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Any recommendations for Project Management training for high school?


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One thing I never received actual training in that would likely have benefited me greatly was Project Management.  I have talked with others who have received such training, but it had always been through the workplace.  I have decided that it could be beneficial for both of my kids to learn before they complete high school.  Would anyone have any suggestions or recommendations on project management training for high school kids?  I have started searching the web, but what I am finding so far is geared towards working adults.

 

Thanks in advance!

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I was simply thinking that my boys have had a lot of that type experience through Boy Scouts. In addition to doing an Eagle project, they've had a lot a general leadership experience, presentation experience, and putting together lots of smaller projects such as when the Boy Scouts teach the younger cub scouts at a local campout yearly.

 

I like the idea of using the Boy Scout Eagle project paperwork as a guide for doing a personal project. However, it's usually hard to be motivated when you don't have a reason (like getting Eagle) to do the project. Small scale projects and leadership of any type would be useful.

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Eagle Scout was my first thought. Any level of scouting, as it builds on project management difficulty with each level of progression.

Edited by Kinsa
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We never did a curriculum on project management, but my kids just dove in with their own projects and figured it out as they went. My goal was to be the driver and supply procurer. I never really wanted to get too involved-- I wanted them to do the work!! We started with their own interests, and what they wanted to do during high school, and helped them figure out a broad project. We helped them lay down a base of knowledge through classes in art or science, or making lots of short videos for the film kid with acting classes. Then we looked for experts who wanted to help them. My sons did long-term projects in their interests-- filmmaking for one and art for the other. My daughter is now starting what I hope is a long-term project monitoring water quality at nearby reservoirs, and then taking her samples to the aquarium downtown to work with scientists there on analyzing the samples.

Working on their own long-term projects was such a joy for them through high school-- the projects were their own property, something outside of the academics that mom oversaw. And having those accomplishments, in an area of deep interest, made them stand out in college apps.

Maria

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IT Project Management , Engineering Project Management, or just Project Management in general. Different things. My husband is the first option.

I have the same question. Are you looking for leadership experience (eg scouting), or formal PM training? If the latter, I suggest some project experience prior to trying a PMP program. Relative importance will feel all out of whack, otherwise.

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I think The Mythical Man-Month by Frederick Brooks is about as straightforward as you will get, considering that the field developed out of the military and has always been overladen with jargon. It's also available for free online: https://archive.org/details/mythicalmanmonth00fred

 

If they have the basics under their belt, a fun exercise might be to watch the film Office Space, as it is a film that pokes fun at what happens when project management is done badly (the multiple disconnected bosses of botched matrix management, the passive-aggressive bullying of getting things done without a project charter, the convoluted organizational charts, the obsession with progress reports -- it's really a classic of what-not-to-do).

Edited by Anacharsis
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