Can my son start over??

Pre-College Issues Home Schooling and College
1

<p>It was suggested that I move this question from another thread to this one. Any advice would be appreciated!</p>

<p>My son just finished his freshman year at a very selective private college-prep school where he has been since he was in kindergarten. He has been an honor student in years past, etc. This year he did terribly - mostly due to not turning in assignments, etc. His lack of academic interest led him to not be able to play sports (school sports) and we did not let him continue with his passion - dance. We thought letting him continue with these things would send the wrong message about academics. Anyway, long story short is that he is simply miserable thinking about going back to this school. His ADHD reared it's ugly head in a big sort of way this year and he said he could not focus, was bored with the almost 2 hour/class block class schedule, and tired of spending late nights doing homework that he felt was redundant or busy work.</p>

<p>His dad and I are considering homeschool. Just telling him that he can do all the extracurriculars he wants to and that school is now in his hands! He wants to compete in a dance competition next summer in Italy and we would let him know this trip will only happen if his school work goes well this year.</p>

<p>The real question here is about his transcript for college. His grades this year were less than stellar ... especially Algebra and Biology .... he really had problems with those teachers in particular and said they bored him out of his mind. </p>

<p>What are the chances he can "start over" and just re-do his freshman year courses and just build a new transcript from scratch and simply do away with the first year at the private school? I don't want any college to get that transcript! </p>

<p>Is this possible? I'm in grad school myself (MS in Clinical Psych) and will be in the library most of the day, when not in class, working on my thesis and studying myself. I figure he can just come with me to the University library and work while I'm working! The afternoon will be for dance classes and preparing to try out for our Men's National Volleyball team. He is on the cusp of getting his Eagle Scout Badge as well....</p>

<p>My son is an extraordinary young man who can't stand his school right now. I want him to enjoy learning again and to have a decent transcript for college. This year was simply a disaster and I really want to help him recover from it and put it behind him.</p>

<p>I'm open to any and all suggestions. Just sign me .... worried mom!</p>

2

<p>I see no reason you couldn’t start over since it was 9th grade he did poorly in. Colleges generally want to see the last 4 (sometimes 3) years.</p>

<p>Was he truly bored with Alg (understood it easily, but the class moved too slowly)? I’d have him take a math placement test to know for certain. Alg is a foundational class. If he understands that well, move on. Don’t repeat it just due to a poor grade or he’ll be bored again. Has he already done Geometry? (I’m assuming the Alg was Alg 2 since most upper level students have Alg 1 in 8th grade or earlier.)</p>

<p>Otherwise, you know he’s not doing well in a brick and mortar school. It’s definitely worth trying something different. Make sure you cover the 4 biggies (math, science, history, English). Add a language. Then let him tailor his electives and delve into his passions. If he truly was bored due to knowing the material, he could move quickly when he’s at his own pace. If he was bored due to getting lost and being unable to catch up, then he can slow down and progress at his own pace. That’s one real pro with homeschooling.</p>

3

<p>I can definitely understand where you are coming from. 2 hour classes should not happen with freshmen! Especially in math. I think your son probably needs to be taught in a specific manner, so that he can enjoy it.</p>

<p>Quickly buy Life of Fred Algebra. I have a feeling your son will love it and do well with it. My brother gets bored with subjects that are taught in a boring fashion. Then he doesn’t do well and yada yada. Give him something interesting, and he excels. Life of Fred is math in a story/novel format. It’s very clever and though it seems like much less work than a giant textbook, he’ll know the material much better. It’s a great course.</p>

<p>You can redo 9th grade. I would suggest it. Creekland has covered most of the points with homeschooling, so i won’t reiterate. But get Life of Fred math and get him to try it out asap. I’m doing Linear Algebra life of fred math for fun before I go to Stanford… (well, it’s more to prepare me than for fun :stuck_out_tongue: ).</p>

4

<p>First, I wonder - here on CC people stress about “crummy” grades of a B to go along with four As. Was your child’s year really crummy (mostly Cs and Ds) or was it just an adjustment (As and a few Bs)? I hate to ask, but I’ve seen stories…</p>

<p>If he’s really bored because he’s ahead of the curve, I’d recommend community college classes DUAL ENROLLED with homeschooling.</p>

<p>As far as the math assessment Creekland suggested, I agree and highly recommend Aleks.com. They’ll provide a free assessment (online) and it’s a complete (though dry) program and also fairly inexpensive.</p>

<p>– remainder is just details on Aleks.com - ignore if you want! :)</p>

<p>My very math-gifted, math-inclined, math-loving son used Aleks for essentially all of his high school math as a homeschooler. Aleks is a superb, beautifully implemented, fantastic example of an… automated workbook. It lacks beauty and joy of math, but is fantastic at what it does:

  • explains how to do each topic,
  • keeps track of what the student knows and doesn’t know,
  • doesn’t teach what the student already knows,
  • allows the student to choose from several topics to work on,
  • is almost entirely word problems, so there’s no multiple choice guessing and the problems are somewhat in context, and
  • has occasional assessments to make sure the student retains the information.</p>

<p>Apparently many schools use Aleks as their math-teaching method, and as their incoming student assessment method, but I’m not sure about this. It is inexpensive - $20 / month with no contract - and offers a free trial (only a few hours).</p>

<p>The assessments of knowledge are the heart of this wonderful system. It determines what the student a) knows, b) is ready to learn, and c) isn’t ready to learn yet. If it determines that you know something, it doesn’t make you repeat the topic, but only teaches what you don’t know. It gives the student the choice of several topics that can be learned at any moment, yet keeps track of the entire body of knowledge. </p>

<p>This is not a program that grants credit, but a product for working independently that is more dynamic and interactive than working your way through a printed textbook. It will make lovely printable copies of assessments for your records.</p>

5

<p>Thanks, everyone. I’m taking it all in!
Geekmon: Yes … a real disaster. C’s and D’s. Not the way you want your kid to start off their transcript! </p>

<p>He was bored in Algrebra and Biology because he thought the teachers themselves were very boring …and the block scheduling. </p>

<p>This kid gets bored very easily though … mostly due to ADHD I think. </p>

<p>This summer he had to take a 9 hour flight so after about three hours of sitting, watching the movies, etc, he went back to the galley and talked the flight attendants into letting him “work” the flight. When we woke up from our naps, he had on a Continental Airlines apron and was serving water and picking up trash. He “worked” for the next 5 hours til time to land in New York! ADHD can be a curse, but also a gift in my opinion! He met many great people and the flight attendants all wanted to buy him a beer. He’s 15.</p>

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<p>That is so cool!!!</p>