School Choices

School certainly started with a bang last week, with my son doing 11- and 12-hour days. He has had to be at school for athletics practice at 05h45 (which was rather a rude awakening, but makes sense given the hot summer days we have been experiencing). And then of course he needs to try everything out - so had tennis one day and sailing on another. Needless to say he has been coming home, eating and passing out. I have a feeling that I am not going to be seeing too much of him for the next while.

While he is starting out at high school, my daughter is at the other end of the spectrum - finishing off. so she has been doing much the same as he has, but from the perspective of helping the new ones to fit in - so there are many grade 8-12 functions happening in this family at the moment. 

New stages mean choices. My son has already had to decide between taking Afrikaans and Xhosa and also whether he would like to do Music as a subject. I don't know many 14 or 15 year olds who know what they are going to do post-matric yet they are required to choose subjects at this stage which will determine career paths at university or college and beyond at this stage. At the end of Grade 9 my daughter had to make similar choices. She loves French and History and so it seemed natural for her to continue with those subjects. It seems likely, given her interests in community work and children's rights that she could well do something in the field of international relations, human rights or politics. 


But she is not sure and we tried to help her make decisions that would keep as many options open as possible. Her teacher advised her to carry on with Physics which seems to have become the wonder subject - the one that will keep all doors open to Medicine and Health Sciences. Since she already had her two favourites, it seemed reasonable that she could do one that she did not like. However on the eve of her entry into grade 10 she decided that there was no way she was going to be spending the next three years doing a subject she hated and has settled for Biology which keeps the Science door ajar. We reasoned that if she did get to matric and decided on a career path that needed Science she would be sufficiently motivated to do a catch up.

I find that there are so many choices open to children today and there are career paths which did not exist a few years ago. It is so difficult to choose wisely at this stage unless you have a burning passion to be a doctor, a lawyer or have a flair for business or computers. I have just made an appointment for my daughter to do a careers assessment for some guidance as to the next stage in her life. 


I can only hope that at the end of the day, we have given them both the best we can and that they will use all the opportunities and privileges to have a great life, no matter what they do.