<p>I am in 9th grade finishing up a biology class. My school district offers chemistry online over the summer. I want to take it so I can be in physics next year and then when I dual-enroll in 11th and 12th grade I won't be bogged down by science graduation requirements.</p>
<p>Yesterday I went down to the guidance office at my school and asked about a counselor sign-off sheet for the online chem class. My GC said that she "highly recommends" I just take the class next year like everyone else so that I get to participate in labs and stuff. She said that online courses are mostly for make-up. To be honest, I don't really care about labs, I just want to be prepared for dual-enrollment. I said "oh okay, thanks" because I'm not very good at being aggressive. But I really, really want to take that class this summer.</p>
<p>Should I have my parents call? Or would that be weird after kind of agreeing with her? I could just go talk to her again.. but if I did, what would I say?</p>
<p>I would agree with your counselor. You are just going to be in 10th grade next year! But if you really want to take it (I personally would not take it during the summer), just tell you parents to give her a call saying that they want you to take chemistry online during the summer. It does not matter that you agreed with her. You can change your your mind. Problem solved.</p>
<p>when a parent calls it usually means that it's too big of a problem for the student to handle. since you agreed with the teacher it's you're fault. A parent calling is a little bit like "you did something wrong and my child is too scared to talk to you." It's not the teacher's fault, it's yours and having your mom call the GC will only get her upset because it would make it seem like you're blaming her for not signing up</p>
<p>I think it would be better for you to talk to your counselor face-to-face, but if you would rather your parents call, have them call.
you need to develop better people skills sometime, but you're still just a freshman. I have the same sort of problem (not being aggresive enough when talking to teachers/professors/counselors/etc), so I know what you mean.</p>
<p>Now that I've decided to go talk to her myself, what should I say?</p>
<p>"Hi, I've decided that I want to take online chemistry, is there any way you could sign the sheet for orientation? If not I'm fine with taking it next year, but I'd rather get it out of the way in summer because I'm thinking about taking PSEO [dual-enrollment] in a couple of years and I don't want to be bogged down with science requirements when I really want to concentrate on other subjects."</p>
<p>Or is it too soon to be talking about dual-enrollment with her? Usually kids haven't even heard of it until the end of 10th grade.. she might be surprised that I'm so ahead of the game and might not take me seriously..?</p>
<p>I think it would look bad to take online chem because there are no labs. Literally, chem is completely reliant on the labs. You won't learn as much and when colleges ask for the number of years of laboratory science, you online course won't even count.
Physics online would be a much better choice...</p>
<p>Just go up to her and say, "hey, I would like this, this, and this. Please sign this for me." Don't make it sound like you're requesting permission.</p>
<p>You should <em>not</em> go to her. Your GC is right. It is <em>not</em> smart to take that class online. The labs are important. And even if you can do it without labs, ti doesn't count as another year of "lab science".
And why do you want to graduate early?</p>
<p>As far as labs go, I just looked at the syllabus for online chem and you still have to make "lab reports," which I guess means you either have to do the experiments at home or report what you predict will happen. Plus, the class doesn't appear any different on a transcript.</p>
<p>I get the feeling that my GC doesn't want me taking the class because it would complicate her job haha. I mean, if I take online chem over the summer, how many kids will do the same thing? And if all these people start taking online chem then she'll have to change all our schedules for next year. </p>
<p>Another probably reason why she's against it is because technically you can only take one semester of something in the summer, but I am willing to speed through it.</p>
<p>icinammon - dual-enrollment is different than graduating early.</p>
<p>Since you want to take chemistry over the summer to make your dual-enrollment load easier tell your counselor that you've thought it over and you've come to the conclusion your time will be much better served going farther in the humanities and taking chemistry online will enable you to do that. Let her know you're aware the online class may not look as prestigious but that there will be virtual labs (thus a lab science) and that you believe showing focus on the subjects you excel in will more than make-up for it (effort and eagerness you would be able to display with future dual-enrollment.)</p>
<p>As long as it's counted as a lab science I don't think taking it online is a big deal at all. In fact, I think going this extra mile will make your college apps look even better</p>
<p>->Don't forget you are also able to do CLEP tests for the normal classes you take instead of doing straight dual-enrollment, might make the load easier: ex. I'm in Calculus and recently took the CLEP test for College Algebra (aka Pre-Calc) in order to get the College credit.</p>
<p>My friend, the college engineering professor, tells me that one of the most important skills science students need to learn is how to write a coherent lab report. Be very wary of how colleges will treat a non lab science course or "virtual lab" science course.</p>