Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS)
TMP’s Thinking Outside the Box series helps students answer the questions Who am I? Why am I here? What am I meant to do with my life? We do this by
- Teaching students to embrace who they are and their community.
- Showing students that they can do whatever they want if they put their mind to it, to expect pushback from life and use these obstacles as learning tools to learn to work around, gain experience from and better their life, so they can become happy, productive members of society.
- Look at an area of interest instead of a particular job so if one specific pathway doesn’t work out, there are other related pathways to choose, to succeed. This sounds like a contradiction to the previous statement but it really isn’t if you look at success as creating options by thinking outside the box.
- Showing students how to look at their goals and scholastic projects by breaking them into smaller, more manageable pieces so they can concentrate on each piece without becoming overwhelmed. To look at their goals in a project management way that they can track and measure.
Students are encouraged to participate in extended learning experiences by getting together with their friends to learn online and to seek out school clubs, university opportunities and local organizations that can help them learn about their fields of interest and to find mentors.
The student will learn by using verbal and nonverbal communications skills. The student is expected to
- Listen actively and effectively in class and group discussions.
- Use a variety of resources to effectively gain the skills and knowledge to become proficient at the products they are learning to create or the career pathways they are pursuing.
- To think peripherally (creatively) about how to create a product and ask What if I try this? This type of thinking with help push the envelope and give the student more options when they work. When they don’t work it’s a learning experience that they can either improve on or move on from.
Students learn to develop skills for professional success. The student will learn to manage stress by developing philosophies that they can refer to, to manage good times as well as challenging ones. To realize that life is always changing and that their current situation will not always remain this way. It is within their control to change it.
The student will learn characteristics necessary for professional and personal success such as work ethics, integrity, dedication, perseverance and interaction with others.