Motivating Students (and Parents) to Make Good Choices About Taking Honors Courses in High School

In high schools around the country, when scheduling for the next academic year opens, a battle of wills between parents and students also opens.  Parents know the importance of academically rigorous classes and the positive effect those classes can have on college entrance criteria.  Students know the amount of work required to be successful in AP and honors classes and how many other activities and commitments they have to balance.  By having a meaningful discussion between parent and student to address each side’s concerns, course scheduling can become a win-win for both parents and students.  While the following talking points are not exhaustive, they are a good starting point for a discussion about AP coursework.

1. Student:  I have too many other activities to take AP classes.  Unfortunately, most parents will meet this objection with the suggestion that student cut out a few activities so they have more time for the AP classes.  Parents need to remember that most colleges look at a combination of academics and activities when deciding on admissions for undergrads.  Students need to keep their participation in activities in perspective.  Being involved in every activity coming and going won’t look nearly as good on a college application as a balance of coursework and a few carefully selected activities.
2. Parent:  You need to push yourself academically in order to show colleges what you can do.  While in theory this is a good plan, it tends to be a lot tougher in application.  Colleges do like to see students who are up for an academic challenge; however, parents should remember that high school isn’t a proving ground.  Students need to be willing and able to take on challenges that are meaningful to them.  Any challenge a student commits to should be one that will stretch them, but not bury them.  Parents need to listen to their student and, more importantly, look for signs of overextension so that they can be sure their student isn’t in too deep.
3. Student:  I don’t want to mess up my grade point average.  The all-important grade point average will keep many able students from pushing themselves academically in order to keep a high GPA.  Students must realize that a ridiculously high GPA in classes that are not challenging won’t look as good to college as a solid GPA in classes that show some academic rigor.  Parents need to be very cognizant of comments they make to their student about GPA and the expectations they have set for their student.  Students who are truly willing to take the chance to stretch themselves academically need to be supported by their parents, not taken to task about a less than perfect GPA.
4. Parent:  Even with everything else going on, I’m sure you can keep up with it all and be wonderful at everything.  Nothing like putting the pressure on!  While it is important to encourage your student, there is a point where broad statements of “support” can have the exact opposite effect.  Students need to hear that their parents think they are capable and feel as if they have support if they need it.  However, if parents aren’t realistic about their expectations or students are overextended, support statements will end up sounding hollow or like one more expectation.  Students and parents need to know when enough is enough and both need to be able to recognize when the limit has been passed before it is too late to change the situation.

Motivating students to take on academic challenges is difficult, particularly if they have many responsibilities in addition to their academics.  Sometimes, both sides have to give up pieces of what they want in order to reach a workable situation.  For example, if a parent wants their student to take four honors classes but the student feels four is too many, a good compromise could be the student would take two classes with the option of adding one or two other honors classes if they can keep up with the work.  If parents and students have a meaningful discourse where both sides listen to each other and are willing to compromise, students will be more willing to rise to an academic challenge instead of shying away from it.

Kristen Thomas is an avid blogger and contributor to TheLearningExperience.com, a leading child care provider with quality daycare centers throughout the United States.