Need during-HS gap year ideas for bright, failing son

<p>external credentials such as AP scores, [the AP tests are 3 hours long and hard], and high scoring SAT subject scores WILL show that he has mastered the material. In addition ,a transcript from a fully accredited reputable online HS such as EPGY, which is well known for it’s rigor, is all the “proof” he needs . Extremely well written essays that both explain his earlier problems as well as prove that he has learned from his experience with failure and moved on will also be important. Letters of recommendation from any outside professors or mentors who have worked with him extensively can also be extremely valuable. These steps can help him show that he is a serious, smart student who loves to learn, and just needed the right 'environment".</p>

<p>I’d like to add a few suggestions to programs you might want to consider for your son. Two of my three sons sound exactly like yours (High IQ with other challenges) and I have become very familiar with non-traditional paths to education including home schooling options and programs that focused on experiential learning. These may or may not be a fit for your child but I have known kids that have been highly successful at all of these places and have gone on to do amazing things in college and life.</p>

<p>The North American Wilderness Academy ([California</a> Boarding School - NAWA - Accredited Adventure Education](<a href=“http://www.nawaacademy.org%5DCalifornia”>http://www.nawaacademy.org)) has a campus in California as well as a program that travels around the world through high school. Some great folks run it and they are a great fit for the very bright, non-traditional learner. </p>

<p>Another travel-based program is called Carpe Diem ([Carpe</a> Diem Study Abroad Programs with College Credit | Gap Year Trips | Student Volunteering Abroad](<a href=“http://www.carpediemeducation.org%5DCarpe”>http://www.carpediemeducation.org)). They work with high school and college students as well as offer gap year experiences while earning college credit and doing volunteer work throughout the world. </p>

<p>Shimer College is another non-traditional college program located near Chicago focused on The Great Books. (It used to be affiliated with University of Chicago) They accept students after 10th or 11th grade as well as mid-year. They now share a campus with Illinois Institute of Technology so students can also take classes there. I actually went here after my junior year in high school and then transferred to Georgetown to finish my undergraduate degree. I’m still in touch with many of my former classmates who continue to do be some of the brightest most successful folks I’ve ever met. </p>

<p>Finally, this is a bit of a stretch, but if your son has any interest in kayaking the New River Academy (<a href=“http://www.newriveracademy.org%5B/url%5D”>www.newriveracademy.org</a>) is filled with very bright kids who take AP/Honors classes while traveling the world and kayaking. </p>

<p>Some of the travel-based programs are intriguing because you can go for just a semester or finish your whole degree there.</p>

<p>Good luck to you and your son. There are truly so many options for those willing think beyond traditional approaches.</p>

<p>I’m wondering about the social aspect of school for this kid. I know that many posters report that their children love their junior and senior years of high school, but that’s not always true of very bright underachievers. Is this boy actually benefiting from socializing at school? </p>

<p>I was a bright underachiever. I’d stick needles in my eyes before I’d subject myself to the social environment of high school again.</p>

<p>I’m not offering any solutions, just suggesting another issue to consider.</p>

<p>One more possibility for junior and senior year of high school for a smart kid who is not happy where he or she is:
[Missouri</a> Academy of Science, Mathematics and Computing - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missouri_Academy_of_Science,_Mathematics_and_Computing]Missouri”>Northwest Missouri State University - Wikipedia)</p>

<p>I looked at MASMC (online) and talked to someone there. They require a 3.5 GPA, so I think it unlikely they would consider OP’s son (and I consider that the school’s loss). I got the impression they were kind of rigid in their thinking about kids; they are looking for a certain type of student, I think… one my kid definitely wasn’t, and I suspect the same is true of the OP’s son.</p>

<p>I agree: their loss!</p>

<p>markbright, It certainly sounds as if you made the right decision. I wish that my DS would agree to do something like that. </p>

<p>rom828, Thank you for the words of encouragement. I agree that the CC posters are a wonderfully resourceful and generous bunch!</p>

<p>menloparkmom, I can see that he could present a reasonable case to a college with admissions officers who would be willing to look carefully at what he has accomplished, rather than dumping his application in the wastebasket at the sight of the GPA!</p>

<p>endventure, Those programs look great - this thread is going to be a great resource for all parents in this situation.</p>

<p>Cardinal Fang, DS is well-liked and has friends, but he spends relatively little time with them. Some are more advanced socially than he is. He is way ahead of his agemates intellectually, but behind socially. He is very shy. </p>

<p>MidwestMom and owlice, I looked at the MASMC website and, as owlice pointed out, they are not going to consider my DS! It could have been a great place for DS if he hadn’t messed up his first two years of HS. Thank you both for the “their loss” comments - I can’t tell you what it meant to me to read them.</p>

<p>

This reminds me that nobody has mentioned another option for a 17-year-od with motivational issues–joining the military. They would probably take him, even if Americorps won’t.
Even if you don’t really want to pursue that route, mentioning it to him might help crystallize his thoughts a bit.</p>

<p>

TMHO - this is another similarity with my D - it sounds exactly like her while she was in HS. now that she is in college and surrounded by her intellectual peers, she seems to be doing much better socially.</p>

<p>From what you say, Tearing, your son is exceptionally gifted in math and science; hopelessly disorganized and/or unmotivated when it comes to doing normal schoolwork, busywork as well as non-busywork such as papers; and socially immature. I don’t want to diagnose over the net, but this constellation of symptoms screams ADHD or something similar. How has his school allowed him to slip through the cracks? Absolutely, you should see an educational psychologist and have them run a battery of tests. </p>

<p>In my view, it would be a profound mistake to send him to a place like Simon’s Rock right now. He needs challenge, but he also needs organizational support and structure. Bright slackers don’t succeed. (And I say this in the most sympathetic way. Been there, done that.) He needs something that has intermediate deadlines that he has to meet. </p>

<p>As a homeschooling parent, I’m all in favor of homeschooling, but in this case I wonder if you would be able to set up the structured, demanding environment your son needs. A year flipping burgers might do wonders for your son.</p>

<p>I hate to say to leave him in school, because it’s so obviously not working. But leaving him in school, with a tutor/coach to ride herd on him, might not be the worst option (boring, yes, but how boring is flipping burgers). A boarding school for bright kids with similar issues (ADHD, organizational issues, learning disabilities, social issues-- not that he has all of these, but that’s the kind of school to look for) would be a good choice but they cost the earth.</p>

<p>What kids like this really need is something like a year in the army without the killing part. Seriously. Not as a punishment, but just as a way to get organized and learn to meet deadlines.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>If it’s the first or both, that’s one thing; if it’s just the second, this screams “highly intelligent kid who knows busywork when he sees it!” And in that case, I think Simon’s Rock could be a great place for him. If he has thrived at CTY – and the OP has reported that he has – that also makes me think the kid needs a more challenging and stimulating environment.</p>

<p>This student is failing or nearly failing all of his classes, despite the fact that, according to the OP, he aces all the tests. That indicates to me that he is doing almost no homework whatsoever. I’m sure he is unmotivated, but in my experience a student who is doing no homework, even though it’s easy, is also disorganized; a bright organized student would put in the half hour a week it would take to do his math homework. He wants to go to a challenging college, but he is sabotaging his chances, which suggests issues beyond boredom.</p>

<p>Tearing knows her son best. If in her view, her son would rise to the challenge at Simon’s Rock, and would be able to do the routine ongoing work that college requires, then Simon’s Rock would be a good choice. I worry that he has not thus far been able to do routine ongoing work.</p>

<p>What kind of homework have they given him? Anything that isn’t busywork?
I’d think of worksheets as busywork, but projects and research papers as important.</p>

<p>That’s the thing. Worksheets are often stupid, but those grades indicate he’s not doing writing assignments. I don’t think writing assignments are stupid, even for bright students.</p>

<p>I guess the question is, then, what is he doing with his time when he should be at least attempting the homework, research papers, projects, etc? Is this something that started in high school? Did he do homework in elementary and middle school?</p>

<p>There is homework in college, too. What will the son do then when he finds writing assignments boring or easy? Just not do them? What will he say if the professor asks questions in class that he can’t answer because he didn’t do the homework?</p>

<p>Exactly, bluealien. And there’s another issue. This student is finding everything easy in high school-- at least as far as tests go. But if he goes to college, he will discover that even bright students have to study. He’s not going to learn all of his Topology material the night before the exam by skimming the textbook. He’ll need to spend hours in the Bio lab, then write up the experiments each week. He’ll have to do his reading for his History class every week or he won’t be able to participate in class discussions. Students who don’t know how to buckle down and do the work (raises hand here) flunk out, even when they’re bright.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>As do bright students who have some kind of neuropsych deficit or disability that has gone unrecognized and untreated throughout high school (raises D’s hand - she would raise it herself if she were “here”).</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>And often, those are the same people (raises hand here too). I have little doubt that the OP’s son has some sort of deficit, disability or disorder.</p>

<p>I’m too lazy to read the entire thread - sorry - but I agree with the recommendations to look at Hoagies and to consider a GED. I have no qualification to discuss disorders (and haven’t read everything anyway) but would also consider the possibliity that he just and refuses to “play the game”. Maybe “refusing to play the game” is considered a disorder. </p>

<p>Good luck, and you have my prayers.</p>

<p>CTY gives a lot of homework- and the OP’s son thrived there. But all assignments are completed in “study sessions” which are supervised, there are no TV’s or other distractions, all kids on campus have sessions at the same time so it’s not perceived as punishment- it’s just what you do from 7-9 pm until it’s time for the fun evening activity. And kids who finish the lab report or paper or other assignment earlier than their peers are given more interesting work-- not just more of the same.</p>

<p>So I don’t think this is a kid who can’t buckle down and do the work. But the supervised and controlled environment of CTY homework (which isn’t usually a regurgitation of the day’s lessons-- it’s a continuation) worked better for him than HS homework which is typically a mish mash of review, busywork, filling in bubbles, projects, open-ended deadlines, etc.</p>

<p>Just my assessment from what’s been said. I am not ready to conclude there’s a disability or disorder here. Although depression in adolescents can play havoc with a kid’s organizational/executive functioning skills.</p>