So, I am an IT major and have I got my grades back in which I got a C- in a Java Programming class and I now have to retake it. When I first transferred to the university I failed two classes and then switched to IT and started doing a lot better, even made the Deans List one semester.
This programming course is one of the most difficult in the major with the type of professors and the way the course is organized and many people have to retake it - not using this as an excuse but I feel like my dad won’t understand this.
I have a lot of difficulty in asking for help and I know I should have gone to my parents when I felt like I was struggling, but I felt like I could pull my grade up.
This time around I have really learned my lesson and I know I can do much better. I’m going to be more organized, form study groups and most importantly ask my dad to help me in the content before classes start and be more open. I just don’t know the best way to tell him all this so that he isn’t extremely angry. This really is my wake up call, I’m already a year behind and I cannot make any more mistakes. Please help!
C- is usually the minimum passing grade to move on – does your major require you to earn a higher grade?
Well,it sounds like you have to tell him. I don’t see a way around it.
The class is a pre requisite so I need to retake it to get a C or higher
I think you tell him the truth, take responsibility, and at the same time present your plan to improve the grade next semester
I think you need some more introspection as to why you got a C-. Not the professors, or how the class is organized. Obviously some students managed to survive those things. Why did YOU get the grade you did? Right now, your plans for improvement are not impressing me much, so maybe they will not impress your dad either.
“Hey dad, I need to take Java Programing again.” Then take the conversation from there. Good luck.
@ sylvan8798 I feel like the biggest problem is that I didn’t practice as much as I should have, What else do you think I should do besides the ones I mentioned and practicing more?
Only you know your father, so it is very difficult for anyone else to try to help you with a plan of action. I infer that he will not be happy, so including ideas for what to do better next time is obviously good. I am concerned about your worry that he will be “extremely angry” and I hope that this does not include a fear of physical violence. If it does, please PM me for resources. If it does not, you have received good advice above.
What types of assignments did you have? Give some idea about what this course was made up of.
You have a right to privacy. Your dad can only know your grades (and the courses you are taking or retaking) if you agree to show them. That said, he can refuse to pay or otherwise force you to tell him. Many parents do require that they see grades (and planned courses) because they hold the purse strings but legally, they have no absolute right to see them. So the answer depends on your relationship.
I am concerned that you feel that you should have asked your parent for help, rather than a professor, teaching assistant or tutor on campus. I am also concerned that your plans for improvement include working more with your Dad. Why is your father so involved in your academic life?
It is important to learn how to make connections on campus for yourself in order to succeed. Relying on a parent for help is a model for a younger age and academic status.
Do you live at home? Maybe that would explain it…
Compmom, the student is a year behind schedule. If the father is already paying for five years instead of four, it is natural to be concerned that a sixth year might be needed and to monitor the grades.
Snow12globe, as a parent, I can tell you that I strongly dislike hearing that a bad grade was due to a bad professor or that “so many people failed”. Of course I went to college and know that bad professors exist and that some really good professors give really hard exams. But there are always students who manage to get good grades in those same classes, it is just harder. The issue at hand is how you are going to move from the group that didn’t do well in this class to the group that did. You have to make sure you have a solid plan from day one because the class is not getting any easier. Your father likely won’t be satisfied with statements like “I’ll be more organized this semester” because that is a wishful thinking, not a planned activity. Does the school have tutoring services? Do you know anyone who got an A and would be willing to help? Something like “I signed up for tutoring 2 x week and made an arrangement with my friend Y to go over my projects/assignments to make sure I am taking the right approach and help me spot coding errors” would be examples of specific planned actions. Depending on the professor, emailing him/her your questions or just to confirm your understanding of a topic might also help.
Have you met with an academic advisor at your school? Bluntly, java programming is not that hard and is important to IT work, so if you are really struggling with it you may need to reassess this major.
Thanks everyone for the answers.
My dad is paying so I definitely need to tell him and by retaking this class I won’t be an extra year behind, I can still graduate when i will by just taking a summer class. I really don’t want to ask my dad for help but that’s the issue that they have that I don’t go to him for help even though he is in the field. I will definelty be looking into the tutoring services on campus
As a professor I find that getting “help” from someone “in the field” like a parent can be problematic. You haven’t said what sorts of assignments you had in the course?
We had programming assignments. One week we had to do a UML diagram for a question and the next week we would actually code the question. The assignments were long and only worth 10% so each assignment was like 1% and didn’t make or break the grade and the assignmets were definitely harder than they were worth. The quizzes were 15% and there were 2 of them. The midterm was worth 25% and the final was worth 35%
My general advice on conveying bad news of this sort is to tell your dad that you need to come home and tell him something very important–that you think it’s too important to discuss over the phone (if this is possible, of course). While your news isn’t great, what he will imagine you are going to tell him will be so much worse that he will be relieved to discover it is only a C- in one course.
Ok, great. You need to rethink how you are prioritizing this. Give everything your full effort regardless of what percentage of the grade it constitutes. I don’t advise getting help from your Dad on assignments because that sometimes undermines what the professor is trying to achieve, but you know him and I don’t so you have to judge.
Look through your work from this past semester and try to evaluate where you are having the most trouble - is it the diagrams, or the coding itself? I never took Java, but I had to take a programming language in college and I often helped other students with theirs. One thing I find is that students often try to skip important “thought” steps and just grab something and try to run with it. Fight that urge and get your entire code on paper before you try to run anything. Be the machine and step through to debug it. Don’t take any shortcuts. Your goal should be to have it so correct that it runs the first time you try it. Your professor’s goal is for you to understand the full range of what each command, each symbol can and cannot do, and how to use them to get exactly what you want.
Tell dad you blame it on genetics.
I suspect this is the case. The way you burn programming concepts into your brain, or how to program in a new language, is to sit in front of a computer and hack away. The more frustrating it is, the more you seem to learn. There’s no escaping it.
It’s the same way you learn math - you have spend a lot of time working through problems.
I was a bit shocked to read you’re using UML, which does make me wonder about your professor. I thought that died out 15 years ago,
I wouldn’t do the “I need to come home and tell you something important.” As a parent I would be worrying about things much more than a C- till they got home. Pull the bandaid fast - “Dad, I didn’t do as well as I wanted in Java, got a C- and have to retake it.” Done.