Start a discussion by handing students small rectangles of white cardstock, telling them they are to create the business card they will have 20 years from now. Include company, name, job title and city.
What’s the worst job you can think of doing for a living?
Is there any job to which a person should NOT take his or her son or daughter?
When the observance began in 1993 by the Ms. Foundation for Women, it was called Take Your Daughter to Work Day and was intended to build the self-esteem of young girls; it did not include boys. Sons officially were added in 2003.
Do you think it was sexist not to include boys from the beginning?
What is the difference between a housewife and a homemaker? Is there something that could be done to help the term homemaker garner more respect?
Take Your Daughter to Work Day was created at a time when it was naturally assumed that dads were the breadwinners of families and a stay-at-home dad was considered fiction (and pretty much fodder for a sit-com.) Watch TV for an evening and see how many commercials show women as CEOs and how many commercials portray husbands and fathers as buffoons at home.
Are there still gender stereotypes on TV? How have they changed since you were a kid? Ask your parents (or other adult) the same question.
A poem by Peter Alsop says:
“As soon as you’re born, grownups check where you pee
And then they decide just how you’re s’posed to be
Girls pink and quiet, boys noisy and blue
Seems like a dumb way to choose what you’ll do.”
Is there any such a thing as a man’s job or women’s work? Explain your answer.
James and John were in business with their father; but when Jesus called them, they left the nets and their father and walked away. What do your parents expect you to do for a living?
Should a parent with a dangerous profession encourage his or her offspring to go into the same profession? What’s the most dangerous job you can think of? Would you encourage your children to do that?
Does the term and sons make you trust a business more? What about and daughters?
Read
People had an expectation of Jesus because they knew His parents. They expected a carpenter, not a rabble-rousing preacher. This verse follows Jesus’ big debut at the church where He grew up. After the service, people tried to throw Him off a cliff.
What would your parents do if you wanted to do something people in the town thought was shocking?
How far should “honor your father and mother” go? What are your parents expectation?
Do you live in a city/small town/suburb? How many family businesses are there around you? Do you go to them?
Is there a difference between career and calling? Explain.
Who is the most famous daughter you can name. (Yes, there are a lot of famous people who are daughters, but who is famous for being someone else’s daughter?) What about famous sons?
Would you want to be the offspring of the president? What job, done by a parent, would most pressure you as his or her child?
Do you know what your parents do at their jobs? Most students could say what their parents do for a living, but what is a typically day at the office for your parent?
Have you ever been a part of Take Our Sons and Daughters to Work Day? What did you learn?
What do you see yourself doing for a job?
What level of education is needed for that job?
What kind of income do you want to make when you begin in your field?
What was your greatest influence in wanting to do this job?
Does our culture define people by the job they do? Explain.
Make a list starting with your parents and working backward. Write down the name of your mom or dad and what their jobs have been. Then move to your grandparents on each side and keep going as far back as you’re able. Did you know a prostitute is in Jesus’ family tree (
Would you rather work in a small town or big city?
Would you ever want to be part of a family business?
Is there one thing you are doing now to help get you a little closer to that career goal?
True or False: For God, every day is Take You Sons and Daughters to Work Day.
Look at the list below. These are the themes used for every Take Your Daughter to Work Day and Take Our Sons and Daughters to Work Day since 1993. Which of these titles best expresses your relationship with God at this point in your life?
1994 = Take Our Daughters to Work
1995 = A Girl Is Watching
1996 = Vote for Me
1997 = Five Years of Work Toward a Life Time of Confidence
1998 = Imagine a Day
1999 = The Future Is Me 2000 = Free to Be You and Me
2001 = Girl Force: The Girl Force of Today is the Work Force of Tomorrow
2002 = 10th Anniversary: Change the Way the World Works
Theme’s for Take Our Sons and Daughters to Work
2003 = A New Generation at Work
2004 = Today’s Vision, Tomorrow’s Reality
2005 = Sharing Power and Possibility
2006 = Shaping the Future 2007: Revolutionizing the Workplace
2008 = Making Choices for a Better World
2009 = Building Partnerships to Educate and Empower
2010 = 1 Youth, 1 Dream, 2Morrow’s Leader
2011 = Invent the Future
Read
This is one of several accounts of David’s last words. Here it seems as if David is offering career advice to his son. Is there one piece of career advice you have learned (directly or indirectly) from mom or dad that you will teach your children? Write it down here. See if you can frame it so it would fit on a bumper sticker.
