<p>Hi all, I hope this is an appropriate board for this question. I'm 24 and have gone back to school, doing quite well. My siblings are not so interested in school or even careers. One is 20, another 17 (bad grades but will graduate), the last is 13, okay grades but very apathetic. I know there is no cure all, and I do talk to them about it, but what might be a good Christmas gift to interest them in school and/or careers?</p>
<p>Thanks for reading</p>
<p>tickets to concerts or sports events at your school?</p>
<p>Seven habits of highly effective teens by Sean Covey
Nickel and Dimed (on NOT getting by in America) by Barbara Ehrenreich
The Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters (for a girl reader. Very strong willed single lady in the story. An academic who explores pyramids and beats off bad guys with her parasol)
Jaguar by Alan Rabinowitz (Brooklyn kid with a vicious stutter establishes the world’s first jaguar preserve. True story)</p>
<p>Family trip/tickets to a zoo. Sounds kiddy and corny but walking around seeing amazing things tends to get the mind and heart revved up. </p>
<p>Also, try phoning the local library and asking what titles are hot for adolescents. Ask for recommendations for good reads about people of your family’s heritage/economic class. Sometimes teens get to thinking that success, college is for “others. Not for folks like me.” Find a story of someone springing from a house like yours who went on to do something worthwhile or amazing. Good luck!</p>
<p>In addition to the suggestions above, would your siblings have any interest in the Harry Potter books or the Twilight books? I know, I know, there are scores of bad things that can be said of Twilight especially, but I’ve heard lots of stories about people who HATE reading, pick up Twilight (or Harry Potter), and start to get into reading. I’m not saying these books are the final solution; I’m just saying it might be a good way to get them enthusiastic about reading, and then they might be able to move on to other things from there.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>I’m not sure that telling or showing your siblings that those without a college degree (or even a high school degree) are at a disadvantage. They might understand this, but it won’t necessarily motivate them to try harder. What would be more effective perhaps would be to focus on what interests them individually and try to cultivate that interest. If they like gaming, would they be interested in developing games, for instance? If they like animals, how about books about animals?
A young friend of ours loved cooking. His parents were very proud that he could fix his own meals at a young age. They were not so delighted when he decided to go to culinary school. But he is now a maitre d’ at a fancy restaurant and doing quite well. If your siblings are not academically inclined, there are many good careers available. But many require a basic knowledge of math and science.</p>
<p>There is nothing wrong with going to school later in your life either. A lot of job places are paying for education, so it might be cheaper. I was in school until I was 40. I have had professional jobs since 19. Employers paid all thru my MBA, which I even do not need for my job. Not bad at all, had family, raised son, at some point all three of us were going to school, but we paid only our son’s tuition, emplyers paid for mine and my H.</p>