I have the wonderful and unique position of teaching Dual Credit English classes. This means that I teach college courses at a local high school. These students have passed the college placement tests and will receive college credit along with high school credit for Senior English (that's where the "dual" part comes in). Some students are amazingly ready for the course work, while others struggle right along. I don't have the luxury of office hours for them after school so I often suggest they go to the college Writing Center for extra help. Hey, it's free! I asked one particular student if she was able to get in that following weekend. She responded that her mother just told her that she got an appointment for the following weekend. That's great, I thought. Then I realized that her mom had made the call, spoke with the tutor and scheduled the time. In my opinion, especially for the college-bound student, she should have called her self. When working with another parent and student, not four-year-college bound and thinking about the prospects of an associates degree, we discussed many options and generated tons of questions for the community college counselor. As our time came to a close, Mom wanted to review and said, "OK, I just want to make sure I have it all. I need to call the school and ask about X Y and Z." At that point I stopped her and said, "Why doesn't your son make the call instead?" When students ask their own questions, they get the opportunity to generate and ask follow-up questions, and they take responsibility for furthering their education. If they feel a sense of ownership, success seems more tangible and worthy.