this school is here in enid oklahoma, some of these boys and girls can rock your world in this work, but it is the the ability to leave and not have any help that scares them. thanks for your reply.

Hello,

  I have the same problem with a few teenagers that I have worked with.  I spent my twenties in the U.S. Coast Guard traveling the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and the Carribean and Bearing Seas; it was the best expirence of my life.  I try to explain that traveling is fun.  It promotes independence and you absorb knowledge as you go.  I tell them that the good expirences far outweigh the bad; and, in retrospect there were no bad expirences, only learning expirences. Among other things, I discovered that I love Alaska, and Canadian people are friendly; Haiti has it problems and New York City is truely a concrete jungle.  The internet and books do not compare to the expirence of visiting these places and meeting the local people.  I learned that people are turely interested in other people from other places; working and personal relationships that last a lifetime are spawned.  Traveling promotes a sense of freedom and independence unatainable by any other means; freedom and independence spawn responsibility. A sense of freedom and independence, and personel responsibility are the core qualities of a leader.

  I believe that traveling is a vital part of our personel development.  If your students are still learning (developing) where they are, then maybe it's not time to move on.  They need only to ask their bosses if they can work their way into that position and beyond in a reasonable amount of time.  I am fortunate enough to be on my second federal dam projcet and I would never have got here by being satisfied with my previous jobs.  Furthermore, young people need to understand that jumping from the $10-$20 an hour range to the $25-$35+ an hour range is truely a life changing expirence and is something to strive for.

Never Satisfied,
Eric