Seriously-- gym

Parents Forum
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<p>Babybird said:
After all, my close friend is sick all the time, not through any fault of her own, and she shouldn't have to make up all those classes because of that.</p>

<p>While I appreciate your compassion for your friend, her cause is not going to get you a pssing grade in gym. If she is sick all of the time, your friend should find out what she needs to do to get a medical exemption (my neice is an asthmatic, and the gym workouts used to affect her breathing so she got documentation from her doctor and got the exemption from gym)</p>

<p>Why does their have to be a choice between going to gym and going to AP politics. I am really suprised that your school allows you to have a schedule where there are 2 classes in the same time period or one class starts before the other class ends (don't worry, it definitely won't happen in college.</p>

<p>Gym is ususally held for 2 periods once a week so 9 absences is a lot of absence and can because for failure.</p>

<p>RakoKarabekian,</p>

<p>While you may have failed gym and gotten into Brown for ED, you still have not finished H.S. fail gym at the end of the year, you most likely willl not graduate and will probably be in summer school taking gym if you want to go to Brown in the fall</p>

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<p>ilcapo, glad to know things are going all right for you. Hope your mom is all right too.</p>

<p>(sorry, don't mean to hijack the thread either)...</p>

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<p>I see two issues here. One...is it going to hurt you with college admissions that you have a lower grade in gym than your otherwise excellent grades? No, I highly doubt it. Colleges will see that it is gym. You are also very lucky that gym does not figure into your GPA or rank at your school. At our school, ALL grades go into GPA and into rank (which also is NOT weighted at the present time). So, in our school, your gym grade would have hurt your GPA and rank. But for you, this is neglible because your rank or GPA did not suffer and then colleges will see your transcript and see that this lower grade was in gym class which is not something they really care about. Where gym does matter, is for graduation purposes so you want to pass it and it seems like you will (though the student who got into Brown might want to make sure she/he passes gym cause it could hold up a diploma). </p>

<p>But I also see another issue. I do not totally understand the whole absence thing. Were you absent more for gym than for other classes? In other words, were these day long absences for illness or did you just miss gym those days? It sounds like some of the times you ONLY missed gym, in which case I don't understand the "illness" excuse, though if you were too ill to do gym, a note often can suffice that documents that. But if you are missing gym more than other classes, you seem to be choosing to miss gym for whatever reason (not sure I get when you say you had to choose between gym and another class...are they scheduled at the same time?, don't follow that part). In any case, I hear you in your complaint that you must make gym up and that is not required in your other classes. First of all, like it or not, thems the rules and you gotta abide by them, that's how it goes in school. Also, making up history or math is different because it is like doing the homework, making up an exam, etc, but not like going in and making it up by sitting 45 min. in a class. But to make up gym, they are making you do a class in place of the missed one, it sounds. I don't completely agree but it is not far fetched. </p>

<p>What I don't understand about your complaint with the grade is that you have the option to make the class up but CHOSE not to. I don't agree with your choice here or if you were gonna make this choice and knew that it would lower your grade, it does not make sense to complain because you had the option of making it up. I get that you don't like the rule but hey, that's how lots of school and life is. </p>

<p>My D had driver's ed. last semester which is Pass/Fail (though you do have to pass it to get your license). You are not allowed to be absent and if you are, you must make it up WHEN they tell you to make it up, not a choice of the make up time. She had to miss a class when doing a college visit and the make up was at a very bad time conflicting with another committment. The teacher also required some afterschool session with a speaker and she had to make that up right before her opening night in a big show she was in 50 miles away, having been up to midnight for a week and going into a weekend of six performances, where it would have helped to stop home after school to regroup before traveling to her open night that got her home at 1 AM that night and had school the next day. But it is not like she could say anything, as she had to make up the speaker if she wanted to pass Driver's Ed. and like it or not, you do what you gotta do. That's how I feel about making up those gym classes in your case. However, I don't think this will have any bearing on your college admissions, so do not worry. </p>

<p>I can sympathize, however, about gym issues which we have had concerns about in our own school as well. It is not like I am saying I agree with the rules in your school because believe me, a few things here with regard to gym were major hassles that involved the principal (who aligned with us). I think if you have a legitimate issue with a gym policy, work to discuss the policy at school but in the meantime, you gotta follow it. </p>

<p>Susan</p>

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<p>BabyBird87,</p>

<p>I would agree that your school has stupid rules. I would think that as long as you made up missed work that it would not matter if you missed class due to illness, funerals, doctors/denist appointments that you were unable to
re-schedule, etc. The only thing I can tell you is to do your best not to miss anymore classes. I assume that you only missed them because of illness (which I would think they would not count against you if you had a note from your doctor--but their rules are strange). I've never heard of anything like this.</p>

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<p>"dmd77-- i'm not whining. but their policy on absents is awkward and inconsiderate, in my opinion. After all, my close friend is sick all the time, not through any fault of her own, and she shouldn't have to make up all those classes because of that."</p>

<p>Personally, I have never heard of making up a class missed, only making up work that you've missed in a class (ie: tests, quizzes, homework assigned the day you were sick and due the next class period, etc.) that a teacher normally allows you to make up as long as you present a doctor's/paren'ts note.</p>

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<p>" do get sick frequently but it's also things like music lessons and guidance-- if I have a choice between missing AP Politics or missing gym, I'm going to miss gym-- so I end up with a lower average. When I miss other classes, they don't force me to attend another section just to make it up. So why gym? it's ugh.</p>

<p>Anyway, my question is not whether the policy is fair. My question is whether it will negatively affect my chances at admission. If everything else looks good, are they really going to say no because "she's no good at gym"?"</p>

<p>When you miss because of guidance, does the guidance counselor ask to see you?? I would think that if the counselor required you tocome see him/her that they could give you a note and that it would not be your fault for missing class (if that is the case). What are the music lessons for??</p>

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<p>no, sorry for the confusion-- it's not a conflict between AP Politics and gym. I'm saying, if I can only schedule a guidance conference or a music lesson during either AP Politics (or any other honors class) or gym, I'll choose gym. Which adds to absences.</p>

<p>soozie-- I'm required to make up <em>all</em> classes, even days when I've missed all my classes. I've never cut gym, but different things (including field trips) make me miss class a lot. Not just gym, but everything. I guess I understand that it's easier to make up an academic class by doing the HW or whatever, and that you can't make up gym that way, but I honestly don't participate in gym anyway. No one does, except for a select handful of hardcore people that take over the entire class. So making up classes just to watch jocks beat each other is not fun and kind of awkward anyway. </p>

<p>Also, you can get dropped after missing 5 classes, no questions, legally excused or not. And you don't get a blank check at the beginning of each quarter...you continue with the absences from all year. I think now that the new semester started, I'm cleared again, but all last semester I was under the stress of like 9 absences. My teacher was nice enough to not drop me (ilcapo had like 10 or 11 absences too!) but it was kind of stressful.</p>

<p>bluealien01-- I usually go to my guidance counselor a lot, because I always have problems of some sort. The music lessons are required by my choir class, once a week.</p>

<p>I'm not too concerned about failing, I just hate seeing C's and B's keep cropping up on my report card. :)</p>

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<p>I admit I don't understand the problem
I hear that although Gym is scheduled, that music lessons are sometimes attended instead.
I also hear that the student had so many problems that she often needs to see the guidance counselor. Instead of spreading her absences around so one class doesn't take a hit more than another, she concentrates the absences in one class that she feels "doesn't matter"
I suggest that you find out if you can use participation on a school team to waive remaining PE credit. THis would be after school hours, so it wouldn't interfere with "music lessons" or trips to the "counselor". It also would assure the school that you aren't blowing off gym because you don't think physical fitness is important.</p>

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<p>So you cannot see the counselor or do the music lessons after school? I'm not sure I understand why you have music lessons for a class scheduled during another class.</p>

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<p>Oneof the problems is while she does not need AP Politics for fulfill her requirements for a NYS diploma, she does need gym. Idon't know how it is done on LI (where she and Ilcapo live) but in NYC, there is a minimum attendance requirement and I can assure you that with number of absences she has had so far, especially in gym she would be at risk of not graduating.</p>

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<p>I see two different issues here.</p>

<p>One, do the colleges care about a gym grade? Probably not.</p>

<p>Two, do the colleges care that you've chosen to blow off a school course? Maybe. Especially when you could make up the absences, but chose not to, because it's "inconvenient".</p>

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<p>Well Reed College as you know requires PE credits to graduate. I think at least 2 years worth.
If your high school requires gym class to graduate, I think by blowing it off indicates that you think that the "rules" don't apply to you.
I think that some schools would find that a problem.</p>

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<p>This may clarify: In many schools in New York State, students that participate in band or orchestra are required to take a rotating "lesson" with the instructor. The "lesson" is usually given in a small group. Generally the lessons are rotated so that you may miss Period 1 one week, Period 2 the next, and so on. However, many students opt not to miss a particular period. For example, if the student is scheduled for a lesson Period 2 one week and that period is AP Physics, the student may go to the instructor and say, may I come Period 4 today, when I have gym? Typically, the music instructor does not care when the student appears for the lesson. It appears that Babybird is opting to take all most of her lessons (and guidance appts) during PE, rather than missing core academics. </p>

<p>Also, in NYS, as Sybbie said, you need to meet a minimum attendance requirement in PE or you cannot graduate. Being absent (even for illness) does not exempt someone for that. The PE depts often offer an option of coming in before school and running the track for 45 minutes or something similar to make up a missed class. The state holds the schools to this very strictly. PE is required for all eight semesters of high school - no exceptions.</p>

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<p>To put it in simplified terms (as you all know, this affected me too)....</p>

<p>There are various things that come up within the school day. Lessons, make-up tests, guidance appointments, colleges coming to our school, field trips...and that does not even factor in actual full day absences which could be for another number of reasons (illness, death in the family, 'sleeping in', going to visit colleges). Many of these things, in fact all of them, cannot be done after school because guidance and teachers leave (appts, make up tests, lessons).</p>

<p>Thus, babybird must choose between gym and AP English, Physics, AP Politics, and so on. Naturally (in my opinion) she chooses gym because she is an academic at heart and does not want to miss an "academic" class. I think it's perfectly understandable. Now the second issue is over make ups. They are not as easy to do as one might believe. Many students are already enrolled in "extra" courses that meet before or after school (philosophy, for example, meets after school), and many students either do not have a lunch period or have one every other day. Even when a student goes to make up a class, he or she is not guaranteed the opportunity if a certain teacher isnt "on" during that time. It's a very confusing process and perhaps one limited to our district, which makes it difficult to understand.</p>

<p>------------------------on to a different subject of grade inflation---------------</p>

<p>perhaps it is only a long island thing, but this might give you an idea. every year Newsday publishes a photograph of the valedictorians from each school with their school and weighted average beneath. i'd say no more than 10 of these 100 students had an average under 100. that's why i said, i think it's known within college admissions. i have also had the opportunity to look at the transcripts of students applying to the military academies through my internship, and was thus able to compare my school transcript with those from neighboring districts. not much was different. grade inflation was high, and class rank and averages were pretty much synonymous with my district. typically a 95 is the cut off for top 10%. i have learned from others on CC that a 95 would be the valedictorian at some schools.</p>

<p>i will offer this as an example of the grade inflation. one AP class offered in my high school released a distribution of grades chart, so i calculated the percent of students with an A. 68% of students recieved an A or higher without the weight, and 93% of students recieved an A with the ten points. needless to say, i spoke to the teacher about this and he quickly adjusted the scale. but this is the kind of thing that goes on...and i think we can liken it to princeton when you see that so many students in my area are overachievers who do almost everything perfectly, so it's difficult to knock points off their average (especially when they are striving to get into top colleges). i know one student who would appeal his grade any time it dropped below a 90. he would blame this on the teacher, go to guidance, tell me his chances of college acceptance were ruined, etc. etc.</p>

<p>scary, but true!</p>

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<p>ilcapo has summarized the situation correctly, I feel. It's not as easy to make up classes as you'd think. </p>

<p>But no worries, I am not in danger of not graduating. I am constantly missing classes...I have around 17 in Physics and English alone...(though I have only 8 full days absent). I'm not sure how these absences rack themselves up, but they do, and luckily enough our district doesn't prevent graduation if you have a lot of absences. </p>

<p>Grade inflation is very bad at our school and others, I would agree.</p>

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<p>babybird, your school seems to penalize you for being unable to occupy space in two different locations at the same time! I hear you on the conflicts that can be caused by music lessons. Our hs requires all instrumentalists, even those who take private instruction, to have group lessons in addition to band or orchestra class. (This doesn't extend to choir members, thank god - there are too many of them.) Kids who miss lessons are penalized with a lower band/orchestra grade, which of course has a negative impact on the GPA. Lessons are scheduled at the instructor's convenience, so kids often must miss required classes (such as gym) or lose time in demanding academic classes (such as APs) if they want to continue their musical EC. This is kind of skewed, imo, though we do have a very good band and a phenomenal orchestra. </p>

<p>High school scheduling and expectations have become a good deal more complicated than they were a generation ago. In my (completely unremarkable) public hs, babybird's situation couldn't have happened because there'd have been no such thing as a "conflict" between two classes at the same school. There were no pull-out programs, extra lessons, etc., to compete with required classes. Everyone had a free period/study hall once a day, even kids taking the most rigorous curriculum, when make-ups and conferences were attended to. Most of the kids in my d's hs don't even have a LUNCH period - they take classes instead. They eat in class (except science labs), and you should see the faces on the parents of the incoming freshmen during parents' orientation when they realize that high school life today doesn't even reserve time for lunch.</p>

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<p>Same here, Frazzled. My kids haven't had lunch in HS and also eat in class. You would be hard pressed to find an honors student who has a lunch period. The teachers are required to let you eat in class if it falls during one of the scheduled lunch periods. Students in our HS don't even use lockers - no time to get there between classes!</p>

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<p>However, there is no grade inflation in our school. If you get an A, you've worked long and hard for it!</p>

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<p>Frazzled1,</p>

<p>Babybird's situtation would not have happened at even the lowest performing public H.S. in NYC. Had she stayed at Stuyvesant, she would have had a zero period, or a late schedule to take up these classes. She would have failed gym on absences and would have found herself in night school this semester in order to graduate in June. </p>

<p>In the end she is only doing what the administration is allowing her to do so we really can't fault her. If I was in your school district I would be one really peeved parent because </p>

<p>the administration is not doing you any favors
You should not be put in the postition that you are not giving your best work in one class because you need to take something else.</p>

<p>Ek is correct that gym does not end in H.S. because many colleges require PE credit in order to graduate. Babybird has applied to Dartmouth- guess what, they require 3 PE's and a swim test in order to graduate.</p>

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<p>I only took Pe/Health once in high school.</p>