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“НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”, ЛИПЕНЬ - СЕРПЕНЬ 201 3 WWW. UNWLA.ORG 25 Helping Your High Schooler Choose the Right Courses by Irene Sawchyn , Ph.D. Today a high school’s program of studies can include a wide variety of courses, from Calc u- lus to Videography to Robotics. In selecting courses students may have comp eting goals — a high GPA, strong college applications with honors an d AP courses, or preparation for college or c a- reer. What should a student know about choosing her courses? How much should parents be i n- volved? This article offers some background i n- formation that may be useful to parent s with middle - and high - school chil dren. I also asked several young adults to reflect on what they learned in high school that is useful to them now , as they start their careers . Their surprising a n- swers are at the end of the article. Have a Plan! A student should have a four - year plan that ou t- lines her academic program in HS, and yes, pa r- ents should definitely help their child develop and update this plan. As freshman year starts, parents should be familiar with the HS course offerings, including which courses are required, the le v- els/t racks offered, the necessary prerequisites, and when it is possible to take electives. Parents should understand the math, science and language course sequences, the school’s policies on moving up or down levels, and the opportunities for AP courses which may begin in sophomore year. It is useful to meet with the student’s guidance counselor to a s- sess which level of courses is challenging yet still allows a student to succeed, an assessment that can include previous grades and standardized test r e- sults. Wit hout parental guidance, a student may very well end up selecting courses based on what her friends are taking or avoiding! Overall, colleges want to see that students challenged themselves academically as much as possible. If choosing between a course wh ere it is easy to get an “A,” and a possible lower “B+/B” in a more demanding course, the latter usually makes a stronger statement on college applications. Parents should also take into account the bigger picture of a child’s life: does the student need to work after school? Is the student vying for an athletic scholarship? Many of our children in active Ukrainian communities have an additional array of activities: Saturday school, tantsi , Plast/SUM, all which require significant co m- mitments. I personall y always encourage students to prioritize academics first and foremost. To me as a teacher, it was heartbreaking when struggling students could not come for extra help because of over - scheduling with extra - curricular activities. Honors vs. College Prep ( CP) Courses Most students know that honors classes “move faster” than CP classes, but what does that really mean? Typically honors teachers will cover more material by doing less repetition and practice for each new concept. Students are expected to be mor e independent, motivated, and able to pr o- duce more “outcomes” (writings, problems, rea d- ings) in a reasonable amount of time. In human i- ties courses, honors students should be able to write on a more complex level, making more “connections” between concepts. CP teachers o f- ten spend more time when introducing new co n- cepts, and provide more opportunity for rei n- forcement to reach understanding and retention. It is easier to move from CP to honors in subjects that are not in direct sequence, such as History or English. It is harder to do so in highly - sequenced math and language courses, since the previous CP class may not have had the same co n- tent. Some schools discourage such moves unless a student does supplemental work such as a “pr e- view” summer course. Is a n honors course worth the extra work and possible risk of a lower grade? There is no single response, but in my experience the answer is usually yes. Students benefit from the intelle c- tual challenge, discipline and training of a more demanding work ethic. Capable students should be encouraged to continue on the honors track. Borderline students can show more growth, even if it means that they must dedicate more time to the required work. Math It is not well known by many parents that a st u- dent’s math program in high school is likely d e- termined by her math performance in 7th grade, and whether she will be placed in Algebra 1 in 8th grade. Why is Algebra 1 in 8th grade important? In most schools the sequence from Algebra 1 to calculus in senior year is 5 years. Taking Algebra 1 in 9th grade precludes the opportunity to take calculus in senior year, unless a student takes two math courses in one school year (not always po s- sible) or completes an accelerated summer course (a difficult option).
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