<p>Congrats to Kelowna and PCP on your kids’ accomplishments!</p>
<p>We’re in the thick of the ballet intensive and now she wants to do another workshop during one of her chill weeks in August because a favorite national name choreographer/master teacher is involved.</p>
<p>Scarlet Letter has been read, paper has yet to be written.</p>
<p>Suggestions for prep books for the SAT Math II subject test and SAT Math portion? Things are looking very sad after most recent scores, and I’m not sure how to help her. She just does not test well in math, at all.</p>
<p>We blew off driver’s ed much to my relief, I don’t care if she doesn’t get her license this year. We have a sixth month requirement between written test and license test.</p>
<p>D was so tired when I picked her up from the airport after her first cross country flight-having taught herself to fly completely by herself yesterday. Normally I would not have let her take the Lear45 but she had really proven herself by taking the Stearman the night before to distribute the 200 blankets she knit to give to children sleeping on the streets of Haiti. We really like to support her efforts. Naturally I think this will help her list of ECs as that is her real weakness. Those ECs are so hard to acquire! While she has played varsity for 6 sports since 4th grade, she was never very good at cross country. We hope not making Varsity in that and marbles will not be a glaring red flag for colleges. Her music could also use some work since she missed 100 on her NYSSMA Level 6 in harp-but only by one point. We sure were glad she nabbed 100s in her other 6 instruments or what ever would become of her! By the way, we also are hoping that simply paying taxes for our properties in Cambridge and the Lake District will allow our precious to qualify for Oxford since she is really beyond Harvard’s Rhetoric program and will need a fresh challenge. I am so glad to see the discussion about APs here too. D is so excited to finally get to sit for one in Chinese. She really has run through all the others with 6s, of course, but do you think a 5 in Chemistry from 4th grade will hold her back. I certainly hope not. We do hope that she gets a nice funding package although we are a bit concerned about her B+ in Latin 6. After 6 years of latin we thought she would pull an A but then again she was only 5 at the time and had a problem filling in those tiny winny little dots on that answer form. Ah, well I have to end this because precious is begging to re-read Sons and Lovers. She can’t get enough of the classics you know. Cheerio. And yes, that is how your posts sound!</p>
<p>And did I mention S? He is also Chess Champ and I too think that he will add that to his list. When we found out his intell project as a winner we were overjoyed but realized that it introduced problems. Now is that a EC or is it really academics. Oh dear! I am so glad we started him early on the SATs and all. He has plenty of time to improve on his 35 on the ACT and his 780 in math. Math has always been a weakness for him. Four years should be enough time to bring that up. He is spending the summer building a small village in the Ivory Coast and helping to restore peace and harmony post civil war (and post soccer). He are very proud of him as he is really developing that EC list. Naturally he likes to keep up with D! His grades have never been a big problem for him but we do worry about how far he will go in language as he still has a slight accent when he switches from Greek to French. He is clearly a 2nd child and tends to be a bit of a slacker. We really had to motivate him after his Carnegie Hall debut. Well I guess every family has a slacker of some kind.</p>
<p>getdata - I’m now re-evaluating D2’s future path! She pales in comparison to your near-perfect off-spring (a few flaws make them more endearing of course) and perhaps she should now look into an apprenticeship! :)</p>
<p>ShillyShally, don’t be put off by my S’s and D’s accomplishment as nobody is perfect and everyone has strengths and weaknesses. D’s weakness is that she has so many interests and so many talents that it is often hard for her to prioritize them without having to stay up late to get everything done perfectly. Sometimes she is so tired in the morning that she is late for her morning run and must cut a full half mile off of it in order to get to Tuesday morning Jazz group on time. Since she is the band team captain and coordinator, she knows how bad it would be if she were ever late. There have been days when she had to opt for plain poached eggs over her favorite egg white omelet and granola breakfast. I am glad she is willing to make such sacrifices though. Nobody is perfect. And for S, he too has his faults. He is just one of those kids who is such a born leader that it is hard for him to find the time to help all the other kids who want his assistance with things like clubs and school work/tutoring. After years of being the class president, he was asked to add the job of club coordinator. Naturally, this challenge underscored his talent for allocating time effectively and he became a much more efficient editor of the newspaper and year book but as soon as the kids heard that he was in charge they all wanted to be part of it. Luckily, his entrepreneurial abilities clicked and he established lower level B teams for each activity that had too many kids. He set up a nice account and had each Level B team raise money for the A team. They raised so much money that they were able to pay for each team to be transported to the national events for each of the activities, including MUN, Science Olympiad, Odyssey of the mind, Robotics, First Lego and a bunch of others. They came in 1st or 2nd at each national event. So, you see, my S and D have a long way to go but they are working on turning their weaknesses into strengths.</p>
<p>Great posts getdata! Must be very challenging to keep up with kids like yours!
Do check with the Collegeboard, but I think that the AP Chemisty score might not be available to colleges, since it was taken in the fourth grade and I think they only keep scores for four years. But do write to them, maybe ;)</p>
<p>And seriously, it can be overwhelming when you read about some kids on CC but let me assure you that the parents of these kids are overwhelmed as well.
That is why I come here, to vent and to look for support without provoking responses like yours. That is it to you from me
Do you have kids in the class of 2013 and after reading our posts you feel angry? Or are you here only to ■■■■■?</p>
<p>mnmom62 - my S has to read The Grapes of Wrath I would much rather vote for the Scarlet Letter. I actually read that book in my early years of learning English, but I already knew the story.
Debate Camp for the next couple of weeks for DS. DD and her friend, myself as well, will volunteer for a few days at Best Friends. I am not looking forward to it because of the heat, but the feeding run with the horses each morning will be exciting enough to make me want to drive them there Then swimming pool for the rest of the day. And some cold Chardonnay :)</p>
<p>Oh, have to mention one more thing. DS, an avid reader, suddenly stopped reading books for pleasure last year. One or two slipped through the cracks, but overall it was just game playing in his free time. Then a week ago his violin teacher gave him book 1 of the Ranger’s Apprentice series. He has read all the books available (that wild run through the libraries) in less than a week! I guess I want to say that if they ever had the bug, they still have it.</p>
<p>And one more;)
Driver’s permit. It is called Learner’s permit here. DH is much better of a coach. I am too anxious, am imagining too many disasters when DS is turning left on green
The plan here is for him to do Driver’s Ed sometime in the fall, have DL in the spring of 2011 and then immediately do some kind of a defensive driving course.
The older they get, the more worries we have ;)</p>
<p>kelowna, I enjoy your posts about your S as well as the posts of others. Congratulations to all the successes the class of 2013 have enjoyed thus far! I wish I had known about CC when my S was going through high school (class of "09). A lot of frustration and heartache might have been avoided. My goal is to help my D now and those of you who so generously share information about your children and the road they are traveling to reach their goals are much appreciated!</p>
<p>I am still amazed about driving. My DD is only 14, and won’t be 15 until Dec. In NY, kids cannot get a permit until 16, and then with the new driving regs here, you really dont have your license until 16.5. Given my DD’s age, she will be driving until senior year. Which actually works for me. :)</p>
<p>Haven’t been on CC in weeks LuckyGirl’s read two of her three summer books (Raisin in the Sun and Great Gatsby, Grapes of Wrath remains). She’s been writing poetry (usual activity), living on FB (ditto), reading Twilight and Harry Potter fan fiction (ditto) and picking up a few babysitting jobs. She learned last weekend that a new client is actually the head of the writing program at Oh So Local State Flagship :D</p>
<p>We got her course schedule for next year and I started to look for used textbooks (private school). ARGH!!! The Alg 2/Trig text is brand spanking new so there are no used copies anywhere. $100 I did find her lit book for $8 including shipping, $79.75 used through the school’s bookstore link, so I guess it will all average out in the end!</p>
<p>Well haven’t been here in awhile. I’m envious that your kids get to take APs their freshman year - ours can’t until junior year. My daughter wanted to take a class next year, but they rejected it…</p>
<p>We are now done with the busy part of our summer. We came back from a missions trip to Guatemala and were supposed to go to a youth camp, but my D and I were too sick to go. So we stayed home and vegged out with DVDs. She just loves the Jane Austin classics.</p>
<p>My daughter may now foster kittens if they have any come in, so she is very excited about that. She worked yesterday and today at the cat adoption center, she still loves it to pieces. (While we were in Guatemala, we arrived a couple of days before the group from another state, we visited a zoo there. We had to laugh when they showed a raccoon in a cage with a small endangered animal emblem on the description placard - since when are raccoons endangered?)</p>
<p>You all have been way too efficient this summer, I think we need to catch up…</p>
<p>And about driving, my daughter won’t be eligible for a permit for almost a year, but we may not try to do it. The local school doesn’t offer driver’s training (even though our state regulations state that they should, but most schools don’t anymore) and it’s a bit expensive to pay for behind the wheel and and driver’s education for that permit, so we may hold off. My S’11 isn’t driving yet either, and he’s over 16. With hubby out of work, we have plenty of drivers for what we need, no reason to add to insurance expenses.</p>
<p>So nice to touch base with all of you all, I learn so much each time I log in :)</p>
<p>Son takes Latin - entering year 3 since his school starts it in 8th grade. He thrives in it (enjoys it & get his best grades in it). Neice told me over the weekend it is a waste of time, esp if he wants a LAC, because it doesn’t meet the language requirements at most schools.</p>
<p>I’m sure she is correct about the college requirements, but I don’t think he is wasting his time. It does have me considering he should take up a language over next summer. WAY TOO early to tell him my thoughts on this, but I’m a planner, so never too early to look into programs.</p>
<p>Any ideas on which language and reasonably priced programs?</p>
<p>Is it even worth it as a rising junior, or just wait until summer of rising senior?</p>
<p>Anyone with a college student who started a language in college?</p>
<p>I considered conversational Spanish because we have many bi-lingual in our area (including our awesome guitar teacher!), but then I got concerned that this could be a problem if he doesn’t learn proper grammar, etc.</p>
<p>Well, no advice from a college parent, just me
I am envious about Latin, nothing like that in my area. But is he taking a modern language as well?
As for programs to learn a foreign language, I definitely reccomend private lessons.
My DS’13 is not interested in languages but I have a younger DD that is just possesed to learn five or six, don’t remember exactly now. For us private lessons were always the best bet. That and some kind of an immersion.</p>
<p>Hmmm, I consider Latin to be a foreign language. I think I’d take a look at some requirements for LACs your S might be interested in and see what they say; better yet, ask your GC. If a number of students at your S’s school take Latin, they must have some experience with how colleges handle that vs. modern languages.</p>
<p>Small amount of frustration. D’s school posted summer requirements at the end of May. They were decidedly low key compared to past years’ but I had heard rumor that parents had been complaining about the amount of summer work. Whatever. I decided to check today to see if they had dates yet for picking up schedules & found out that they had added some English work. Now all the classes say that things will be due within the first 3 weeks of school (so not on the very first day) but I’m pretty sure that most people aren’t checking the website in the middle of July. Just reserved copies of the 3 books for pickup at the local Barnes & Noble; nothing like a little Ann Rand for some light summer reading.</p>
<p>My D is very happy that her school does not assign homework over any school breaks but instead wants them to actually have a break. I think a few upper level classes do have some reading expectations but otherwise no homework over breaks. It is a welcome change from my older D’s HS where your breaks were often spent studying/working. I agree though RobD that few would be checking again mid-summer although you did remind me to go print out the summer math assignments for my younger son (who is looking forward to joining older D next year at the HS without assignments on break).</p>
<p>D1 took 5 years of Latin in junior high/HS and loved every minute of it. It is definitely not a waste of time. Some of the many reasons:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Latin (along with ancient Greek) provides an entree into the foundations of Western civilization and some extraordinary accomplishments in art, literature, philosophy, and religious thought. Remember, Latin was not only the language of the Romans, it remained the language of the educated classes in Europe up until the Renaissance, and pretty much until the 20th century no one was considered truly educated unless they could read Latin; and that influence is reflected in Western art and literature straight on through the 19th century, even into the 20th. Heck, you can’t even fully appreciate Harry Potter if you can’t translate all the Latin and pseudo-Latin spells and such. </p></li>
<li><p>Modern Romance languages (French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, etc) are derived from medieval “vulgar Latin.” Having a foundation in Latin makes acquisition of these languages much, much easier. D1, for example, went on (while still in HS) to do 2 years of college French (roughly equal to 4 years of HS French) and 1 1/2 years of college Portuguese, and reports those languages came to her very easily, in no small part because she already knew so much Latin. </p></li>
<li><p>A large fraction of English words, especially words expressing abstract and complex concepts, are derived from Latin either directly or through French. Studying Latin (and ancient Greek) improves the student’s English vocabulary immensely and makes it much easier to divine the meaning of unfamiliar English words and read and comprehend difficult texts in almost any field. Come across a $5 word expressing a complex concept and chances are it’s derived either from Latin or from ancient Greek.</p></li>
<li><p>The study of Latin focuses intensely on grammar. Every successful Latin student becomes something of a grammarian, and that improves their English grammar, makes them better writers, and gives them skills at grammatical parsing that are easily translatable to the study of other languages.</p></li>
<li><p>Unlike English, Latin grammar is very logical and orderly. Rigorous study of Latin grammar sharpens students’ logical/analytical reasoning skills. That’s why, for example, college classics majors tend to do extremely well on the LSAT, in law school, and as lawyers. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Call me old-fashioned, but I think there are very few things that better prepare a HS student for academic success at the college level and beyond than a rigorous education in Latin.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I’m always in favor of languages that are either widely spoken or spoken by a lot of people (even if concentrated in one place): e.g., Spanish, Chinese (Mandarin), French, Portuguese, Arabic. Spanish is always popular in part because it’s useful right here in the U.S. and spoken by so many people nearby in our hemisphere; it’s also got a pretty simple grammar so many people find it easy to pick up. Portuguese grammar, in contrast, is more complex, and people say it’s easier to pick up Spanish if you already know Portuguese than vice versa because the vocabulary is so similar that going from Portuguese to Spanish usually involves simplifying the grammar and changing the pronunciation. Another consideration: if your kid might consider attending a small LAC, almost all will offer Spanish and French. German, Italian, Chinese, and Arabic are also relatively common but not nearly as universal; after that, it’s pretty spotty. I think there’s a lot to be said for starting a language in HS and sticking with it right through college. By that time you should be pretty fluent, able to read contemporary literature, able to study, work, and travel abroad in that language, etc. If you’re sure your kid is heading for a larger university, the choice isn’t as confining.</p>
<p>As for where, many people give positive reviews to the Concordia Language Villages in Minnesota. They have month-long summer immersion camps, and give credit for 1 year of HS language study for each month in the program (though my guess is most kids learn more in that month than they’d learn in a year of HS classes):</p>
I would much rather vote for the Scarlet Letter. I actually read that book in my early years of learning English, but I already knew the story.
Then swimming pool for the rest of the day. And some cold Chardonnay :)</p>