<p>What is CTY?</p>
<p>bluealien - look at post immediately prior to yours/</p>
<p>Parts of this thread reminds me of a discussion that I had with my daughter when she was 12 or 13. For the first time in her academic life the subject matter in a couple of classes did not come as easily as in the past. My sweet middle schooler had deluded herself into believing that if she didn't "get it" immediately, she must be dumb. She had a couple of high-achieving classmates who played the "I never even opened the book" game very well, which did not help things. I would have been amused at her naivete if she had not been so distressed. </p>
<p>She had always been a diligent student but she had never had to truly work before....if you get what I mean. The light bulb finally came on as she slowly realized that more advanced work required more effort and might not come easily - even in areas where she had natural gifts.</p>
<p>Onesharon - I hope that your son's situation resolves itself soon. It is frustratingly hard to get a read on things long distance. As a fellow worry wart mom (part of the job description, I guess), I feel for you.</p>
<p>Thank you again everyone. The site director did call tonight and had some good suggestions as to how they will work through the academic piece. She told me that he appears to be doing just fine in the class so perhaps it is his own insecurities, but they will put some procedures in place that will allow the students to jot down questions or issues on index cards to be handed in at the end of each session. They will continue to monitor things overall.</p>
<p>He appears to be thriving socially and cut our phone conversation short tonight because something funny was happening out in the hall. (We never call him, by the way; we wait for him to call when he wants to talk.) He has met a ton of kids and seems to be finding a good niche there. Perhaps that will be enough to make him want to try it again next year. </p>
<p>He still wants my husband to come up tomorrow, but the site director says that it is not too unusual for parents to visit on the weekend so it shouldn't make my son stand out in any way.</p>
<p>Thanks again for all of your support and suggestions. This is a great forum!</p>
<p>Sharon</p>
<p>Onesharon:
Good news!
As I mentioned, when my S first went to big CTY, he was the youngest in his class. When he returned the second year, he was closer in age to the other students in his class. That is bound to happen to your son. It is too early now to decide what he should be doing next summer.
I hope his instructor passes along to him his evaluation that he is doing just fine in the class. Sometimes, kids measure themselves against the very top students--the ones who have the answers and always speak up--, and don't realize that the rest of the class is struggling as much as they are, or even more.</p>
<p>Marite,</p>
<p>You have been such a help with this; I can see why the folks here speak so highly of you. Thank you again!</p>
<p>Sharon</p>
<p>My son spent one year at a CTY program between 5th and 6th grade and HATED it. He has had friends who have loved it. In my son's case, he resented the fact t hat many of the kids were misbehaving (he had this strange idea that smart kids behaved!) He survived the 3 weeks and never went back. I had wanted him to go because I felt it was an opportunity for him to be in an intellectually stimulating environment. </p>
<p>And now 9 years later, it made no difference. He did other things during the summer and got into great colleges without more CTY. So the advice I give is that 3 weeks will pass rather quickly. Do what you can but don't get too crazed -- if you do, your son will sense it and it will make it worse... Just be reassuring.</p>
<p>I am very new to this site and forum so I'm hoping that some parents will be able to help me. Our 14 year old son will be going to Siena College next week throught the JH CTY program to take Cryptology. He has mixed feelings- doesn't want to leave his friends at home, doesn't know anyone else that is going. He thinks he'll like the course. But I see they discourage parents from visiting. He's been away to overnight camp a couple summers for a week at a time but always with a friend. Our school district did not encourage/ advertise this program but were told about it by a private psychologist who did testing for ADHD as well as an enrichment teacher. He soared through grade school with enrichment but found middle school "boring" even though he was in math enrichment. We've told him to have fun taking the course, grades don't matter, and after reading some of the postings, we won't apply for any credit. We're hoping that he has fun with the course, meet others, and have learning! Does anyone have experience with sending their son/ daughter to Siena? Are there good activities? Safety? How's cryptology? I'd love to hear the good but of course the bad and ugly as well! Thanks</p>
<p>lsullivan-
While I cannot speak to your school or your program, I think your son will be fine and have fun. If he's had experience away at camp, he'll likely settle in and make friends easily. We just got back from dropping our younger s. and his friend off at the Duke TIP program. Granted, this is his second year (he's 15), but he instantly ran into a bunch of friends he'd made last year, and was more than happy to <em>politely</em> ask his parents, who were embarassing him with our presence, to hit the road. Last year, his first year, he quickly met kids on his hall whe were settling in, and they began to hang out together pretty automatically. Plus, the RA's do a lot of "getting to know the kids in your group" the first day. We also met kids in the hotel we were staying at each year we've done this. This year, the kid we met at breakfast ended up 2 doors down the hall from my s in the dorm. Another instant famliarity. </p>
<p>Our older s was a little less immediately comfortable whe we dropped him off his first year (whe he was only 13) because his roommate hadn't yet arrived when we had to leave, and our s felt a little lost. But within a day it had all worked out. </p>
<p>Not to worry. He'll do fine. At the Duke program, they put the kids names, home town/state and the class they are taking on their door, so you can go down the halls and see if you know anyone. My s ran into an old friend he hadn't seen in years by going down the halls.</p>
<p>-- lsullivan started a thread on the Parents Cafe on the subject of CTY at Siena, so further comments could be added there --</p>
<p>onesharon, any news on how things are going for your son a week later?</p>
<p>mootmom-
Yup - Saw that thread later and cut/posted the above response.
Onesharon's son must have just completed week 2 of the 3 week program. I'll bet ( and hope) he can hardly believehow quickly the time flew by.</p>
<p>Sharon,</p>
<p>My daughter was the youngest student in her astronomy CTY class after 7th grade. Worse yet, she had almost no science background compared to even the other few middle school students. That summer camp wasn't nearly as much fun as her previous CTY camps. But she survived, learned enough in 3 weeks so that she knew more about some topics than her 8th grade science teacher, and now she loves science. So even if there's a little temporary discomfort, your son may still benefit from the experience.</p>
<p>VaMOM3</p>
<p>onesharon-
So, How'd things end up for your son at CTY?</p>
<p>Thanks so much for asking!</p>
<p>He just got home with my husband a half hour ago.</p>
<p>At the beginning, when I first posted, he told me he absolutely was not going back.</p>
<p>Now he already has an idea of what course he may want to take next summer...lol!!</p>
<p>Socially it was terrific. Academically, the course was tough and I guess the teacher was somewhat uninspirational (although the T.A. was apparently good). My husband did get to meet with the teacher who had only good things to say, so I think that made my son feel better too. </p>
<p>So, all in all...everything worked out okay. Thanks so much for all of your support and comments; they were a big help!!</p>
<p>sharon</p>
<p>Oh, so glad to hear it, Sharon! Funny how things work out sometimes, isn't it? </p>
<p>My younger son is going off this weekend for his final CTY experience. I'm a little worried this time because there will be NO ONE in the family who is even in the country for 10 days during this session, but of course he looks at me like I'm a headless chicken when I mention concerns. Think good thoughts for a tranquil and fun next 3 weeks! :)</p>
<p>Sharon: So glad it worked out fine! Your S can take pride in doing well in a challenging course with students older than he. What better motivator than that?</p>
<p>Mootmom: So your S is going to be a nevermore? As long as you're there on the final day, when the nevermores weep buckets. :(</p>
<p>My son was shy and worried for a few days the first summer following 7th grade, but when he came home three weeks later, he was feeling sad - the class was wonderful and he had just LOVED being in a dorm with all the other kids, he missed the constant stimulation.</p>
<p>The second year he was all smiles from day one. To this day, he says that the CTY classes (Logic & Formal Reasoning, Probability & Game Theory) were the most interesting ever - and more challenging (relative to that age) than any of the AP classes. He wrote one application essay (to the prompt "What was your favorite class and why?") about the beauties of Logic and Formal Reasoning. </p>
<p>JHU really has their act together on these programs. It is inspiring and the instructors are great - he had an assistant prof teaching the first year and an associate prof the second. It is a great boon for inquisitive middle schoolers, to be exposed to college professors.</p>
<p>marite - a "nevermore". What a perfect term for it. I'm sure S is feeling the pangs of being a nevermore at camp, whether they use that term or not. (I feel like I've been a parental nevermore for this whole past year)</p>
<p>Texas:
Some of my S's friends have graduated to counselor, so there's still life after highs school in PROMYS! But at CTY, you're a nevermore if you hit 17.</p>
<p>The possibility of returning as a counselor would certainly lessen the pangs of graduating from camp, even if the student is unlikely to do it. You don't have to hear that big "bang" as a door to a beloved room slams irrevocably shut. S. has talked in the past about continuing with Mathcamp as a counselor, but I don't know if he'll do it. He is starting to get an inkling of the opportunities for internships and such that will be available once he starts college. Of course, I'm definitely a nevermore, although a young friend asked me recently if I planned to have another baby after son leaves home(!)</p>