High School and Higher Expectations
In this article, you will find:
College preparation
Upward Bound isn't the only college prep program in the world. Use your student's summers to expand and enrich their education. College campuses often sponsor internships for high school students. They also offer tours and outreach to high schoolers looking for a taste of the college experience. As parents, we have to look for the programs in our region and encourage our high school student's participation.Look into innovative programs like UC Berkeley's California Early College Academy. This program allows disadvantaged high school students to finish high school while earning college credits, kind of like a small college inside a high school. Funded by the Gates Foundation's Early College High School Initiative, tuition is free and students are admitted based on socioeconomic need. And I wouldn't be doing my duty if I didn't point out what a great program Upward Bound is; check online to see if a university near you features a UB course. Another option to look into is school-to-work programs like the Regional Occupational Program (ROP), which offers tuition-free off-campus on-the-job training during high school hours. This helps kids develop job skills and investigate possible career choices. They even receive high school credits for school-approved jobs. ROP classes are open to anyone sixteen years and older. Students receive classroom orientation, then are placed at a training site four days a week and return to the classroom one day a week. While most jobs in the program do not offer a wage, some do, and some also offer a vocational certification process.
So Many Choices
Helping our kids make tough decisions is a big part of parenting. It's not just about choosing college, sometimes it's about making a choice between what's wanted and what's needed. All through their lives we have to show our kids how to reason and think things out by viewing the pros and cons of any situation. Practice making sound decisions should begin early, as I've discussed above. And it doesn't end when the kids hit high school--you may think they've reached the age of reason, but your guiding hand is still needed for a shove in the proper direction.
Chris tried out for the reserve basketball team during his freshman year at Florin High School. Somewhat to my surprise, he made it. I could not remember Chris being much of a basketball enthusiast earlier in his life, but I was all for his involvement in sports as long as it didn't interfere with his studies, but the dip in his grades that inevitably corresponded with basketball season was always made up in summer school. And as you'll learn from this book, a college-bound student needs more than academics to look attractive to a college. Involvement in sports is a valuable building block in a college application.
For weeks, he faithfully attended practices and for weeks he sat on the bench, firmly established as a second-string player. He was occasionally injected into the last remaining minutes of the game when his team was well ahead. Basketball was more of a hobby, something recreational to pass the time, and a good way to belong to something big. It wasn't a bad way to attract the girls either.
He kept working at his on-court skills and finished his junior year on the varsity team. We all understood he wasn't going to win any college scholarships for his on-the-floor talents, but he was still having fun. At the beginning of his senior year, he had to try out for the varsity team, but it was understood that the tryout was just a formality. He would be on the team if he wanted it. But this year, I had a few concerns to express to him about this most important year.