1. Course selection is the foundation of a lot of our work here at IHS

2. Course selection is connected to our Mission Statement in many ways:
Ideally, the courses you select prepare you and are in line with your post high school plans (where you go when you leave the nest)
Course selection is a great time to practice lifelong skills

3. In order to give you more opportunities to learn and “adult” we’ve been doing some research

4. We’d like to share some of the highlights and have you discuss with your neighbors:
“the ability to attend to a task and stick to long-term goals is the greatest predictor of success, greater than academic achievement, extracurricular involvement, test scores, and IQ.”(Lahey)

5. “If [we] back off the pressure and anxiety over grades and achievement and focus on the bigger picture—a love of learning and independent inquiry— grades will improve and test scores will go up.” (Lahey)

6. “In order to help children make the most of their education, parents must begin to relinquish control and focus on three goals: embracing opportunities to fail, finding ways to learn from that failure, and creating positive home-school relationships.” (Lahey)

7. “Our intentions are sound—more than sound: We love our kids fiercely and want only the very best for them. Yet, having succumbed to a combination of safety fears, a college admissions arms race, and perhaps our own needy ego, our sense of what is “best” for our kids is completely out of whack.” (Lythcott-Haims)

8. “A sense of purpose is essential for achieving happiness and satisfaction in life… What is shaping the way we dream? Yes we dream of our selves, of what we will become, but it's the environment that tells us what is possible. I don't think our dreams are limitless; they are bounded by the society we live in and its conception of what is respectable and good.” (Lythcott-Haims)

9. Final thoughts:
Course selection is a great time to practice being in charge and thinking about what you want!
Refer to our problem solving guide: net.edu/high/ihs/parents/m/ ihs-parent-forms/293313