High School and Higher Expectations

Extracurricular activities

Do It All
High school offers so many opportunities for kids; I tell my workshop parents to take advantage of them all, but in real life no one can. Take on as many as you can, then, and work with your student to decide which programs--curricular or extracurricular--make the most sense for her. Programs like special interest clubs, music, choir, theater, sports, cheer, dance, and academic competition are just some of the programs available to students in high school. And that's just through school. All those things exist outside of school, plus there are activities like Scouting, community volunteering clubs, church groups, and social clubs that can be related to school or completely separate. These activities are not only a good way to show on a college application that a student is well rounded, they can provide academic and personal advancement, not to mention maturity and self-esteem.

Advanced Placement (AP) classes are college-level courses offered in high school. While AP classes offer a deeper look into the subject they cover and therefore greatly increase the student's knowledge of the subject, they have other benefits as well. At the end of the school year, students take the AP exam in the subject they're studying. If they pass, the class is then an equivalent to a semester of college. Take enough AP classes and pass enough AP exams and your student starts college with some of the basic requirements out of the way. This strategy is both a money saver (you're not paying for college credits) and a time-saver (your student's college schedule now has room for other things beyond English 101). AP classes also look good on your student's college application, since they are a good indication that he can handle college-level material.

You have a powerful role as a parent. As much as it's true that your kids are going to be the people they are meant to be no matter what you do, it is also true that your encouragement (and discouragement) will shape their path in life. Help your student make the right educational decisions that will lead to a degree and a productive career. Be involved in your student's subject choices, schools, and extracurricular activities. Dream along with them--fight the dream destroyers and don't become one yourself. It is up to you to keep a wary eye out for the people in your child's life who will try to deflate a dreamer and head them off before they do any harm.

Helping your student decide on a field of study is just an extension of what you're already doing if you've followed the guidelines in this book. Encourage exploration, nurture their talents and preferences, and enroll them in classes that stimulate their interests. Sometimes that will mean keying into a volunteer opportunity or exploring a new extracurricular group.

While in high school, both of my kids also participated in a four-year college preparatory program, Upward Bound, sponsored by the University of California, Davis (UC Davis). The program was developed to give first-generation (no one in the family has graduated from a four-year college) low-income students the opportunity to attend college. From the end of their sophomore high school year through the end of their freshman year in college, they spent six weeks of each summer vacation (summer residential program) attending the university taking individualized academic and special-interest classes, earned up to ten high school elective credits, and experienced the college environment. For six great weeks, they lived in the campus dorms, attended classes, visited the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon, camped out for several days, participated in a talent show, and staged their own graduation festivities.

During the school year, university students tutored and counseled the Upward Bounders (UB'ers), helped plan holiday parties and get-togethers, and took the high school students on statewide college tours. That is how Chris and Corey decided on the schools they would attend. Chris first chose the University of California at Irvine but he finally decided to attend UC Davis. Most important, the Upward Bound program helps students prepare for the college entrance test (SAT). I have become a self-appointed spokesperson for the program because it works! The staff works diligently to improve each student's grade point average, increase their learning skills, helps to elevate the student's self-esteem and confidence and enrich their academic and social development. Each summer when Chris and Corey returned home, I witnessed a new maturity in them. They were more serious about their academic performances.