How We Should Talk To Young People About Career Choices

How We Should Talk To Young People About Career Choices

Nearly 4 million high school graduates step into an uncertain job market each year (Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, 2024), and the advice they receive—“follow your passion,” “choose something practical,” “make as much money as you can”—often leaves them stressed, burned out, and directionless. This episode features Jordan H. Davis' signature keynote, "Eliminate 'Career Fear' Through Design Thinking", which he delivered to over 500 middle and high school students at Montanan FCCLA's State Leadership Conference. He introduces design thinking, the foundation of what Jordan now calls his Problem-Centered Careers framework. Instead of starting with résumés, majors, or passions, Jordan encourages high school and college students to think about vocational identity development and career decision-making with a problem-focused lens, starting with examining the issues in their communities and world that they feel compelled to solve. Drawing from design thinking, trauma-informed practice, and social impact innovation, Jordan explores how young people and adults alike can reframe their career choices around meaning, sustainability, and wellbeing. Whether you’re a student, educator, or CTSO advisor or director, this episode is a window into how we'll need to think about work as we head into the next quarter-century.    4 Reasons Gen Z Is Struggling To Land A New Job In 2025 (Forbes, 2025) [https://www.forbes.com/sites/markcperna/2025/02/11/4-reasons-gen-z-is-struggling-to-land-a-new-job-in-2025/] Job searching in 2025? It's a mess no matter how old you are. (Business Insider, 2025) [https://www.businessinsider.com/job-market-tough-for-every-generation-layoffs-great-flattening-careers-2025-6] In the job market, Gen Z is cooked [Podcast] (Washington Post, 2025)  [https://www.washingtonpost.com/podcasts/post-reports/in-the-job-market-gen-z-is-cooked/]   Subscribe to "Unteaching" on Substack for weekly articles about teaching, learning, and US education: https://unteaching.substack.com/

Has "Building Community" Lost Its Meaning? Lessons from Tamil Nadu, India w/ Goutham Yegappan

In this episode of Help Students Win, host JD chops it up with Goutham Yegappan, host of the Re-Educated Podcast and independent data science instructor. They discuss the state of philosophy and general education curriculum in higher ed, the theory and practice behind belongingness, and what he learned in his recent research on community learning in Tamil Nadu, India. What does it actually mean to "build community" among students? What role can general education curriculum play in teaching students how to build a sense of community in their curricular and extracurricular engagements? And what can the US learn from villages like Tamil Nadu, India when it comes to promoting community learning? The answers, and more, on this week's episode of Help Students Win.    HSW is hosted, produced and edited by Jordan H. Davis. Jordan an inclusive pedagogy specialist and founder of JD Speaks LLC, through which he offers professional development for K-12 and college educators. Visit jdspeaks.com/educators [https://www.jdspeaks.com/educators] to learn more

What It Means To Decolonize US Education: JD Speaks On ”Re-Educated”

Is there a possible future where college no longer exists? What current value do US colleges offer? And what does it mean to decolonize education? The answers and more on this week's episode of Help Students Win! This week's episode of Help Students Win features a guest spot that I did with my good friend Goutham Yegappan on his podcast, Re-Educated. I share about how I became a pedagog and professional speaker and about how decolonizing K-12 curriculum can help resolve the US youth mental health crisis. We also talk about the value of US hiring education and speculate about a post-college future. Listen and subscribe to Re-Educated here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/re-educated/id1609689971 Learn more about my professional development work with faculty and students at https://www.jdspeaks.com/.

How to Prepare and Retain Black Male Teachers w/ Michael Hayes

Are teachers less prepared now than they were 30 years ago? What does the future of teacher professional development look like? And what can principals and district leaders do to retain their Black male educators? Michael Hayes shares perspectives from his nearly 30-year career as an elementary educator and teacher mentor at the same school district! -------- Looking for a speaker for your next conference, professional development day, or student event? Visit https://www.jdspeaks.com/ to learn more about how Jordan can serve your educators or students. --------- Michael Hayes on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-hayes-2870b5228/

Rebuilding The Black Teacher Pipeline - Dr. Keeley C. & Dr. Samantha S

Why do Black men make up less than 2% of the teaching force? What barriers exist for Black students wanting to pursue the profession? And what can historically white colleges learn from HBCUs when it comes to preparing Black teachers of color for the workforce? The answers to these questions and more on this episode of Help Students Win. ------- Read The Heart Work of Hard Work: Black Teacher Pipeline Best Practices at HBCUs: https://uncf.org/wp-content/uploads/Voya-Black-Teacher-Pipeline-Final-.pdf -------- Read about Dr. Strachan's work here: https://www.aamu.edu/about/inside-aamu/news/strachan-will-work-to-improve-teacher-recruitment-and-retention.html -------- Follow Dr. Copridge on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keeleyc/ -------- Looking for a speaker for your next conference, professional development day, or student event? Visit https://www.jdspeaks.com/ to learn more about how Jordan can serve you educators or students.