Kids watched from behind yellow tape as their classmate slipped on a pair of sunglasses, a welder’s helmet, and heavy-duty gloves. Sparks flew as he used a welding striker on a piece of metal. A professional welder guided his aim.
That’s hands-on education.
The welding demonstration was one of many jobs on offer at a recent career fair in Springside School. Students had a chance to interact with people from a variety of fields and learn the basics about them. It was a part of Education Week.
The event was the brainchild of Rochelle Berrns. She’s a parent and a member of the School Community Council.
“The meaning of education is more than what school is,” she said.
Berrns wanted to show kids a wide range of career paths and how education can take them to new places. She hopes it will spark an excitement about learning.
“Education is more than health and science and math,” she said. “There’s a means to an end to what they want to accomplish, to find their passion.”
Berrns works as a massage therapist and she operated a booth at the fair, explaining to students how she does her job.
“I really want to show kids that [in] the medical field, it’s not just nursing and doctors,” she said.
Berrns invited a huge swath of different people to the fair, from business owners to office staff members to self-employeed workers. Nurses, police officers, music teachers, and others were on hand to give kids advice and information about their possible future careers.
Anthony Allary was one of the people invited to the job fair. He’s the exectuive director for the Yorkton Transitional Homes for Youth. He stressed the value of getting a proper education.
“When you get a university degree, jobs are endless,” he said.
Penny Castle, the administrator for Springside School, thought the kids really enjoyed the job fair.
“Hopefully...they’ll see some role models for themselves [and] things that match their interests,” she said.
Castle thought the job fair, and Education Week in general, was a big success.
“We always celebrate learning here...but the focus being on special events and bringing the community [together] makes it even more special,” she said.
