Comments on: Choices, Chances and Life’s Big Lottery

By: Janine

Janine — Thu, 01 Aug 2013 04:22:28 +0000

In reply to Chrystina. I love you tried to explain it to your mum on a whiteboard! I so hope I'm still around to read your blog when you have kids of your own!! The choices have been made now and Hippie Child is a little less stressed than she has been for the past few weeks. Fingers crossed she's chosen well.

By: Chrystina

Chrystina — Tue, 30 Jul 2013 17:36:42 +0000

I would have LOVED for my parents to be a sounding board for me. I once took my mom to the basement where there’s a white board and tried to map out all of the classes that I wanted to take for my high school career, she looked COMPLETELY dazed. I think that was the first and last time I tried to ask for help on anything. That being said however, I think if my parents started talking to me about things without me prompting, it would have made me incredibly stressed out. I’d say let her come to you if she wants to discuss anything, but maybe that’s naive of me since I’m a list-making needs-to-be-in-control kind of individual.

By: Lisa Wood

Lisa Wood — Mon, 29 Jul 2013 03:35:24 +0000

Its funny how we look back on our decision and wonder if we made the right ones…your daughter will do fine, its only high school – there is sooo much to life out there waiting for her, and whatever choices she makes at this moment in time doesn’t have to mean its that decision for life. I did my year 12 many years ago but had no idea what I wanted to do afterwards, and have raised our boys with the idea of chasing dreams. We have had two boys finish highschool, and one who is currently in year 9. We homeschool the other two – its funny but I don’t think subject choices are that big a deal, its more about finding who they are and following their passions that will help them be happy/successful in life 🙂
all the best for her future. xx

By: Janine

Janine — Sun, 28 Jul 2013 22:00:58 +0000

In reply to Cassandra. I love likening it to "walking a tightrope over a lion taming circus, complete with flaming hoops!" So true.

By: Janine

Janine — Sun, 28 Jul 2013 21:58:23 +0000

In reply to E.. Changing schools makes it even tougher I reckon. But as my teacher friends tell me, focus on choosing subjects they are good at and enjoy and it should all fall together! Fingers crossed. Good luck with Boy Child next year when you have to do the subject choices!

By: E.

E. — Sun, 28 Jul 2013 09:51:53 +0000

Boy Child is only in Year 9 and I’m already worried about Years 11 and 12. We have to change schools here so I wanted to start looking around this year but we didn’t manage it. Boy Child knows what he wants to do but we are concerned that he may not get into to that. Thankfully he does have two ideas of fall back careers but I’m still worried about choosing the best school for what he wants to do. Let alone worrying about subjects. I hope things work out for you and Hippy Child.

By: Cassandra

Cassandra — Sun, 28 Jul 2013 06:25:09 +0000

Oh, I feel your pain!! I have one son in year 10 and one in year 8, and the gentle “guidance” without actually trying to live their life from them is like walking a tightrope over a lion taming circus, complete with flaming hoops! Unfortunately teachers who only have my boys for a couple of hours a week have been putting pressure on them as to what they think they should be doing, which doesn’t always hold up in the real world. DS1, who is 16, actually stood up and questioned a visiting Uni lecturer touting for business as to how much a degree will cost him and what the employment forecasts for that industry were. She couldn’t even give him an answer which was rather telling.
But really, as you experienced, there are so many paths we head down, who knows where they will really end up and how they got there!

By: Janine

Janine — Thu, 25 Jul 2013 07:29:09 +0000

In reply to Jo @ Countrylifeexperiment. Thank you Jo.

By: Jo @ Countrylifeexperiment

Jo @ Countrylifeexperiment — Thu, 25 Jul 2013 06:29:02 +0000

My advice as a high school teacher, is to just let her pick what she loves, what she is good at, or what she needs to get into uni. She really only needs a high level of maths if she is planning a science, maths, engineering, or economics type career. Also most schools will allow kids a period of grace at the beginning of next year, if she finds that one course is not to her liking. Kids who enjoy what they are studying always do better than those who don’t. Relax. Even if she makes a bad choice, there are always other options down the track. Email me if you want to know anything specific!

By: Janine

Janine — Thu, 25 Jul 2013 02:28:21 +0000

In reply to Lauren. It's so HARD. What if she makes the wrong subject choice, then again what if I lead her to a subject choice that turns out to be a disaster. Oh god I need a lie down!!!!!