When I was a child, I was really good at math, but I loved books and writing. I will never forget my disappointment when everyone at my elementary school took an assessment that was supposed to predict good career choices.
The test said I was supposed to be a mathematician. My dad, I knew, thought I should be a scientist like him.
But I loved books, and I wanted to be a writer.
Aptitude vs. Fit
I was thinking about this today as I filled a wheelbarrow with weeds. I will admit that I love pulling weeds. Yet as I was pulling weeds, I was reflecting on how pointless pulling weeds really is. I never finish. I will never win. Because I refuse to use truly effective remedies like herbicides, I will always have weeds.
Yet, I pull weeds. And I enjoy pulling weeds.
Like writing, pulling weeds is an activity that doesn’t have a set answer or a definitive end. When I was a child, I gravitated toward studies where further study just led you deeper into the questions. I liked to read novels. I loved ancient philosophy.
My perception of math and science focused (childishly, I admit) on their emphasis on facts and finding answers. I didn’t want to find answers. I enjoyed exploring questions.
It’s true that I had the aptitude to be a mathematician or a scientist. And perhaps I would eventually have found unanswerable questions that would have kept me happy. But elementary school math is all about finding the one correct answer. And elementary school science is all about doing experiments the outcome of which is predetermined.
No wonder I was disappointed!
Where we start is not necessarily where we end up
Students these days often hear that they don’t have much choice in their career. Kids who are “good at” math and science are sent into STEM. Kids who are not “good at” math and science are told, well, they’d better get into STEM if they want a job.
But plenty of people who love their STEM jobs didn’t start out as mathy kids. And plenty of people like me who had the aptitude early on for STEM fields are miserable in them.
I’m thankful for my first job out of college working for Xerox Artificial Intelligence Systems. I met my husband there! But that was my last job in a STEM field. Since then, I’ve been a teacher, graphic designer, publisher, and writer. I will admit that I don’t make as much money as if I were working at Google.
But would a corporate job be a good fit for me? I don’t think so. As a teacher and writer, I love being able to take a half an hour out of my day to go pull weeds. It may be a thankless job that is never finished, but that’s the sort of job that makes me happy.
“What makes you happy?” is one question that long-ago aptitude test forgot to ask. And I wouldn’t have known how to answer. We need to leave these questions—and all options—open for our kids as we guide them into adult life.
