<p>I think it was just a few posts back that I was commenting on how S didn’t seem to need me any more and was very independent. Well, he still is independent, but could use mom’s help sometimes. School sent out an email saying schedule requests were online and we could look at it. I logged on (merely curious - we had talked about this last month when we visited him). To my surprise, he didn’t have any science class requested at all. Quick email to the admissions dean - apparently, S forgot to request a science class. She fixed it for him. Guess he does need mom around occasionally :)</p>
<p>I am not able to sleep for two reasons: DD’13 will be hearing from schools some time over the next two-two1/2 weeks…and DS’16 is still not sure what math he wants to take. I am not sure how much to really push him. Maybe the college-prep Algebra 2 class (non honors) will give him more confidence, because he will most likely be getting A’s…but, I don’t know about the Honors level. He may squeak in with a B?? even if it is weighted, it may not do much for his GPA…and, watching what is happening with all the waitlists etc…I don’t know if anything really ends up mattering…He’s not a CTY kid…so, He’s not going to be automatically tracked in the school, the way they are…anyone else still struggling with this?? I kind of want to sit down with him and write out the pros and cons…but, so far, it is not clear to me if he will give me that much time…</p>
<p>drmom123, so nice to see your friendly face (and others) from the 13/17 list! :)</p>
<p>Re your question: Here are some things to ask: how different are the CP and Honors classes? Will the teacher/s let you compare the syllabi? Or is it the students enrolled that make the difference in grades at your school? These are all factors to consider, along with questions about whether your school weights its GPA and how that will affect the grades DS will get. I would answer these questions like this: if classes are the largely the same and grades are not dependent on a curve, take the honors class. If classes are significantly different and/or students are graded on a curve, take the CP class. If GPA is unweighted, take the CP class. If GPA is weighted, depends on weighting system. Also, you could also have him take the honors class and hire a tutor from the start. </p>
<p>To all: I posted the question about what your DChild ‘16 is doing this summer. Thanks for all the great responses. We are narrowing down DD16’s choices. She will take drivers’ ed, study for ACT/SAT, participate in dance and athletics and a reading group (run by moi) and (best of all) volunteer for a local animal organization doing some cool citizen scientist research in a canyon near our house. Yay! Found something she’s passionate about–too bad it’s not literature like her DM. Actually…scratch that…glad she has her own niche. :)</p>
<p>thanks EastGrad: the Honors class is weighted, the CP class is not. The Honors class “goes fast”—a topic a day. The CP class probably it is a topic every 2-3 days (depending). The honor class (if continued to senior year) gets you into Honors Physics (jr year) and BC calc(senior year). Many of the honors track drop down to AB though…because that class is notorious for the time commitment.
I don’t know about any curves…Maybe some tests will be given a curve??? not sure on that one. I kind of want him to push himself a bit, just to not lose out on upper level classes that he doesnt even have on his radar screen yet…but might like them, if he was introduced to them.</p>
<p>DS16 lined up a (volunteer) job for the summer at scout camp. He will work for 8 weeks Sun-Sat. Home only overnight Sat. Next summer he can get paid.</p>
<p>EastGrad and Dragonflygarden:</p>
<p>Sounds like a fun and productive summer!</p>
<p>drmom: Will we ever sleep again? And they say you are sleep deprived with a newborn!</p>
<p>Hi! Joining in – I have DD16 and DS12. DD16 is doing the IB middle years program and will likely follow to the IB. Glad I found this thread!</p>
<p>Re: Dr. Mom:</p>
<p>My philosophy on math is that since it’s foundational, and each new class builds on the one previous, that it’s very important to have a strong grasp of the material. So, although it’s not my child, I’d pick the slightly less rigorous class IF you feel that moving at that pace will help your son better learn the material. Confidence matters a lot in math.</p>
<p>The exception would be if there is a huge gap in the teaching abilities of the two teachers. Then I’d consider going with the better teacher.</p>
<p>Re: summer, my son is waiting to hear from one of the national math camps (April 1st). They only take around 70 new campers, so I’m not sure what his chances are (competing for spots with kids up through seniors). I can’t plan the summer until we know. And this is early action…the regular decision release is May 1st. But if he doesn’t get in, he’ll take some classes and I don’t know what else…definitely driver’s ed.</p>
<p>piesquared and others who have been so supportive and given me food for thought: I asked questions of the science department and GC about DS and the math question. So, in our school, there is no specific math prereq. for the upper sciences (apparently) as long as one is taking a college-prep math—the problem will be in the upper level physics classes (which for DS won’t be until Senior year probably, if at all) and BC calc, which he would be unable to take at our school if he is not consistently in the honors math track. I sat down with DS (or tried to…) Don’t you just hate when they pretend not to hear you…but they are listening …anyway—I presented the pros/cons and “tracks”…and said "I want you to think about the different possibilities and what you think you might want to be doing later on in your Jr and Sr years…then let me know. I do think that his being in the less rigorous but still challenging class (they get to AB calc by senior year) will build his confidence and help him solidify the concepts. I also figure…when he grows up a bit…he can take College level Physics…IN COLLEGE…!
anyone else with any thougths (I think DS is going to decide to to the non-honors college prep class)</p>
<p>drmom:</p>
<p>One more idea, and that is if you decide to go ahead with the honors track, there’s nothing wrong with supplementing the math he’s had this year to make sure it’s extra strong over the summer. This helps assure he’s going in with a solid foundation. My son liked the class format at art of problem solving and he’s taking physics now for fun from EPGY (it’s going well). We did not care for the one class he took from Duke TIP (found it really buggy) but other folks may have different experiences.</p>
<p>I could talk about math education and the different philosophies of school districts kind of ad nauseum (and bore you all). My older child (the 16’er) has always been advanced at math and figuring out how to make that work has taught me a lot about whole grade and single subject acceleration, supplements, enrichments, and more. He’ll be taking BC next year as a sophomore then it will be local U past that. That path comes with its own challenges.</p>
<p>I think the most important thing is to make sure they’re engaged, learning and appropriately challenged but not overwhelmed and lost. I don’t necessarily believe in tracks – through summer work or other supplements, you can make the jump up to honors if that’s more appropriate in the future. When you are following the non-traditional path sometimes you just have to push a little and find the right person who can make something happen.</p>
<p>All that aside, getting to AB is actually a really appropriate track for most high schoolers (and more than the majority of students still do).</p>
<p>piesquared: it seems that my DS is not “lost” in math----he just seems to really not know how to apply himself to study correctly and “enough” to prepare for the exams and quizzes. He seems to know the material. I tell him he has “an honors brain” he is just not using it…I am a little afraid that he will regret his decision in a year or two…but, maybe better to regret a decision in HS than in College or later on in life??? He is just a very young almost 15-year old.</p>
<p>S got into his first choice of summer program, so it looks like his summer is set. It’s five weeks and he’s excited about the opportunities. Me, I struggle to let him go for so long, but it’s probably good training for when he really leaves the nest.</p>
<p>So D signed up for 10th grade classes and is now having second thoughts about the honors alg 2 and honors chem classes. Honors geometry has been very tough, honors chem will be tough, the theater teacher wants her in the fall musical (though probably not happening because that is her sport season and she is a state level qualifier), honors Eng and Spanish 4 will be ok, regular history, 2 electives. She is feeling overwhelmed so I have suggested she do regular track math/science this year. She feels her peers will see her as stupid because they can do all honors.</p>
<p>She set up an appt with her counselor to discuss it all after spring break.</p>
<p>S headed back to school this week after spring break. Was lovely to have him home -yes, he didn’t get up until well past noon, the house was messy - but loved having him home. Every evening, we cuddled on the couch and watched tv, talked about everything and nothing! He really is enjoying his boarding school and that was so easy and nice to see.</p>
<p>dentmom - I think it’s good that she’s seeing her counselor. I think it’s perfectly acceptable to not take all honors classes - being involved in the musical and a sport can take so much time! As long as she is being challenged…not overwhelmed!</p>
<p>My D visited a couple of local colleges this week. It was with her school, which was great because I would probably overanalyze everything. Right now, big schools are better than smaller ones and urban area schools are a big no-no for her. We will see what she says after a couple more years and a few more visits. Also, it looks like she will be volunteering at a local museum and attending volleyball camp this summer. However, recently she’s been trying to slack off at school and it’s driving me crazy. She’s getting back on track, but I want her to do well without me having to shoot laser death rays from my eyes at her. </p>
<p>dentmom- I agree with arisamp, that the regular track may be better. How did it go with her counselor?</p>
<p>D decided to keep honors alg 2 and drop to regular chemistry. The counselor said she can drop to regular math during the first week in the fall if it’s an immediate problem. Easier to drop down than step up due to the number of sections offered. H is unhappy, but he just doesn’t understand that one of his kids is not wired for STEM no matter how much he works with her (he teaches CC physics).</p>
<p>So she is feeling relieved about it all. Focus now: her musical opens next Thursday!</p>
<p>Has anyone else’s child been visiting colleges yet? Did you go over spring break or did they go with an older sibling? What were your child’s impressions? </p>
<p>We haven’t been to any, other than our local Us for contests or ball games, or a couple big U campuses we’ve been for tournaments…we’ll probably at least drive by a few different colleges when we’re in a different part of the country this summer.</p>
<p>D13 just got done choosing her college. D16 did not, unless we made her, express much interest in visiting. We have started her thinking about what direction she might want to take in college and perhaps career wise. I’ll probably give her and us a year off from the college visits as we’ll be concentrating on getting D13 moved and settled into her new atmosphere. With her sister gone she’ll get all of our attention…goody!</p>
<p>We haven’t taken S out for college visits on his own, although he did come with us pretty much everywhere when we took D a few years ago. He soaked in the information when he came along - it was funny, he was more interested in the tours than D was. We’ll have to figure out how to do the tours for colleges he is interested in - boarding school does add a new wrinkle to this.</p>
<p>dentmom - what is the musical your D is in? S is in his school musical too - they’ve chosen to do Avenue Q (the high school edition).</p>
<p>D16 has seen one school but it was a spur of the moment thing. DH had business on campus and we had some time to fill. She did the rounds when S12 was looking at schools but was only 11 then. Wondering how to organize tours for D16 - she’s at boarding school too. Any ideas, pointers welcome!</p>