Career Advice Blog

By Diane Lindsey Reeves, Bright Futures Press

A couple years ago my daughter and I visited the Old Salem village in Winston-Salem. Old Salem is a historical museum portraying the day-to-day life of early Moravian settlers in North Carolina. One of the first things we learned about the inhabitants of this village is that they had an average life span that was several years longer than the national average at that time.

Hmmm…I couldn’t help but wonder why. Surely, the quality of their lifestyle had something to do with it. But what were they doing that was so different from other communities?

My conclusions are far from scientific–perhaps based more on the musings of a mother and educator who would like more for her children and grandchildren. But I suspect these people made it easier for their offspring to succeed by doing three things:

1. Surrounding them with a caring community that was completely committed to helping them find their way toward responsible adulthood
2. Equipping them with a solid education that emphasized both academic and practical life skills
3. Providing real world training opportunities that empowered them to survive and thrive on their own with marketable skills

In other words, they provided the ultimate “leave no child behind” experience—without the end-of-grade tests!

One of the most powerful examples of this premise was evident in the Single Brother’s House. By the age of 14, the village’s young boys were brought here to begin a seven year apprenticeship. Essentially, this is where they learned to be men, where they learned how to be productive, contributing members of their society, and where they learned to how to make a good living. In addition to providing relatively comfortable room and board for many of the boys, the House also included a school, a chapel, and a variety of occupational training opportunities in fields considered high-demand in that era. On-site was a fully functioning bakery, slaughterhouse, tannery, and brewery. In addition, master craftsmen shared their expertise to help prepare a new (and highly skilled) generation of tailors, joiners, clockmakers, shoemakers, tinsmiths, and other viable trades.

And, get this…

There were equal educational opportunities for girls! Quite a radical concept for the late 1700s. Girls received the same offering of well-rounded academics, arts, and music. Their training differed in that, instead of official apprenticeships, they were trained in crafts more associated with home-making such as weaving, fine needlework, and laundry. But prior to marriage, they too were offered opportunities to put these skills to work as teachers and workers in the Single Sister’s weaving shop, laundry, and other enterprises.

The common denominator for both girls and boys was this–nobody was pushed out of the nest before they were ready to fly!

While there are many aspects of those bygone days that are best left in the past—like their match-making tendencies! —, these people were obviously doing something right. What can we learn from them? How can we give today’s young people the same strong foundation for succeeding in life and work? And, for that matter, are there programs out there that are already doing this sort of thing in imaginative and effective ways?

I suspect that there are and that’s what this blog will explore in the coming weeks and months.

So share your discoveries! Toot your favorite program’s horn! Let us know what you think! Most of all, come back often for inspiration and ideas about how we can get it right and give this up-and-coming generation their best shot at bright futures!