March 26, 2018
By: Bill Conger
How do you draw pictures for a children’s book? Is it scary climbing up a tall pole to fix a problem? Why did you want to work with the Tennessee Highway Patrol? They were just a few of the questions community leaders answered when they visited DeKalb West School March 22, 2018 for the annual Elementary Career Day.
“The state of Tennessee encourages school counselors to begin as early as elementary school introducing students to the world of work and showing the relationship of work and education together,” said DWS School Counselor Bill Conger. “As part of the Path to College program, we’re striving to have students begin to explore a variety of careers at an early age.”
Illustrator/Author Shan Burklow demonstrated to students in Kindergarten through 5th grade how she draws the pictures for books. Jennifer Buterbaugh, whose children Grant and William attend DWS, told students about her career as a Registered Nurse. She let students use a stethoscope to listen to their heartbeat and showed them how to take a person’s temperature along with other aspects of her job with the Rutherford County Health Department. Tom Koblinsky told about one of his previous careers as a postal worker while Lieutenant Jimmy Neal of the Tennessee Highway Patrol explained the duties of his job and urged students to always buckle up when their parents are driving. Matt Adcock and Jerry Johnson with the DeKalb County Fire Department brought the firetruck out and discussed what skills it takes to become a firefighter. Josh Hoot with the DeKalb Telephone Cooperative not only talked about his job as a cable repairman, but he also showed students how he climbs the poles and how DTC’s lift truck operates.
A career day for students in the middle school grades will be held at DWS in May.