In an exclusive interview with Ganesh Kohli, Founder, IC3 Movement and Chair

Why is career counseling in schools importantCareer counseling is an integral function in schools as basic and as important as English and Math Schools teach academic subjects but for the most part there is little to no correlation between what students learn in the classroom and how it relates to the world outside the classroom including but not limited to the world of careers We believe every teacher needs to be a 1037 career counselor in order to help students bridge the gap between academic knowledge and its practical application and to make learning joyful by making careers come alive in the classroom We also believe that every school needs a fully functioning career counseling office and fulltime counselors who work with students from grades 912 helping them make best fit decisions for higher education and the world of careersThe lack of career counseling in not just an academic issue it is a social issue Itrsquos about young people finding purpose and direction in their lives The world is changing old career options are now becoming redundant The progress in technology has given rise to careers we couldnrsquot have imagined 45 years ago With the advent of AI most careers as we know them today will not exist in a few years Who is going to help the youth navigate this journey if not schools where students spend most of their time until they are ready to embark upon their higher education and career journeys School education is a means to an end not an end in itselfGiving students the right guidance at the right time has the potential to change the world as we know it The world is full of unhappy 35year olds who hate Monday mornings Imagine a world where everyone looks forward to go to work because they truly enjoy it because they are doing what they are good at because someone helped them discover their interests and related career options when they themselves didnrsquot know better Imagine the job satisfaction industry productivity the joy Imagine making active and guided choices instead of stumbling upon careers and wasting years feeling purposeless Wouldnrsquot you want the same for your younger self That is what career counseling is about and that is why it is important to have this in schools Schools need support to establish this function and that is why the IC3 Movement exists How is career counseling different from the usual oneonone teaching sessionsSimply put teaching involves imparting of knowledge and career counseling involves linking that knowledge to the world outside A Physics teacher can teach the concepts of sound and radio technology but when the teacher is able to help the student see the application of these concepts around them the acoustics of a classroom the way our smartphones function they partly become career counselors The Counseling LaboratoryTM pedagogy used by the IC3 Institute equips teachers with the resources to make careers come alive for students in the classroomIn addition to every teacher being a 1037 career counselor it is essential to have fulltime career counselors in schools who are fully equipped to provide customized direction to students so they can make choices that will best suit the course of their lives However the IC3 Movement does not work directly with students We work to empower high schools around the world through guidance and training resources for high school administrators teachers and counselors to help establish and maintain robust career and college counseling departments having a multiplier effect because a teacher impacts hundreds if not thousands of students in their lifetime What is the role of teachers and counselors in the career counseling process How does the IC3 Movement teach these techniques to counselorsI believe that teachers are soul doctors You may not remember a body doctor that you visited in the 8th grade but you will still remember your teachers from the 3rd grade The very nature of the studentteacher relationship is one of trust and respect Teachers can have a profound impact on a studentrsquos life Counseling is the process of holding and maintaining a safe space for students to express their interests passions and challenges and to guide them with patience and knowledge The IC3 Institute runs a oneyear program to train teachers principals and other high school staff to become career counselors The curriculum of the program equips participants to address the questions of what to study where to study and how to make it happen Through the program participants also learn about setting up a counseling office counseling techniques working with students as well as with parents who are important stakeholders in the decisionmaking process We also believe in and impart the awareness that each child is unique with a unique set of interests and skills and that career counseling is a journey of exploration and discovery of a childrsquos true potential The world has changed a lot in the past year as the pandemic took over How can students cope with this change careerwiseThe learning potential of the postpandemic world is ten times what it was prepandemic At this time students need to focus on treating every situation as a learning opportunity or a classroom lesson Like all of us the past year has forced students to adapt and remain flexible to the quickly changing reality This is the time to build skills like resilience and courage these will hold them in good stead throughout their lives With regular academic life being impacted there is also the possibility of finding their purpose outside academics perhaps in a hobby or volunteer work You have visited several countries and have worked and observed many children Have you seen a difference between the education system and mental health in first world and third countriesI personally do not like the expression firstworld and thirdworld We are ONE world Dichotomies based on socioeconomic factors exist within each country A student in a tribal school in Chhattisgarh receives very different levels of support from someone studying in an international school in Mumbai Even within the same city huge differences exist Students in less privileged environments build a different set of skills such as resilience and courage as compared to students in more privileged environments We do not need to compare countries to discover this divide It is definitely true that for the more economically prosperous pockets of the world while students have strong academic knowledge technology access and communication skills they are facing a bigger mental health crisis The IC3 movement is spreading across the globe reaching more than 90 countries What has been the impact of movement so far and what your major learningsThe most important impact of the IC3 Movement so far has been sensitization around the need for career and college counseling and more importantly around the need to help young people find purpose and direction in life The fact that counseling is being actively discussed in schools is a big accomplishment in itself for the IC3 Movement Some of these discussions are leading to schools pursing professional development of their teachers through the IC3 Institute I also see that schools are increasingly ready to accept that their responsibility goes beyond mere academics and that wellbeing and career guidance for students is also the schoolrsquos prerogativeMy biggest learning from the growth of the IC3 Movement is that ldquocareer and college counseling in schoolsrdquo is an idea whose time has come Another learning is that instead of marinating on the problems in delivering counseling for all students it is important for us to focus our energies on the solutions We need to take small steps towards a world where every teacher becomes a 1037 counselor