<p>A friend has a son at an average state college. He has poor writing skills and poor math skills. This is an average child intelligence wise. The writing is poor both conceptually and in terms of grammar. He got decent math grades in high school but a very low math SAT score.</p>
<p>Are there any summer programs or other thoughts to help a kid in this position? I look at his work and mediocre grades and wonder who will hire him.</p>
<p>Does his college have a writing workshop on campus? Lots of places have these. He may not even know that this service exists or, if he knows about it he may be shy/embarassed to use their services. </p>
<p>How much math does he need for his major and/or projected future career? Would summer school at his current college or a cheap local community college be an option?</p>
<p>He is a business major with a marketing focus. His approach to getting around the math for his major has been to take the math classes at a community college!</p>
<p>The family is willing to invest and would really like more than what he could get at a cc. Some intense one on one or similar.</p>
<p>Don't knock community colleges. Remediation is a big part of their business. A good community college is excellent at remediation and offers a lot of support and tutoring for the students who need it.</p>
<p>the community college I attend offers this- seperate from disability services ( which I also qualify for)</p>
<p>
[quote]
TRiO is a federally funded program that provides low-income, first generation college students, and students with disabilities the valuable support and services that will assist in student success and persistence towards graduation. TRiO serves to motivate and help students accomplish their goals by offering comprehensive individual support.</p>
<p>Services Include:
Academic advising
Personal counseling
Career exploration
Transfer advising and planning
Personal Statement assistance
Financial aid information guidance and FAFSA application assistance
Priority class registration
One-on-one tutoring
College visits/tours
Wellness and educational workshops
Scholarship resources
Study center and computer access
Campus referrals and advocacy
Special events and social activities
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I would suggest since he had decent math grades in high school- for some evaluative testing ( from an educational psych possibly) to determine exactly where his difficulty lies.</p>
<p>The CC also offers a tutoring center- for any who are interested.</p>
<p>
[quote]
]The Tutoring Center offers free tutoring in a friendly, supportive atmosphere. It is available to students working on homework or needing assistance in many subject areas. The tutors who provide academic assistance are fellow students who have successfully taken these courses, who are recommended by the instructors, and who do an excellent job of working one-on-one with fellow students. Math tutors are available at all times, and tutor-availability for other subjects depends on the requests we receive from students in those courses. For students needing additional assistance in math, visit the Math Success Workshop.
[/quote]
*The Math Success Workshop is designed to help students overcome math stress. Students who attend will learn techniques to reduce their math stress to become better problem solvers. The workshop is FREE and can be adjusted to focus on the areas where most students have difficulty. </p>
<p>Topics covered during the workshop will include:</p>
<p>Study skills
Note taking tips
Test taking strategies
Problem solving strategies</p>
<p>Math tips
Myths about math
Learning styles
Emotional and physical causes of stress
Understanding word problems
*</p>
<p>I'm not knocking CC's but they live in CA where the system is so taxed and the budgets have been cut to the point where it takes an appointment 2 weeks before to have a short meeting with a writing tutor. The family has resources and would like to get him somewhere where concentrated help is available.</p>
<p>Wow. Could he go to a different local community college? I live in CA too. That's not the case at my community college.</p>
<p>I would expect his public college to have the remedial programs and classes he can take at no additional cost or inconvenience. The first step would be for the student to check things out- he has an advisor whose job it is to help him with such matters, also.</p>
<p>I wonder if his college has a writing center? I’ve had classmates that have used writing centers on campus and found them hugely helpful not only with the paper in question but in terms of writing in general. The impression I get is that learning as they go along on a paper they are invested in helps them understand the concepts in a way that previous classes and/or tutoring did not.</p>
<p>Another idea might be to ask around for a recommendation of an excellent high school English teacher and see if that teacher could be hired as a private tutor for the summer. Some teachers do not want to work the whole summer but would consider limited hours of tutoring.</p>
<p>Can he change major where math and writng are not essential? Those are so basic skills that take years to develop. How in a world college soph is expected to improve before graduation? D’s major does not need math or writing, but she took care of them by taking APs in HS.</p>
<p>get the psyched testing, they maybe surprised at what is discovered.My nephew recently had it done, he was/is the product of whole language reading as a young child, not blaming, just it is what is part of his learning issues, he never learned the foundation he needed.Also ADD/anxiety thrown into the mix because of all the stress that has caused. They discovered he had almost ZERO decoding skills. This kid had a 95GPA upon graduation from HS all AP classes, #12 in his class. SAT score of 680 CR/750 Math.
Get a private tutor after the testing is done so they know what to zero in on.</p>
<p>Miami, my thought exactly. This kid should not be a business major. Now, if we could only figure out what his major should be. The grades have been bad across the board. Sales seems to be a good prospect for future work, he’s personal, outgoing and surprisingly articulate given the issues. He grew up in an affluent community surrounded by professionals. I think there are undiagnosed learning issues, but as you say, what do you do this late in the game?</p>
<p>So how did he get to be a college sophomore without his family knowing that he has reading and math issues? Sounds like his high school (and his middle school, and his primary school) have a lot to answer for.</p>
<p>However, he’s an adult now, and it’s on him. Maybe stopping out of college for a while, and going to community college or somewhere else where he can learn the basics? Because, honestly, how is he planning to get through the rest of college if he can’t do math and he can’t write? Those are the foundational skills for everything else in college.</p>
<p>And if there are undiagnosed learning disabilities, which certainly sounds possible, now is the time to diagnose them. Well, fifteen years ago would have been the time to diagnose them, but it’s not too late.</p>
<p>This late in the game, you diagnose the learning issues. I have a close friend whose dyslexia went undiagnosed until she was halfway through her Ph.D. program. Yup, she was indeed that smart and that good at compensating for her reading difficulties.</p>
<p>“Sales seems to be a good prospect for future work, he’s personal, outgoing and surprisingly articulate given the issues. He grew up in an affluent community surrounded by professionals.”</p>
<p>It also could be that he is suffering from his professional parents’ undiagnosed classist issues. Lots of people who are successful in sales have never darkened the door of an institution of higher education.</p>