Shameless Brag here: Formerly slacker S wrote a 61-pg paper in college!

Parents Forum
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<p>So wonderful. To me, the long paper makes perfect sense as an assignment. </p>

<p>This past weekend I went in to NYC to see my actor son in a play, and spent afterstage time listening to the animated, delightful conversation between the stage manager and some actors. As you know from your own community theater work, the stage manager implements the work of the lighting, costume, set design and sound designer each and every night. And your son has as a goal to do lighting design. I didn’t get to meet their lighting designer (he’s on to his next project, surely…) but the way this play unfolded, it’s as if the lighting was a force within the play. It was pivotal in many scenes. At other times, the very subtle changes were all done with complete understanding of the play’s overall direction. </p>

<p>Clearly this stage manager – somewhere in her mid 20’s – had a thorough understanding of the play as a whole, what each scene needed to accomplish – line by line! There was also informal feedback between stage actors and stage crew. Crew sees the same play many different nights, so can help the actors compare each evening’s performance. </p>

<p>They were all in a very loud restaurant where they all unwound. The trust was palpable. I could see how much the cast and crew rely upon each other to understand each others’ choices and respect each other. </p>

<p>NSM, for your college S, majoring in Theater, to do such a thorough analysis of a play sounds like great training, very deep, and not overkill. Dedicated professor, certainly, but I think she knows something about what is possible within the craft of, for example, lighting design, to assign such a stretching term-paper of length. </p>

<p>When directors thank their “cast and crew” they know what they are saying!</p>

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<p>Adding my congratulations in. YEAH!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!! :)</p>

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<p>Northstarmom…I know you are feeling so wonderful right now and you really should. It is the greatest feeling when the kid with the struggle succeeds. I am so happy for you! You are one of my favorite posters who really helped when me when I needed it. Have a wonderful night!</p>

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<p>Congratulations and thanks for your help as well through the years and good advice. It does filter down and isn’t a good LAC the best for making sure they end up truly educated! At least that has been my experience with my one and only who did graduate and pull it off even with all the work and extra things. Actually the work really came in handy when applying for graduate school and now internships. I remember you saying they could do it. I think it may affect the grades somewhat but gives them a step up later with all the work experience. At least that is what I have seen from afar.</p>

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<p>Great post, paying3. I didn’t mean to imply that S didn’t benefit from having to write a 60 page paper, and you are right that it is good training for the kind of in-depth analysis that goes into putting on a play. </p>

<p>One little quibble about this “late bloomer” business. It reminds me of when people refer to babies as being “late”, if they aren’t born by the due date given by the doctor. I always insist that no, the baby is not late, the doctor calculated wrong. NSM, clearly, your S is on his own schedule and is now thriving. (Of course, it can be kind of hard to be patient with some of our kids’ schedules, even if it IS their own!)</p>

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<p>NSM, congrats to both you and your son! To you, for your excellent and effective parenting decisions through some challenging times; to your son, for finding his passion and working hard at it.</p>

<p>And hearty thanks to you for sharing your stories and your wisdom on this forum.</p>

<p>Best wishes for a lovely Mother’s Day for you, and a fulfulling future for your son! ;)</p>

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<p>Congratulations NSM! It’s always heartening to read about late bloomers! I’ve got a few too. </p>

<p>My oldest son, who had a disastrous year as a freshman, mostly because he couldn’t even figure out how to negotiate being in a college, what with drop/add, TAs, and roommates, has finally…yes finally, figured out how to balance the freedom of being a college student with responsibility and has started to grow up and talk to adults.</p>

<p>Good luck on the next phase in life NS-son.</p>

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<p>Congrats!! But who (the professor or a TA) has to read all those 80-100 pg papers? :eek:</p>

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<p>The professor is also chair of the department! She appears to teach a couple of courses a semester. I assume that since LACs emphasize teaching, not research, the professors are able to devote the time to teaching that professors at other types of college have to devote to research.</p>

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<p>NSM,</p>

<p>Congralations! My former slacker finally graduated (with honors) from the 2nd undergraduate school he attended, after a total of 7 years of undergraduate education, with the last 3 on his own (mostly) dime.</p>

<p>I know the feeling!</p>

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<p>Congratulations to your son. I have a son who sounds similar to yours, very bright but very ADD. We mistakenly sent him to college after high school and he failed miserably. He then worked on and off and lived on his own. At now 21, he (and we) are considering sending him off to college again at an institution that provides significant support for ADD/LD students.
So far we’ve looked at Lynn University in FL and Landmark in VT. What do you think and where else should we consider. Never thought about making him take out loans to go, but that probably is the thing to do.
Thanks.</p>

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<p>Congrats to your son. I could NOT imagine writing a paper longer than 30 pages, let alone 60+. Then again, I’m one of those people that are like “Okay, if I can’t find some underlying ‘meaning’ to this, maybe that’s because there isn’t.”</p>

<p>As far as the prof that has to read it, I have no sympathy. And as far as I’m concerned, I have no sympathy for the TA’s either. If the TA’s refuse to grade them, the prof won’t assign them (the prof sure as hell isn’t going to read them all him/herself).</p>

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<p>Dear god I hope so. My mom says I’m a late bloomer but I better bloom before the December 2010 LSAT or I’m going to end up an unemployed JD.</p>

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I always thought lawyers had to write big long briefs and motions.</p>

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Do you mean bar exam? Don’t you usually take the LSAT before getting the JD? Or did you mean Juvenile delinquent?</p>

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<p>" If the TA’s refuse to grade them, the prof won’t assign them (the prof sure as hell isn’t going to read them all him/herself)."</p>

<p>S’s prof has no TAs. It’s a LAC, which typically don’t have TAs because classes are small, most LACs lack graduate programs, and professors’ main jobs are to teach.</p>

<p>“t now 21, he (and we) are considering sending him off to college again at an institution that provides significant support for ADD/LD students.
So far we’ve looked at Lynn University in FL and Landmark in VT. What do you think and where else should we consider. Never thought about making him take out loans to go, but that probably is the thing to do.”</p>

<p>This may sound harsh, but at 21 and after flunking out of college on your dime, I think it’s time for your son to take charge of his own education by taking the time to research appropriate colleges, and finding a way to pay for at least his first year. This was the deal that we had with our younger S, the subject of this post. </p>

<p>After younger S (who like your S is ADD) almost flunked out of college, H and I told him he’d have to do OK for at least a year at a college on his own dime for H and me to invest in his college education. </p>

<p>We decided to respond to that S that way after older S (smart, ADHD) went to college on a virtually full merit scholarship and then flunked out due to too much partying (He had never partied before and in fact had been rather antisocial). This S, too, had had a severe case of senioritis in high school, and we learned from how he responded to college that he simply was too immature to go to college then.</p>

<p>This S has been supporting himself for 4 years (after my well meaning, but misguided SIL stopped supporting him) by working in an office. Thus far, he has not expressed interest in returning to college even though he has repeatedly been turned down for better jobs that probably go to college graduates. </p>

<p>He knows, though, that if he decides to go to college, at least for the first year, it will be on his dime.</p>

<p>My experience, too, as an ADD person myself is that when bright people who are ADD/ADHD really want to do something, they find ways to achieve their goals. If you, though, have to do the hard work of seeking out opportunities for them, the goals are yours, not theirs, and they aren’t likely to rise to the challenge.</p>

<p>I believe that if your son is serious about college now, he could find a way of succeeding at your local community college.</p>

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<p>Those things actually matter. And the law is a complicated subject area. I can write a 30 page memo easily summarizing 300 pages of case law, and what it means to the client. Not so much with a 300 page book written 400 years ago.</p>

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<p>Nah. Bad LSAT–>Bad law school–>Unemployment. No I meant Juris Doctor JD. The Bar is harder but infinitely less important (being a pass/fail exam-you just need to pass).</p>