<p>My junior daughter is an average student and has never taken an honors class or AP class. She gets some As, plenty of Bs and some Cs, but has never received a D. She's a wonderful kind child, but does not have many friends. She feels awkward in many social situations, but thankfully has developed friendships with a few quirky kids, who we love. She's very shy and sadly, does not have a lot of confidence. I am constantly looking for things that she is good at and and skills that can provide her with some positive self esteem. She is a good folk dancer (and is on a team), but cannot dance traditionally at all. She spends a lot of time on the computer, and loves to do things like edit pictures and work on her My Space. Her edited pictures are very creative and well done. She's taken art and web page design, and did not excell at either and was often frustrated by both. She loves children and I had thought that maybe she could be a teacher of young children. Now I'm wondering if there is some sort of a career in computer graphics that does not require an ability in art? I'd like her to go to a four year college (we live in NW PA), simply as a transition, if nothing else. She plans to stay near home, because we believe she will need the support. She has been diagnosed with an unspecified learning disorder and currently takes meds which have helped her focus substantially, but have not really changed anything else. Any ideas for a career? College major? Sorry for the long post, but I feel lost.</p>
<p>Maybe she should enter college with an 'undeclared' major, take some courses in subjects she thinks she might have some interest in, and see where that takes her. If she does this she might want to choose a college with a wide range of majors to end up choosing from.</p>
<p>How about Duquesne in Pittsburgh? They have a great School of Education, a major in digital media arts and the well-known Tamburitzens folk dance group (which travels and gives scholarships, btw.) They have about 10,000 students and seem have a fairly supportive environment.
Duquesne</a> University | Tamburitzans</p>
<p>LaurenTheMom,
I don't know the geography that well, but would you consider looking into one of the NY State Colleges which is located in western NY, SUNY Fredonia? I'm guessing it's not too far from you. Out of state tuition is really reasonable, and we have a friend whose daughter is a recent graduate. She was some sort of graphic arts major and sounds like she was a student similar to your daughter. Here is a link to their visual arts and new media department. Visual</a> Arts and New Media (VANM) Home Page, SUNY Fredonia</p>
<p>A field that isn't going to go away: computer classes for children. Title I schools often hire a teacher just for this purpose (other schools like the one I work at have progressive PTOs which help pay for the teacher). Kids just learn the basics - word, powerpoint, excel, researching on the internet. Many of the teaching aids are also digital programs so they get outside practice at mouse control as well.. There are frustrating times (kindergartners who don't know their letters and can't possibly find them on a keyboard) but many more rewards (hyperlinks turn blue!) and for the most part the kids are just great. Plus you teach them in a class they want to come to so behavior is seldom an issue. You might check it out.</p>
<p>Thank you for great ideas. As much as she loves being on her computer, I don't know if that will translate into a career. She does not have a portfolio, nor the artistic creativity to create one. Her "eye" has always been through digital means - she can't draw or paint at all. She does take nice photographs, but I'm not sure if they qualify as art. What kind of portfolio would be needed for a digital media or graphic arts major? I like the idea about teaching young children how to work the computer, but I also worry that her lack of "energy" might make it difficult to interest or engage children. I just want to help her go in a direction where she can be happy and independent.</p>
<p>Does your high school offer vocational training (such as BOCES here in NY)? Perhaps she could try this during her senior year. You might also try to find a very good Pre-College program for this summer. The experience of being/living away from home for 6 weeks or so during the summer may help to build her confidence. It will give her the opportunity to gain independence in a supervised atmosphere, learn social skills, take a couple of fun classes without the stress of grades, and it will give you and her a feel for whether or not she is capable of succeeding in a college setting.</p>
<p>Librarian/library science.</p>
<p>I suggest that you encourage her to enter undeclared and to spend her first year or two trying out ECs and classes that interest her. Remind her that she needn't have previous experience with an EC or subject to try it. If it ends up that she doesn't like the EC or academic area, she will have succeeded in narrowing her options about things to consider.</p>
<p>Do remind her that with any field, the more she will practice it, the better she'll be at it. She shouldn't expect to try something new and immediately excel in it especially if other students may have had more experience with that EC or field. Still, college is perhaps the best time in one's life to try new things because there is plenty of support, and most professors and EC advisors expect that students will have a lot to learn. </p>
<p>It is hard for me to imagine that your daughter is able to do good graphics without having some art talent. It may be that she has never taken art classes that taught her some of the principles of art. </p>
<p>The art classes I had in middle and elementary school taught very little. The students who excelled had parents who were teaching them the art principles. I always thought that I lacked art talent until I noticed the art classes that my son took in high school. The teacher had various assignments that taught the students principles like color, form, etc. I didn't learn those things until a couple of years ago, I took a photography class by a gifted instructor. Then I learned that I also have some art talent.</p>
<p>Also, get your D involved in some community service activities that are related to things she likes to do. Perhaps, for instance, she could volunteer at an art museum. They usually need volunteers to help with tours, greeting people, and to help in their stores. That would be a great way for your D to improve her social skills while also meeting other people who share her interests.</p>
<p>NSM is absolutely right re the community service. It connects your kid to other kind kids who work together for a purpose larger than themselves. Few thing boost self-esteem more than helping others.</p>
<p>As far as college choice there are many schools who are drawn to the student with a 3. anything. Maybe start with the college search. My girls used petersons.com as a college search tool and from there came up with the majority of the schools that made it to their lists. Don't limit the search too much at the outset as it creates fewer results.</p>
<p>Once she has even a rudimentary list of schools that look interesting she may be able to explore the campuses further and something may just spark her interest. I want to assure you that many, if not most, hs students have only a vague sort of idea of their future career plans . Many dabble for a year or two or even three so if you D can create a list of interesting schools that each offer her something cool she should be just fine. </p>
<p>One of my daughters wants lots of learn by doing stuff and a good outdoor rec program. so that is what she looked for. Your D's college search doesn't need to be based on carreer choice in fact I would argue that with so many kids changing their minds about their majors as they go through school that it really shouldn't be a primary focus. Your D sounds like she would profit from a close knit residential collge where she will have help developing friendships and the opportunity to be creative. If you make that your focus the rest will likely follow. Good Luck</p>
<p>I'm hoping her gpa is a 3.something. Right now it's a 2.something. She's doing somewhat better junior year, which should help. My daughter is someone who seems to need a direction, just so she feels that she is building on something. My fear is if she has NO idea in mind as to a potential major/career that she will be unable to focus. I'd like her to go in with a vague idea, with the freedom to change - but perhaps being undeclared will put less pressure on her. She took one art class and simply had no ability to draw or paint - it might be interesting to see how she does in an art fundamentals class that does not require drawing and painting. We do not live near an art museum, although it is a great idea for volunteering - which I think is a great idea. I'm encouraging her to get a job (she had a summer job) because I think it will help with her social skills. We just had to get through midterms....</p>
<p>Thanks for the suggestions. Each child is so different, it's great to hear about options that I had not thought of!</p>
<p>I agree with you that a job can help greatly with social skills.</p>
<p>Having a job as store clerk helped me with my shyness when I was a teen. Having a one-month job as a library helper helped S with his shyness. Just having to handle the interview was a growth experience for him. He was so shy back then that he was afraid that if he got the job, he'd have to answer the library phone: What particularly concerned him was knowing what to do if the person asked a question that he couldn't answer.</p>
<p>On the job, he learned to answer the phone with comfort. Now, his part time college job is answering people's questions about their computer problems, a job that he enjoys.</p>
<p>maybe she is a good candidate for a productive gap year too. I know with mine the pressure of their Sr year has been eleviated somewhat by knowing that the gap year is one of their options. Neither is exploring it at this point but to know that they had an additional year to sort things out made them feel better about the process.</p>
<p>If she could live at home and be in Americorps, that might be a good gap year option for her. She'd learn a great deal about herself and her interests and talents, and also would get training.</p>
<p>There are college programs that have special needs programs. I would investigate that on the Internet. It's exciting that your daughter enjoys working on the computer perhaps there's a nonprofit organization like a YMCA or fund raising organization where she could volunteer her skills to help out and see what it's like to work in that field. It's clear that you're a thoughtful mother and has your daughter's best interests in mind. Best of luck.</p>
<p>High schools have computer teachers too.</p>
<p>Does she like interior design? Would she like going into film production, stage crew or anything like that? She might also prefer to run a business geared toward children- classes, clothing/ toy store, etc.</p>
<p>I also think she needs to spend some time trying out some of these careers.</p>
<p>A reasonable idea: </p>
<p>Ohio Northern University in Ada, Ohio, might be nice for her. It is not a competitive college (except for kids who are doing the medical school program). Lots of kids who are going into teaching. They have a computer graphics major but not a computer science major - that sounds better for your D than a college in which the computer graphics classes as part of a computer science department. Not hard to be admitted.</p>
<p>Some other possible ideas:
Mount Mary (women's college) in Milwaukee, WI.
Lots of kids who want to be teachers. Computer graphics major. Not too competitive.</p>
<p>Arcadia University in your home state of Pennsylvania.
Indiana Wesleyan in Marion, Indiana.
Both have:
Lots of kids who want to be teachers. Computer graphics major and lots of other artsy majors. Not competitive to be admitted.</p>
<p>I also thought of Duquesne and the Tamburitzans for a folk-dancing Pennsylvanian. Has she considered it?</p>
<p>Non-artists, I find, are often confused about what constitutes "artistic talent". There are plenty of art professionals these days who have no drawing or painting ability, or even a desire to learn. Most graphic designers, for example, don't do a lot of drawing. Of course, you have an advantage if you CAN draw, but it's not necessary. Many designers hire illustrators (the ones in school who COULD draw and paint) when they need an image. Having an eye for composition, form, color is very important though (and you can have such an eye and still not be a great draftsman, or woman). The most important skill, however, is visual creative problem solving, which involves many skills, perhaps least of which is the ability to draw. </p>
<p>How do you know if you (or your daughter) has the requisite skills? It can be hard to know without just going for it and finding out if you are engaged by the work (notice I didn't say whether you have the talent for it). It's pretty easy to tell if someone has visual intelligence though. Is she drawn to color? Does she like fashion? Making things? Decorating? Does she appreciate the aesthetic quality of things? Any of those kinds of qualities can lead to a career for someone with focus.</p>
<p>I would suggest though, that maybe you are worrying a bit too much in a way that might not be helpful to your daughter. Your worrying will only make her feel anxious (and possibly hopeless) about her future. She will probably have to try a few things before anything sticks, and if she knows you are worrying, it will be hard for her to take any chances. There aren't too many fulfilling careers that don't require taking a chance on something.</p>
<p>My daughter is hard to explain. I guess to some she would appear "backwards", but she is of average intelligence and is wonderfully kind and beautiful. She just doesnt understand or deal well with people who do not understand her. She can appear lazy, even though she may be trying as hard as she can. She can appear uninterested, even though she is. I think her early years of low muscle tone lead to that appearance. As a result, she is often judged, and it can be hard on her. Often, however she is distracted.</p>
<p>My daughter has failed, many many times. I am trying to guide her towards something where she might have success. She doesnt know that I worry, but she is a really good kid who will look into anything I suggest. If I suggest nothing, she does nothing. She's not really that motivated to do anything (maybe because of the muscle tone issue?). She has taken art classes (both as a child and in high school) and has not done well at all and it has frustrated her. She seems to have problems with fine motor skills, but then she loves to type at her computer. She's having a lot of fun "pikniking" pictures on facebook right now and spends time on her My Space. She's completely open with me about both - so I see what she's doing. She gets really involved with the musicians she's into at the moment (right now Jonas Brothers) and learns everything there is to know about them - because she's interested. I am so hopeful that we can find something that captures her interest and allows her to soar. Right now, I don't think there is a future in My Space or Facebook - so I'd like to help her try new things that might allow her to feel successful. Her world is complicated by her siblings, all of whom seem to be successful at everything they put their minds too. This daughter has always had difficulty learning and paying attention. I just want her to be happy and I feel that if I don't help her pursue new and interesting ideas, she won't have a chance. </p>
<p>I thought about technical school - but I don't think it's the place for her. Unfortunately, in our area the technical classes that are available through our high school contain a majority of students who just don't care and get into trouble. She really cares, and really wants to do well at something. She never gets in trouble and I don't think that environment would work for her. </p>
<p>We plan to send her to a summer program - we're looking for one now. I want her to go somewhere that is not athletic (that's one of the most stressful things for her since she does not do well at sports). She likes the outdoors, so that may be the route we take. </p>
<p>She is not anxious or hopeless about her future. At this point, she does not even think about it and is happy to sit on the computer. I'm scared that if something doesnt spark her interest, she may not be motivated to achieve. </p>
<p>No one ever said being a parent was easy. I just want the best for her and I realize that I have to work a little harder to help her find success. </p>
<p>Lots of good ideas to look into. Thank you. She can't clean her room without tremendous effort - so I don't think interior design would work. My daughter is a dreamer who loves the Jonas Brothers and puppies, even though she's almost 17. Her intelligence is average, but her personality is immature and shy. I am just hoping that she will hear about something (other than the Jonas Brothers) and get excited.</p>