<p>Well, progress reports came out yesterday for S2 (after 3 weeks). He got a little scare when he saw his APUSH grade. After making 95-100 on every assignment and test - he got a 79 on the progress rept. Turns out that the essay he wrote for summer assignment got lost in cyberspace and was never received. So, teacher gave him an extension until Monday to resend it. I just resent it through my email - just in case it was an issue with S2’s yahoo account. Thank goodness for lenient teachers. Plus it helps that D1 was one of this teacher’s favorites.</p>
<p>Re: attendace policy. Our school is pretty unforgiving. S2 already has 2 unexcused absences - one for his college visit that I forgot to get “preapproved” and the other for standing in line to register for his driving test. He finally gets to take the driving test this Wed. and I think he’s going to mysteriously have a migraine for the first 3 periods of the day. Bad momma!</p>
<p>Kid will be in the paper due to his perfect score!
The photographer was in the house today, the house I was not able to clean for two weeks !!! He took like gazillion pictures ,settling on one, where the kid is sorrounded by books in our library. But the books are mine! Twain’s autobiography, The Help, some books in my native language! I know that our library looks impressive (many, many books), but it has been lately our dog’s playroom… oh well.</p>
<p>Apart from that, S is extremely happy that his varsity crew boat will be heading to the Head of the Charles next month! Just a few days after the PSAT and a few days before the SAT! </p>
<p>He is extremely busy. Between his 8 AP/IB classes, college math course, crew practices 6 days a week, church duties and movie making - he has almost no time to sleep. We make sure he gets a good rest over the weekend, but he still insist on being awake early.
Violin practicing is in the toilet, although he listens to LALO while doing his chemistry stuff…</p>
<p>Kelowna, only response I have is OMG, this workload is not for human to handle. If your son is superman, congratulations. As normal kid, my D is taking 4 AP plus 2 regular courses, she is already very busy and has to squeeze time out for her Color Guard activities.
Seriously, kids should have their own time to play, to think beside all class works. Most school systems designed 6 courses per semester for reasons. Maybe my kids are just too normal:) to take 8AP plus college math classes and other activities.</p>
<p>Congratulations Kelowna on your son’s recent success. It is amazing how some kids handle all these work and still enjoy a normal teenage life. </p>
<p>At home, my S started getting homework. Now that all the summer assignment ‘tests’ are over, he has pages and pages of APUSH assignments besides his regular english assignments. He has a lot of flexibility with his math assignments. </p>
<p>Right now, he is trying to finish his physics homework while watching US OPEN.</p>
<p>Congratulations to Kelowna’s son! It’s great to see hard work pay off.
I’m less involved with my D13 than ever before because she is in an IB diploma program at a boarding school now and as far as I know, I don’t even have access to any kind of webgrades. I don’t even know if there will be grades other than the IB exams. I know she is at a great school and has worked hard to get there but it is a little challenging for me to step back and out of the way as she does her final two years of academics and extra curriculars totally on her own. It is a strange feeling after being involved for so long.</p>
<p>OK, please do understand that he is VERY normal, just extremely bright, and the 36 ACT has nothing to do with it. He takes the courses I talk about earlier and he is EXTREMELY busy, but guess what he did all weekend long? He was making a movie with his buddy. All weekend long. Started doing homework at 11 P.M. last night, it was 3 A.M. and he was still wondering around the house (they had a late start today, thank God for another hour of sleep). DH and I worry about him (too many things on his plate, not enough sleep etc.), but we try to be very supportive and very engaged in his life. For example - we drive him between his activities whenever we can, so he does not have to take the train (his school is 35 miles form the house) and therefore save him some time.
I do not like to post about this, I have been on gifted forums and disliked them. But it always aggravates me ( I am sorry) when people write that my kid does not have a normal teenage life. How can I persuade you otherwise? He is in the state crew varsity boat, he is a DJ (will be hosting a dance at our local school this week), he has read 8 English classic novels this summer, he has acne (!), he is designing websites for his friends and family, he has designed t-shirts for his church youth group two years in the row (and he reads at masses, too), he has just performed in the Vivaldi’s Four Seasons Concerto (not as a soloist!!!), he posts articles on Cracked (SP), he procrastinates, he swears, he argues with us all the time and then apologizes. He has had girlfriends, bur nothing steady. He is invited to all the school dances that are girl’s choice.
I do not even know why I am writing all of this. I feel proud and insecure at the same time.
Anyway, DS explains how he feels about his MANY activities in the article. I do not want to give a link here, but if you are a long time poster and would like to see it, please send me PM.
I want to help all the kids that are in my son’s situation and are not perceived as normal.</p>
<p>Kelowna: your son sounds like a charming young man and I’ve never doubted anything you’ve written for a moment There’s a bell curve in almost everything and no one ever doubts the existence of the slacker kid eating Cheetos & watching reruns of That 70’s Show for hours. There has to be someone on the other end of the curve and that’s your S. Don’t fret!</p>
<p>D2 is working on AP English as we speak. As D1 has said over and over, junior year does seem to be much less stressful than sophomore year, thank goodness. 1st progress reports were mailed today; hard to believe that as some of you just started school last week we are already 5 weeks in. </p>
<p>I’ve been reading the National Merit threads with interest. Seems as if there’s been a 3-4 point jump this year compared to last which is highly unusual; scores usually vary only by a point or two.</p>
<p>I think the nice thing about kids is that they generally do find their work comfort zone and each one is different. What is too much for one is invigorating for another. My d is NOT gifted in any area but smart enough and quite hard working. I think she is taking on too much this year and have told her that it is up to her to find a balance but I will only intervene if I think she is too stressed/tired etc. For now, I told her to be open to getting some lower grades or reducing her social life or dropping a sport. All three outcomes are acceptable to me but not her staying up all night on weeknights or losing weight. I told her that I would rather see some Bs (or even a C) if she was striking a good balance with all her interests and still enjoying her classes. She really doesn’t believe it but I truly hope that she will have some struggles this year and that she finds the best balance for her. I did not enjoy hs because I was one who always did too much and always wanted to be perfect. My father who NEVER paid for grades handed me a $20 (lot of money in those days) the day I brought home my one and only C. He said I should take the $20 and take BF on a date and celebrate that I now knew how it felt to work hard and earn an average grade and recognize that it was the best I could do and that was good enough. </p>
<p>I think most parents are pretty accepting and supportive of kids and I have seen rare cases where the parent pushes. Generally, the student is in the driver seat. What I do think kids need protection from is pressure from peers and/or the school to be super-kid. I remember when my son dropped out of the full IB and asked to take one or two regular (not honors, not AP) classes…"oh the horror! and the pressure of the counselors to make him take 7 AP or IB classes. Perhaps they wanted a kid they knew was going to test well and already had lots of 5s on aps. What they said was, “you won’t get into a top college”. He said “I want to study ART and ROBOTICS so why should I take everything AP/IB even english and social studies?” So …he took some regular classes with the regular kids and loved the classes and the teachers and particularly appreciated having classes with kids who weren’t freaking out about getting all As to get into HYPS and he had more time for his art and his math and…now he is at carnegie mellon and sits in on Econ and physiology classes; very much enjoyed his history class and loves his art and his math classes; he found a job on campus and works ungodly hours but is very, very happy and has found his balance–a kid who seemed laid back, even a little lazy in HS, now looks to be seriously overextended on paper but I think these kids know exactly what they can and cannot handle …HS is a great time to test their limits and find their balance.</p>
<p>Kelowana- your son sounds talented! What a relief to get that perfect ACT score early on. Kind of takes the pressure off. </p>
<p>I think he is exceptional, but I would disagree that it isn’t normal. He sounds normal to me. My D is also taking IB/AP courses. She is taking 7 AP/IB courses total. In her school that is normal for Jr. year. There are also a small handful that also take the college math. (not my Ds thing). I think everything is relative. At my Ds school there really are not other options other than AP or IB as a junior. </p>
<p>Like your son she is involved in quite a bit- student council officer, newspaper, varsity soccer, musicals, and president and founder of a school club. Throw in her blogging, and writing for the city paper and it is a full plate. But at her school, she is just above average with activities. Some kids are much busier. It is all relative. </p>
<p>It is easy to assume that kids who excel academically do nothing but study, but that is not always the case. Also, AP and IB classes are not always as difficult as we make them out to be. For my D these courses, specifically IB, are a perfect match for her learning style, so IB is a great (and easy?) option. </p>
<p>Sounds like you are doing a wonderful job supporting a super kid.</p>
<p>Fineartsmom- I got choked up when I read about your father giving you the twenty dollars. What a beautiful message and gift he gave you in that moment. Thanks for sharing that with us.</p>
<p>Gifted kids are showing off their talent in different way. Kelowna’s son can be one of the examples. Kelowna, I am sorry if I make you feel untrusted, I was just very surprised. I heard these rare stories before, IMHO, these kids’ experience can not be copied.</p>
<p>I like fineartsmajormom’s story, $20 pay for lower grade is truly amusing. This is a way to make you to think the reality, your father is an excellent educator, I wish I had a father like him:), joke. While reaching higher is always a discipline or practice we teach to our kids, but the other side of story to always stay low to feel the ground is probably ignored sometimes. Balance is always hard to do too in our lives even for adults. I realize this is not a philosophic discussion:) Your son’s college life sounds fun to me, I believe if he is happy, even his focus is little blur at this moment, I think he will find his true interests and has great achievement in the future.</p>
<p>Speaking of taking AP classes, my son took at most 4 AP classes each semester at junior and senior year, I bought him all popular games from his elementary school year to high school year, from Nintendo 1st generation to latest version, and XBOX, Sony’s game machines, he did not miss any of these games, because I did not want him to miss the fun he should have in his childhood. He was almost getting accepted by a top ranking engineering college at age of 15 when I had to withdraw the application because my wife and D were literally in tears to depart my son too soon. Later he was accepted by top ranking colleges when he was 16. He is a now very happy college sophomore. DD is taking 4 APs and she is staying late by 12 o’clock, I think she does little over than what she needs to do. She is spending too much time on homework, I am trying to push her out to watch movies or to hang out with friends. This is just my thought and parent experience to share. Raising a child or education is an art, he/she may not become the one you want them to be, but it could be close, yourself or your life is their mirror.</p>
<p>I definitely agree that every kid is different. S2 (HS class of '10) was exhausted with basketball plus 4 AP’s. S3 is doing a lot more, and just seems to have a lot more energy and require less sleep.</p>
<p>Rob, where are the NMSF threads these days? I can’t find them anymore. I’m shocked that my state saw a four-point jump. Why are so many states seeing such a large increase?</p>
<p>Not only is every kid different, but every school and community is different. My kid (1 AP class) is considered a high achiever in our community, but would be considered a slacker in other settings. He is certainly highly gifted (according to the tests) but traditional schooling does not really appeal to him. So, he has chosen a different path and he is willing to live with the results. No Ivy league dreams for him.</p>
<p>If a child chooses a more academically rigorous high school curriculum, and is happy with the pace and workload - then more power to them. It should not be a competition. Kelowna, your child is obviously happy with his life, so just ignore what anyone else says about it. You know your child better than anyone else.</p>
<p>Kelowa, congrats to your son! It always amazes to me when kids perform at such a high level on multiple activities.</p>
<p>S2 is now completely swamped with work. We were worried about this before the school started, but never anticipated that it would come this quickly. He made the heart-wrenching decision to drop music just to stay afloat. It was painful to see him through the process, which I know will make him strong and serve him well in the future as he must make many such let-go calls. For EC’s, he now focuses on only two activities along with a college class and a science research project, which he struggles for new ideas. In the mean time, the October PSAT looms large…</p>
<p>There’s been some ongoing conversations about the mechanics behind the unusually high score raises this year. NMSC will officially let people know the cutoffs tomorrow if you call, so I would think the list for this year will be complete by the end of the week.</p>
<p>Cannot agree more about different kids can handle different work loads. My two D13 and S15 are definitely opposites. S needs a lot of downtime so he does not take on many ECs. D wants to do it all and balances so much . When we had to dramatically downsize due to a temporary health issue she went out of her mind.</p>
<p>Personally I would love if they could learn from each other. Sigh…someday. </p>
<p>Workload here has not really seemed to hit hard. Obviously HW everynight in every subject, but I haven’t seen many big assignments (yet).</p>
There’s a bell curve in almost everything and no one ever doubts the existence of the slacker kid eating Cheetos & watching reruns of That 70’s Show for hours. There has to be someone on the other end of the curve and that’s your S. Don’t fret!</p>