Hi, all! Sorry I’ve been MIA. My sister and her family were living in Ukraine for her husband’s job (they are all safe in the US now), so these weeks have been especially urgent, scary, and very sad for her (and for us).
@DeeCee36 As far as job ideas, if your D24 likes to be outside, maybe landscaping maintenance/gardening for a local park or historic site? I did that in high school and loved it. Dog walking is active . . . Or maybe working at a dog groomer—they are very short handed here since everyone got a puppy during the pandemic.
Joining in. D24 has a 3.3 GPA right now. She’s not a straight A student, usually has a mix of A’s and B’s, but she got 2 C’s last year when everything was online because of COVID. The bright side of it all is at least she’s learned that she understands the material a lot better when it’s in person instruction.
I think that sometimes, it be easy to get discouraged if students are comparing themselves all the time on CC to what appears to be an army of super star students who get perfect test scores & never even got an A-.
So I appreciate threads like this. I’ve been following a similar thread for the HS class of 2022 and it’s been very encouraging to see those students starting to get acceptance letters and even some scholarships.
Good morning! We are still debating on Spanish for next year. It will definitely bring his GPA down, but he wants to take another year. Sigh. Proud of his perseverance though! I went to a virtual college fair last night. I have read so much on CC that I didn’t learn anything new. S24 was not interested yet. Hopefully next year he will be. Spring sports are starting next week so that is the most exciting for many reasons!!
If he wants to take it, that’s great! He will definitely absorb and remember more Spanish if he learns it now than any time in the future. I try to remind myself that learning is the real goal .
I was actually hoping that my S24 would choose to try APUSH rather than regular American History. He got 100 on his history midterm this year, and American history is his favorite subject…but as we talked about it, I got the feeling that he was getting stressed (he’s generally very laid back), so I asked him–what does your gut say? He answered that he wants to stick with the regular class, so I supported that. After all, he can take college level history in college!
It’s hard because literally all of his friends take AP and honors classes, and their parents are all talking about Ivies, and schools like Williams, Georgetown and Duke. But S24 is genuinely happy for them and has no need for prestige. He’s very good at being himself and being happy. I really need to follow his lead and not get caught up in the pressure!
@Frogger73 our spring sports also start next week and S24 is psyched! He runs track (distance).
I feel the same about the AP courses. Why can’t they just take regular high school courses in high school and not college ones. If you need more challenges, take Honors. S24 takes all CP courses except for Physics. Most his friends are in AP courses. Our district you have to be recommended for them and it all starts in middle school being recommended for Algebra.
As for Spanish, I will brush up on my skills and use them around the house and see if that helps.
S24 is also a distance track runner! What’s his favorite event?
And I am an hour away from MIT and Harvard . I studied child development and have a different perspective than some people. That would be hard to be in the Bay Area and be just an “average” kid.
ETA: @observer33 I tried to message you but you seem to be private. This message is not meant to be catty or snarky, more of a I live in a comparable area, maybe just a smidge below. Anyway I was just hoping to have less competition for AP and rigor on this thread. Not all kids are meant to take AP yet, however they are still great kids that get into great colleges, just maybe not T20. Looking forward to sharing our journeys.
Hi! I actually started this thread because my S24 isn’t aiming for those top schools. He wants a place where he feels confident academically, and can have a balanced life, with time for relationships, sports, adventures, a job.
I was hoping that he would choose APUSH because the teachers are great, but he feels decently challenged in his regular history class (we don’t have honors). His study skills and essay writing are improving all the time, so I think he’s on track to be ready for college when he goes to college.
My D19 and D21 just came home from their university today for spring break . They are typical average excellent students who took a lot of AP’s in high school, which is all fine and good. But what they really needed to thrive in college was emotional intelligence. S24 is a slow reader, slow writer, and not a great memorizer, but he’s got some great qualities for success.
It’s better for me to keep a healthy perspective about measures like rigor, GPA, test scores, awards, etc.
Anyway, in track, my S24 likes the 800 and the mile. He also runs cross country in the fall and loves it—great coach and kids.
Respectfully, I disagree. Or, I would add a caveat to this statement that if the student is interested or motivated to do so, they should push themselves…
Not all of the students who fall into this gpa range are here because they lack ability to achieve more. Some are just not interested in putting in the work required (my D24 falls into this camp).
As far as your son sticking with Spanish because he wants to challenge himself, I think that’s fantastic. IMO, the potential ding to his gpa will be offset by the rigor of the course, as far as college admissions.
I’m with you on this one. My D20 was highly motivated, and what she may have lacked in natural ability, she more than compensated for in grit and ambition. My D24 is extraordinarily bright, but not particularly interested in challenging herself. She does just enough to keep “fine” grades and not an iota more. I have made peace with this. It is her journey, not mine.
This is my DS(24) as well. When he was in Pre-K we had a parent teacher conference and she pulls out an 11x17 piece of construction paper that had one single piece of macaroni glued to it right in the middle. She said “He always does what we ask and nothing more. We told the kids to glue pasta to the paper”
On S24’s first day of preschool, he was building with blocks. When the teacher asked him to clean up, he said, “No, thank you.” We had taught him that he was allowed to disagree as long as he did it politely!
What cute pre-k memories! The macaroni story is awesome and i l love the no thank you! S24 was born premature and had a lot of delays until kindergarten. He did receive therapy until then but the conferences were always awkward and I have learned to focus on positives.
However in 7th grade we had a team meeting because I wanted testing for disability as he was failing Spanish and not doing so hot in other courses. I do remember his English teacher saying he is smart, in fact smarter than my smartest students, when he tries. So they are on their own tracks. He did receive intervention and assistance with his executive skills and extra tutoring for Spanish. Which speaking of, he has raised is current grade so I am hopeful that another year will be ok.
@Frogger73 That’s great that your S24 raised his Spanish grade! I feel like when they make these decisions themselves, they “buy in” and tend to put more effort into it. Fingers crossed for next year.
My S24 surprised me by changing his mind about APUSH. Today he went and told his GC that he wants to try it. He said that if it’s too much, he can drop it, but you can’t switch from regular into AP. It’ll be a shot of confidence if he can handle it. He does love visiting historical sites, so we’ll keep doing that and watching documentaries to make events, names etc. more familiar. Speaking of that, we’re planning a trip to Gettysburg, DC and maybe Richmond over spring break. I’m thinking maybe we’ll tour some colleges if S24 wants to . . . ideas?
That is exciting that he wants to try APUSH! That is a good viewpoint that he can drop down of it’s too much. Also going to the historical sights will give him a good foundation and family bonding. We visited Gettysburg a few years ago. DH did the tour and loved it. S24 got car sick just as we got there. It was a hot day so I took him back to the hotel and we didn’t tour. However the ghost tour at night was interesting.
As for schools there are so many in PA. Juniata and Susquehanna seem to be under two hours from Gettysburg. Roanoke is about three hours from Richmond, and James Madison about two hours. I haven’t looked into any DC schools, but DC is one of my favorite cities.
@3SailAway of course I’m biased, as my D20 is there, but while in DC you should visit American. D24 likes American but says she can’t go to her sister’s school
We’ll do a bike tour of the battlefield at Gettysburg, so fingers crossed S24 doesn’t wreck. When we did this at Valley Forge, he sped down a hill with a curve at the bottom, went flying off his bike, and ended up with a fractured jaw and nine stitches in his chin. Luckily, it was at the very end of the tour, so he still learned a lot about Valley Forge .
@GirlMom01, we have a tour booked at American—I’ll report back on how it goes! S24 loves DC already. You wrote:
D24 likes American but says she can’t go to her sister’s school
A funny thing is that my D21 liked her sister’s school, but didn’t want to choose it because of that. So, she thought about lots of other schools, visited as many as possible, drove us all crazy considering schools we didn’t think she would like, and then ended up at her sister’s school after all . It has turned out well because it really was the right fit for both of them!
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. I studied child development and have a different perspective than some people. That would be hard to be in the Bay Area and be just an “average” kid.
. They are typical average excellent students who took a lot of AP’s in high school, which is all fine and good. But what they really needed to thrive in college was emotional intelligence. S24 is a slow reader, slow writer, and not a great memorizer, but he’s got some great qualities for success.
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