At the heart of the Ready Set Middle School philosophy is empowerment– helping kids begin to find their way to the driver’s seat of their education. When kids feel empowered and in charge, they often feel more motivated and less stressed than they do when they are stuck responding to (or resisting) adult pressure. Parents are freed to take a supportive role rather than a directive one, which can ease the ongoing power struggle. Sounds good, right? But let’s face it: as parents, we can’t lecture or nag our kids into the driver’s seat. When it comes to building independence, sometimes the best messenger is not a parent. In a Ready Set Middle School workshop, we help rising middle schoolers find intrinsic motivation and develop independent skills for success.