Every Friday morning, we have a vocational class for our teens called Videorama!, where each week we watch a motivation or job encouraging video. The purpose of the class is to jump start your child’s future, whether it be finding a job or continuing his education in order to pursuit a college degree.
The class, like in life, has many rules as well as benefits for those who attend in time; besides watching a great, entertaining video teens sometimes enjoy chocolate pudding, granolas, chips or other snacks. If our teens are not in class by the specified time they cannot attend until next week’s class.
Even though we are in a closed and secure environment, teens need to see what’s happening outside, what they can do when they graduate, what jobs they can get and what’s needed to apply for this types of jobs (academic degrees or life skills).
Some of the videos we’ve watch include: what it takes to be a part of Cirque du Soleil? Which explains the recruiting process of the performers, what the circus’ scouts look for and what you have to do to get in their list of approved performers. We have also watched several videos of large companies like the Coca-Cola factory and how they make, process, and distribute their beverage; the Lego factory, how they begin as a little wood toy factory to become one of the leading toy industry in the world, the video also explains the creation of a new product: from the design concept to mass production and distribution.
At the end of each video, we discuss the purpose of the class, and get mutual feedback on what we liked, what we learn and share experiences on the different opportunities that are waiting for us.
This past week we watch a PBS documentary/tribute to the three-time Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist Paul Conrad, the video is titled “Paul Conrad: Drawing Fire“. The documentary explains what it’s like to work at a newspaper as a cartoonist, what Paul Conrad studied in order to get the job, and how his work and dedication has given him so many satisfactions in his life.
This class started several months ago and the first video we saw was a great video experience called “Life in a Day”, I’ll leave you with the description and the video:
Director Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland) and producer Ridley Scott (Alien, Gladiator) team up to offer this candid snapshot of a single day on planet Earth. Compiled from over 80,000 YouTube submissions by contributors in 192 countries, Life in a Day presents a microcosmic view of our daily experiences as a global society. From the mundane to the profound, everything has its place as we spend 90 minutes gaining greater insight into the lives of people who may be more like us than we ever suspected, despite the fact that we’re separated by incredible distances.
