| As an African American, female critical "praxticioner" and "conscious-preneur," I have experienced racial micro-aggressions and racial battle fatigue while navigating my social science P--20 schooling experiences and professional experiences. Sharing my counter-stories illuminates the sociopolitical issues that youth may face as they navigate their social science academic and career development. My experiences are particularly relevant within Colorado's sociopolitical environment as I am a native of Colorado. Within Colorado, one of the challenges is the neoliberal policies and environment that is cultivated within the Colorado Paradox environment. The Colorado Paradox speaks to the fact that though it is known as a state with highly educated citizens, Colorado students in our K--12 systems are not on track to earn college degrees. Only 1 in 5 9th graders will earn a post-secondary degree and many students will require remediation upon their arrival to college. The Colorado Paradox reflects the long history of Colorado importing people who already have college degrees because of their interest in low taxes and starting a career in the state. Many of the people coming to the state are young professionals who may not have children and are not inclined to pay taxes to educate our young citizenry. This is the type of neoliberal thinking that is perpetuated within our academic and career development efforts in the state. Given the fact that career pathways have been driven by a policy and job market trends, career pathways in Manufacturing, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), Health Sciences and Business have been created. In order to enhance post-secondary achievement and opportunities of high school students interested in pursuing degrees and careers in the social sciences, a social sciences educational pathway needs to be implemented within schools and school districts. The creation of a social sciences educational pathway could potentially: shift "private troubles" into "public issues, deepen student's knowledge of the intersectionality within our identities, cultivate "self-efficacy," and lead to "educative" experiences to create "conscientization" among youth. |
