Pathfinder: An Action Plan

iUniverse, Inc.

Contents

Introduction: The Power of Choice...................................................ixHit the Road: The Journey...........................................................1Choosing Courses: Through a Class Darkly............................................7Standardized Exams: Put to the Test.................................................19Developing Interests and Activities: Sweating in the Dojo...........................26Academic Solutions: Red Flags and Homework Hags.....................................39Alternatives to Traditional High School: Above and Beyond...........................48International Students Studying in the United States: Crossover.....................54Learning Styles: Peeling the Label..................................................57Table Talk: Parents Walk the Line...................................................63What Matters Most to Colleges: The Next Step........................................70Appendix............................................................................74A List of Recommended Books for High School Readers.................................74Sample Interview Questions..........................................................83Sample Student Résumé.....................................................88

Chapter One

"Did I call the right place? Do you do packaging?"

Was the caller looking for UPS or FedEx? Or perhaps a shipping company to specialty-wrap a precious work of art?

"Do you package kids? My son is really going to need packaging."

This father's precious work of art was his own son, a rising high school sophomore, looking ahead to the college application process. Something seemed wrong to us as counselors with this notion of a young person being viewed as a product in need of a sexy wrapping or pitch in order to be appealing to the college market or to prospective employers.

As the admission process to secondary schools and colleges, as well as competition for entry into the job force, become increasingly fierce, we hear the term packaging more often in our work as educational counselors. Although this anxious father's urgent question sounded blunt and misguided, the core of his concern reflected a trend. Parents were calling earlier in their students' secondary school years with specific concerns about high school. How would it influence college or career after graduation?

Had our father called the right office? Yes, because what he needed from us was not packaging but planning. Out of this father's sincere, if wrongly phrased, concern was born Pathfinder: An Action Plan—Making the Most of High School, a book to guide parents on how to work collaboratively with their sons and daughters to help them navigate the turns and detours of the adolescent passage through high school. If high school is viewed as a time of self-discovery and self-realization, choices and planning, then the notion of packaging becomes unnecessary.

The kind of thinking, which focuses on college placement rather than on the experience of high school, which can lead to college placement, is all too common. In our work as educational counselors, we try to help families frame the question differently.

We encourage families to think of the time between ninth and eleventh grades of high school as a journey that prepares the student for the eventual process of applying to college or for a job after senior year. Navigating the way through high school should be a thoughtful plan that is mindful of, but not fixated on, the ultimate destination, focusing instead on the steps along the way. Anyone who has been a member of AAA is familiar with the trademark Triptik®, a tool that breaks down a long journey into smaller segments. The driver using a Triptik® is alerted to detours, road conditions, highway speed traps, and other variables along the way, as she turns each page outlining a particular segment of the trip, mile by mile. The driver using the Triptik® knows that the ultimate destination is Cambridge but focuses on each milestone along the way, including tourist attractions and comfortable rest stops.

For the student in grades nine and ten, whether in day school or boarding school, the cornerstones are course selection, skill building, standardized testing, and the development of nonacademic interests and commitments. However, to continue the driving metaphor, the beginning high school student has only a learner's permit, not a full-fledged license. He/she cannot yet drive solo. Most of us can well remember how difficult it was for us to learn to drive with a parent in the passenger seat, exercising his or her critical judgment as we negotiated sharp turns and learned to shift gears. This is the time when communication and collaboration are paramount to the ultimate success of the process of getting ready to think about the college application process. Most ninth and tenth graders are not ready or willing to talk about applying to college, be it Harvard or the University of Michigan. So when parents jump-start the process and talk about what their children need to do to pave the way to a specific college, kids understandably become frightened and worry that they will not pass their road test. The typical ninth or tenth grader does not, and perhaps should not, have a clear destination yet. He or she should be urged to concentrate on getting the most out of high school and enjoying the ride. To do this, most students need help with problem-solving skills. It is the time when a driving instructor other than the parent can be so useful—a prized teacher, an educational consultant, a close relative, an advisor, or school counselor. Talking to ninth and tenth graders about concrete particulars such as course selection and commitment to a community service project is much more relevant and understandable—and much less threatening—to them, than talking about which college to attend or which job to seek.

There will always be obstacles in one's path and detours that call for a change of plans.

Understanding physics may prove impossible, and your best friend may be elected captain of the varsity lacrosse team instead of you. Thoughtful planning can help you to consider an alternate route that may, in fact, prove an advantage. For instance, deprived of the opportunity to be newspaper editor, one may explore a totally unfamiliar area and excel in it, becoming an outstanding debater.

We believe that getting the most out of high school includes self-discovery and self-realization. There are, indeed, road signs along the way. Students need to maximize the resources of high school as well as their own. For instance, they should follow a sequence of courses to the highest level at which they can do well, such as three lab sciences, or three years of foreign language. They should take risks and stretch their capabilities, for instance by trying out for a play or joining the debate team or writing for the school newspaper. It is important for one's own sense of self to develop an interest and take it to the top: try for a leadership role or an editorship or a captaincy. Then, when students actually begin the college exploration process midway through...