Reply to Rising 7th grader picking her own electives?

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[quote=Anonymous]This is a choice that needs input and discussion from you parents. Yes, she should get a huge say, but not absolute power to choose solo. Why? Because certainly by eighth grade, her elective choices one year ( or one semester) can have an effect on whether, for instance, she can take other courses the next year--by high school, some levels of electives require prerequisite earlier levels, for instance) and on her overall schedule options. She may not be thinking about things like that now but after next year, courses do need to be plotted out with an eye on all of HS ahead. Even electives. You are there to ask questions a sixth (or seventh or eighth) grader just doesn't have the experience to know to ask.

I also agree with PP who said the language switch does need attention. Now is a good time to change if she dislikes Spanish or has serious trouble with it, but she should have talked with you and been asked to reason out loud about her desire to change. She might have heard from other kids that French is easier and she's changing just based on that--or she might have some real reason to want a change. You should find out what her thinking is; it might be OK or might be based on nothing. I will add that sticking with a language year after year if you really dislike it is a recipe for failure, and middle school is a good place to try new ones out; but it really does need discussion.

More importantly, OP, from now on you should be aware of things like the general time frame for class choices for the upcoming school year. It will fall around the same time each year. You should know when to mention, "It's almost time for class choices for next year--bring the paperwork to me the day you get it and we'll look at it together." Many schools start the process in January; ask her counselor at the start of next year how it's done. I'm surprised the you did not have to sign off on a form.

It's good that she wanted to take charge of her own schooling like this (unless maybe she did it out of some worry that dad would be angry about Spanish, so she made it a done deal without him?....). I'd tell her that while it's good she was proactive, you as parents are there to help her navigate this, and you also can help her better if there are no surprises that weren't discussed.[/quote]

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