<p>Lilmom,</p>
<p>Because your son is bright, he probably suffers from the same thing that my son has. Fear of failure. He might want to join the newspaper, but he won’t because he worries that while he has the talent, he may worry that he won’t be as good as the other students. My son, who does not appear to be shy but is, can be like this. Sometimes, I have had to put him in uncomfortable positions, and yes, we had huge fights, but in the end, he is glad that I put him there.</p>
<p>One particular club allowed him to build a tight friendship with a young lady who is a couple of years old and offers him great insight to many things. My son originally was not going to take a job locally at a fast food place, but I told him he needed insurance money – I wasn’t going to pick up the entire tab. At least he was not thrilled with working. Now, he enjoys the money – paid for prom himself and even has taken an interest in investing that money in CDs (yes, the economy is not great but at least he saves.)</p>
<p>Encourage your son to “just try it” when it comes to the newspaper. If school has not ended where you are, have him observe a few classes. Maybe the teacher will ask his opinion on some things – kids love that when they can be the boss. My son was going to do very little in HS – now, it’s as if he runs the place. He went being no one to sharing the student council presidency in one year. He will be president of another club next year. </p>
<p>Would I let my son back out if he does not like something? Of course. But we still need to encourage our kids to try new things. Some work. Some don’t. But we never know until they try.</p>