This week: comprehensive guidance, October Sky, SEL—and more.
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A Career Choices Series and Lifestyle Math Newsletter
October 20, 2026 ~ Issue 26.9
FROM MINDY'S DESK
The Career Choices Series: SEL + Career Exploration = A Unique Comprehensive Guidance Course
The Career Choices series is a unique “comprehensive guidance" course that emphasizes social and emotional well-being as essential components of planning a productive future. The curriculum goes beyond traditional career exploration by integrating vital SEL dimensions into the development of a personalized 10-year Career and Education Plan for each learner. This holistic approach equips students with the skills they need to navigate both personal and professional challenges as they move through life.
By guiding students to answer the fundamental questions—Who am I?, What do I want?, and How do I get it?—the Career Choices series encourages learners to explore critical topics such as self-awareness, social/diversity awareness, resilience and the hardy personality, empathy, adaptability, and being self-directed, proactive, and self-advocating. These competencies not only support personal growth but also foster the kind of resilience and adaptability required in today's rapidly changing workforce.
Self-Awareness
Definition: Knowing one’s internal states, preferences, resources, and intuitions.
Components (According to CASEL): Identifying emotions, accurate self-perception, recognizing strengths, possessing self-confidence, and developing self-efficacy.
Integration in the Career Choices Series: Through thought-provoking exercises, students engage in… [Continue Reading the Article]
WHAT WE'RE WATCHING
October Sky
According to the National Library of Medicine, movies can be powerful tools for social-emotional learning (SEL), giving students opportunities to explore emotions, relationships, and decision-making through the experience of others. The real learning happens when educators turn those stories into meaningful classroom conversations.
That’s why we’re spotlighting October Sky (1999), an inspiring true-story based film about Homer Hickam, a teenager growing up in a small mining town who dreams of building rockets despite the expectations from his family and his community.
His journey brings several SEL skills to life:
Self-awareness: discovering his strengths, interests, and aspirations.
Self-management: persevering through setbacks and disappointment.
Relationship skills: navigating family expectations and seeking mentorship.
Sound familiar? These are the very skills students develop throughout their Career Choices course as they envision their futures, navigate their possibilities, and learn to make intentional decisions about their lives.
Try this in your classroom: After watching, ask students: How did Homer balance what others expected of him with what he wanted for himself?
And if you’re an active member of The Teachers’ Lounge, you can find detailed teacher and student viewing guides for October Sky available online (login required).
FUTURE FOCUS
Before Students Can Plan Their Futures, They Need to Understand Themselves
Social-emotional learning has more to do with career planning than you might think.
Before students can confidently choose a career path, they need to understand who they are, what matters to them, how they respond to challenges, and how their decisions affect their futures.
That’s where Career Choices comes in.
Through self-reflection, goal-setting, decision-making, and personalized 10-year planning, students develop skills that align with the core competencies of social-emotional learning: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making.
Rather than treating SEL as a separate lesson, Career Choices weaves these essential life skills into a meaningful process of self-discovery and future planning.
Looking for ways to help students build self-awareness and prepare for their futures? Reach out to Dr. Monica Carmo, Vice President of Educational Partnerships.
ON THE ROAD
Where to Next?
We’ll be heading to Denver for the Jump$tart National Educators Conference in a few weeks. If you’re attending, stop by our booth and let us know how you’re doing.
Jump$tart National Educators Conference
Denver, CO • Nov. 6–8
CTE Conference
Rancho Mirage, CA • Nov. 18–20
ACTE CareerTech Vision 2026
New Orleans, LA • Dec. 2–5
THIS WEEK'S TAKEAWAY
Before students can decide where they want to go, they must first discover who they are.
