When I grow up ...

At Lincoln Elementary’s Career Day, students dress for success in their future careers. But what do pet detectives wear?The future community of Newport Beach -- well, part of it, at least -- can be found in the second-grade classrooms at Lincoln Elementary School. Doctors Nazpari Aydin and Elena Fish tend the hospital, while pilot Hudson Davis offers rides out of town. Sabrina Oliva manages the local Bank of America, possibly in a building designed by architect Patrick Kolling.

And if any of them loses a cat or dog, Arthur Pescan, the local pet detective, will be right on the case.

“You have to know a little about being a detective,” Arthur, 7, said of his profession, which he chose for Career Day at Lincoln on Friday.

For the last few weeks, second-graders at the school have been studying how a community works, with guest speakers coming in to talk about their jobs. To cap off the unit, teachers asked each student to pick the occupation he or she would like as an adult -- and come to school dressed in the appropriate garb. Arthur, who said he didn’t know any pet detectives personally, came in a swank-looking coat and hat.

On Friday morning, students took turns standing in front of their classes and describing their chosen professions. During the previous week, they had been in the library creating mock business cards and drawing posters for their companies.

As outlandish as some of the choices were, the teachers did provide a few guidelines -- for example, that students had to dream up a business that they would run or own themselves.

“A lot of people wanted to be pro athletes, but we told them it had to be more of a business or career,” said teacher Cherrie Covington, who nevertheless had a pair of aspiring baseball coaches in her class.

Many students opted for careers in the medical field, with some wanting to follow in family members’ footsteps by becoming doctors or nurses. Nazpari, 8, said her uncle and both of her grandfathers treated patients for a living.

Sabrina, whose mother manages a company, said she sometimes accompanied her to work on sick days and watched leadership skills in action. Her mother didn’t work for a bank, but Sabrina chose Bank of America for a simple reason.

“You can help people when they need something,” she explained.

At least one of Covington’s students, Warren Turner, chose the ultimate service job, hoping to join the Army after graduation. The ground forces, he said, appealed to him more than the Marines or Navy -- even though his grandfather served in the latter during World War II.

“I don’t want to suffocate on a ship, and I don’t want to be shot out of the sky by a jet,” said Warren, 8.

* IN THE CLASSROOM is a weekly feature in which Daily Pilot education writer Michael Miller visits a campus in the Newport-Mesa area and writes about his experience.

20060131itxhn2ncDON LEACH / DAILY PILOT(LA)Jenna Kim, who came to career day dressed as a pediatrician, tries out her stethoscope on classmate Sabrina Oliva at Lincoln Elementary School.