<p>As someone else mentioned, if not an essay topic, this might at least be something for that “is there anything else you want to say” portion of the Common App.</p>
<p>My D is in a class that counts as a PE credit where they actually grade on skill. They do a tumbling skills check once a week and significant points are taken off their grade if they can’t do a certain tumbling skill. The parents always say that there isn’t a single admissions officer on the planet who would see an F in Cheerleading and think “oh, she must have developed a mental block on her back tuck.” You know that everyone would think “boy there must be a story of misbehavior here if she failed Cheerleading.”</p>
<p>Colleges typically don’t bother with physical education- they care about academic courses and will recalculate any gpa including it. I wouldn’t draw attention to this by a comment in an essay portion of the app. </p>
<p>As to grades and doing the work. My gifted son was capable of a 4.0 (unweighted- his school only gave A, B… and no weighting) in HS- had that the first 3 semesters. Then he got some B’s when he wouldn’t put forth the effort to optimize his grades, SAT subjects (got 2400 on the SAT). He did get an honors degree in college- with some courses he likewise could have had A’s but didn’t put forth the extra effort. I had a gifted college friend who also didn’t always get the grades when capable. Neither of them were that concerned with getting perfect grades for the sake of the gpa, they loved to learn, however.</p>
<p>It is important to have a discussion about college goals sometime this fall. She needs to realize that the rest of her HS career will determine which colleges she should look at. Improving grades do matter. A blip sophomore year won’t matter. A great junior year will, and second semester this school year will be her time to practice good study habits and find successful time usage. She may have learned that even easy classes require doing the work- valuable for later.</p>
<p>Hopefully you can get through to her. My son wouldn’t listen.</p>
<p>Why would anyone assume that getting a bad grade in gym means you are a behavior problem, especially if your other grades are good. I was/am a total spaz. I tried out for cheerleader and didn’t make the cut, not because I misbehaved but because my glasses flew off my face and hit the coach in the nose! Did I do it on purpose? Obviously not. I got a D in gym one semester because my glasses got broken on my face during a basketball game and in those days it took several weeks to get a new pair. After my next pair was broken playing volleyball, I developed the 30 day a month period, which worked because I was in an all girl gym class of 250 girls and I just approached a different teacher each week with the tale of my menstrual woes and why I couldn’t dress/participate. I got D’s every semester but they didn’t count in my GPA and I don’t think they should count in life, unless your goal is to be a gym teacher or work in a sports related field.</p>
<p>I firmly believe that any college that gets hung up on grades like PE, Art, driver’s ed or the like for any student other than one who wishes to study those areas, is not worth wasting time on. I barely passed art and music, courses I was forced to take, although I actually worked hard because I have absolutely no talent, ability or inclination in any of those areas. My grade reflected my ability level but not my behavior. In art class, I actually volunteered to clean up on my lunch period in exchange for a guaranteed B; without that guarantee, I would probably NOT have passed the class even though I handed in every project on time. In music, I volunteered to tutor other kids to help them learn the words to the chorus songs. In exchange, I got a guaranteed B as long as I swore no sound would escape my mouth during performances. I actually find it ironic that my daughter is best known for her beautiful singing voice!</p>
<p>All I’m trying to say, is don’t sweat the small stuff. If this F in DE is the result of disorganization, learn from it but don’t make it bigger and more stressful than it needs to be.</p>
<p>Driver’s ed is one of those courses, that as long as you pay attention and do the required work, you should at least get a B. It is not exactly a challenging course. </p>
<p>I went to high school in IL, and so, gym was required each year. Grading was done mostly on participation and attendance.</p>
<p>Driving is a life skill, like swimming, cooking, and knowing how to balance a checkbook. And only a handful of Americans live in places that are not car-dependent to some degree. Even big cities like Los Angeles and Houston are hard to get around without a car. I don’t think it’s so strange that some states have Driver’s Ed as a HS graduation requirement.</p>
<p>Quote:
“In some states (Illinois is one), the classroom portion of driver’s ed is a state requirement for graduation; the on-the-road portion is optional.” </p>
<p>I just looked at the isbe site. Driver’s ed is not a graduation requirement in Illinois. Listed under “units of instruction or courses that school districts must offer but students are not required to take” is</p>
<p>Driver’s ed is required to graduate from my son’s Illinois high school. He had taken it privately because he has an early birthday and senior year had a note sent home that he didn’t have the graduation requirements. Freaked us out a little but he had had his license for two years by then so he had clearly taken driver’s ed.</p>
<p>My understanding is that in IL, the classroom portion of Driver’s Ed is a graduation requirement. If taken privately, you can apply for a waiver or transfer the credit.</p>
<p>Insofar as I know, schools around here where we live generally don’t offer driver’s ed and so most kids (at least, all the ones I knew) have taken it online. There ARE some reputable schools (they must be approved by your state) - We’re in California.
If she has any interest in moving on with math I would work on that NOW.
If she thinks she may go into performing arts, in our experience they often don’t get/have driver’s licenses because they are so busy, travel a lot, and are in cities with a lot of public transportation anyway.
Hope this helps.</p>