation. She kind of grew up trailing me in the lab, so she has seen cardiac pharmacology, tissue culture, molecular biology, and natural products isolation up close and personal. Oh, and x-ray diffraction and surface methods, following dad. She's been reading dad's C&E News and other trade mags since she was about eight. Immersion environment, basically. LOL.

She's reluctant to enter one of the physical sciences because she feels that is just "doing what mom and dad do." Adolescent rebellion, basically.

We also feel that one of the cross-disciplinary sciences (as opposed to their engineering brethren) is likely to be a better fit for her in the long run because of the polymath issue. The alternative is to do something that pays well enough to support a LOT of intense hobbies.

This is the side of being a polymath that is VERY hard. I realize that comes off as smug and whiny in some places, which is why I only say it here-- but DD is truly struggling with not being able to do EVERYTHING on her interest list. Oh, and write the great American novel in her free time while she moonlights with a jazz trio on her free evenings.

DD6 has wanted to be an Imagineer for Disneyland for a few years and will not tolerate speculation about any other career (say, one using her immense verbal skills, though hey communication is key right). But she does say now that she'll do that for a while, and then do computer engineering (programming) from home like Daddy (he goes to the office mostly now) while she has babies, and then she'll see. I could see her engineering stage shows or starring in them at this point