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chiguirre

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Everything posted by chiguirre

  1. Someone gave my SIL an acoustic guitar. My nephew would like to learn to play. None of us have any guitar experience, I can read music and know a bit about violin from watching my dd practice. First off, it seems like a 7/8 guitar would be recommended? How important is this versus a full size? Can you recommend online lessons for beginners? I'm going to be doing this with him I think. I'd like to start off with free lessons on youtube or an online course until we see how committed he is. Thank you!
  2. I wouldn't expect your son to "return" because he'll change as he becomes an independent adult. My relationship with my dd has changed and gotten much better now that she knows she can adult successfully. It's stressful to be on the verge of adulthood, there's a lot to worry about and a lot of pressure from societal and parental expectations. Once you've established yourself as a productive adult that can support themselves, it's easier to remember why you like your parents.
  3. Another thing to consider as a transfer, especially if you are a non-traditional student, is that summer sessions will cut down the time you need to finish. My dd changed intended majors and applied to an out of state school with very different gen ed requirements. I dreaded how few credits would usefully transfer and how long it would take her to finish until I started mapping it out with her. (I did most of the internet digging because she didn't have consistent wifi on her ship.) It turned out that she could CLEP three classes that she needed but didn't line up with her AA credits. These are turning out to be fairly easy since she had some baseline knowledge and experience studying using online resources. That shaved off a semester for her. When we started mapping out a course plan, we realized that classes are offered consistently during the summer because it's an online degree program. So she can do 2 classes each semester for 3 semesters each year. That means that she can finish 9 semesters in 3 calendar years. She has the advantage that she doesn't have to worry about looking for an internship since she has a resume-building full time job. If your student is flexible, they might get an internship that's not during the summer and use online courses to get a few credits done. There are lots of options and work-arounds if you do your research and are flexible.
  4. Is he studying IT or computer science or software engineering? There are massive differences between these majors. There is also a noticeable difference between CS programs that prepare students for graduate school vs. terminal BS degrees. FSU has an explainer about the differences in their CS degrees. https://www.cs.fsu.edu/academics/undergraduate-programs/differences-between-the-bs-and-ba-in-computer-science/
  5. I think this is most people's reality. It's certainly reality for my dd. There are relatively few places where you can study online at a highly ranked university. Most online programs are set up as branch campuses and their degree is from that branch campus instead of the main university. UF is really dd's only option if she wants a name brand diploma from a Top 30 school.
  6. I'll give a shout out for CLEPS too. You can do them for free using Modern States prep courses and vouchers. There is a huge variety of CLEP exams, and if you add in DSST (the military sponsored tests that are open to everyone), you can craft a personalized educational experience. This requires a lot of discipline because you have to self-study, but there are excellent resources available to help you out. It's important to make sure your target college will accept the credits and what score is needed. https://modernstates.org/about-us/who-we-are/ Now, turning to a completely different way to pay for college, your kids might want to look at the military. There are two paths here: enlisting and getting the GI Bill or getting a ROTC scholarship. The ROTC scholarships cover tuition but not room and board so you still have to pay or live at home and you're obligated to 4 years of service as an officer when you graduate. I know the ins and outs of enlisted life much better than ROTC, so this section will be much more detailed. My dd enlisted in the Navy when she graduated from high school/community college dual enrollment with her AA at 18. Since she had her AA she entered as an E-3 instead of as an E-1 and she is now an E-5 (these are enlisted pay grades that correspond to equivalent ranks in the various branches, dd is an IT2, this means she's an IT tech who is a Petty Officer Second Class in Navyspeak). There are two sources of funding available to enlisted, Tuition Assistance and the GI Bill. Each branch has different rules for using TA and the Air Force and Navy/Marines have their own CC systems. The AF's is much older and, frankly, better than the Navy/Marine CC which has just started. The GI Bill vests after 3 years of active duty. It covers tuition at public universities and a living stipend equivalent to the Basic Allowance for Housing in the university's location. Some private schools offer Yellow Ribbon scholarships to cover their entire tuition cost. If your kids are interested in enlisting, they should absolutely maximize the number of college credits they earn in high school, shooting for at least 48 to enter as an E-3. If you have your AA, you get an extra bonus sometimes (the bonuses come and go and change constantly and they can add up to a lot of money for an 18 yo). You give up a traditional 18-22 college experience if you enlist, but you can get a lot of college done using the CCs and/or CLEP and DSST exams while you're in. When you get out you can use the GI Bill to finish your BA/BS and have time left over for graduate school. Some schools will give active duty members a steep discount on tuition (usually to $250/credit, the Tuition Assistance amount, sometimes even less if their in-state rates are lower). My dd is applying to finish her BS in Computer Science at the University of Florida Online. She'll apply for a waiver for in-state rates that are equivalent to CC rates in TX. AD members can also qualify for Pell grants because their housing and subsistence allowances aren't taxable income. Also, once you've enlisted, you are an independent adult for financial aid purposes and your parents' income isn't taken into consideration. I think I've touched on everything military related to college financing, but if I left something out, just ask.
  7. I got the flu and covid shots as a walk-in when I picked up a prescription at Kroger pharmacy. Someone else was there for an appointment and they were thawing them out, so I went ahead. I had sore arms (one shot in each, they were about the same) and fatigue the next day.
  8. My dd did MPOA from 2017-2021. There is religious content, about on the par of a Catholic high school minus the religion class. So, biology included evolution but Latin had a lot of religious content because they use Henle which was written for Catholic schools. The teachers are all religious, but they vary as to how much they feel the need to share that with their students. However, MPOA seems to have grown a bunch and their quality is not as consistent as it was when my dd was a student. That's a shame because she had an excellent experience with them. There were many written assignments on top of the quizzes that come from the student workbooks, especially in humanities subjects. Obviously math and science had homework, quizzes and tests and no papers, except a presentation for biology. But there were quite a few papers assigned for history and English.
  9. This!!!! I've had people suggest special ed as a second career to me and I just can't. I'm tapped out and my sons are still at home. I need my bandwidth for them.
  10. The WaPo did a poll of homeschoolers to compare with a 2019 federal government poll. It's an interesting snapshot of the post-Covid homeschoolers. Here's a gift link: https://wapo.st/3EZ9GVf There are some political opinions expressed on both sides of the spectrum, but a lot of the new homeschoolers are not ideological. They tried it out in 2020 and it stuck.
  11. Can you use Rate My Professor? My dd and I used it every semester when she attended CC. There were always comments about how the asynchronous classes were run and they were accurate. The classes that were well reviewed had professors that were on the ball posting assignments, providing prompt feedback and answering emails. The few she had no choice but to take because they were the only section offered lived up to their low expectations, but she was mentally prepared for the struggle.
  12. Dd has a friend from high school that transitioned. They wanted to enlist but couldn't due to medical issues and really didn't want to go to college. They were just d.o.n.e. with school. They lived at home for a year saving up to move out and looking for a job that would train them for something that paid better than minimum wage. They succeeded in finding work as an insurance agent (I think) and moved to a part of Houston that was famous for being LGBTQ+ friendly. It can be done, it might mean making some trade-offs and putting up with a less than ideal situation in the meantime. Dd's friend's parents were not supportive and her friend didn't transition until they could get out of Dodge, so the situations are not exactly the same and M may not have this option. There must be some colleges that have very minimum application requirements that wouldn't be too stressful to sit down and fill out. Dd's app at U of FL Online was very plain vanilla: one essay, no more than 1000 words about why you want to attend UFO and why it would be a good fit. Has M looked at the apps for the CC in Nashville or Memphis (whichever is friendlier)?
  13. What are you supposed to do if she bolts in a parking lot? Headed for a street? You're going to need to be able to stop her before she's in danger. They make safety vests with grabbable straps so you can keep hold of an eloper without having to touch their person. Does she have one of those? What have her caretakers done in the past? Does she have a Behavioral Intervention Plan? What does it call for in case of elopement? Will they provide training for you before you take on this immense responsibility? One of my sons went through an elopement phase. I couldn't go anywhere with him without a firm hold on him at all times. It's very stressful. Be careful not to get yourself into a life or death situation you're not equipped to handle.
  14. When is their 18th birthday? If it's well before traditional graduation in June, I'd make a deal with them. They can CLEP or DSST math, English (comp or lit) and government or econ (micro or macro)-their choice. If you just need a social studies, there are also psychology, anthropology and sociology options. Once they've passed these 3 exams they're done. The advantage of CLEPs over DSSTs is that Modern States has prep courses and downloadable textbooks. You're more on your own to prep for DSSTs. There are also resources for both at: http://www.free-clep-prep.com/index.html Math choices: College Math CLEP, College Algebra CLEP, DSST Statistics. The easiest is College Math and it's a wide ranging test that they've probably seen parts of before. College Algebra would line up with their pre-calc, I think. Statistics is a tougher test, but it might be more interesting. English options: CLEP Composition, Analyzing Literature, American Lit, English Lit, DSST Technical Writing and Public Speaking Any of these will work for an English credit, it's a matter of picking something interesting and studying it. Social Sciences: There are so many options here unless they absolutely need government and/or econ. Some of them are reputed to be very easy, some are more challenging. They could focus on one subject at a time and intensively prep for that, take the test, move on to the next and be done in 3 or 4 months. Maybe you could show them how Thomas Edison State works so they can see the goal of earning a BA and how they're moving in that direction. They may just be done. Done. But they can't just get into a fast car with a ticket to anywhere unless they look forward to living in a shelter and working as a check out girl. They can make a better plan and execute it. ETA: Modern States offers vouchers if you complete their courses. This makes CLEPs the cheapest option. DSSTs will cost more and be tougher to schedule, but they offer some cool courses. Dd really enjoyed reading the World Religions text and managed to prep in about a month after work. There are many other courses offered that might pique their interest. In the meantime, they can be looking around for career options that include room and board or working to save up enough cushion to move out.
  15. So, this is from the perspective of someone whose parents do not have NPD. They've got their quirks, but they're not toxic. My parents are really old now, my dad is going to be 88 and my mom is going to be 83 in the next two months. They don't complain about aging. Ever. They complain about their aches and pains a bit, the weather a lot when it's too hot or rainy to do their daily walk, politics sometimes (but we're on the same side, so this is commiseration not passive aggression), bad customer service (hats off to their internet non-provider they eventually had to dump), the vole that killed my mom's hostas (this is annual, but hope springs eternal) and the sudden sharp increase in the price of x (milk, eggs, the same stuff we gripe about on here.) They spend at least as much time telling me happy stories about the fabulous deals at Publix (2 for 1 Siggi's, yippee), something cool they saw on their walks, how well my mom's garden is doing, etc. I think they're really grateful to still be relatively healthy at their age and focus on enjoying what they can and not dwelling on what they can't. My mom has rheumatoid arthritis and my dad has macular degeneration, so they have their issues, but they look at being really old as better than the alternative.
  16. Americorps has a volunteer gap year program called City Year. It might be a good fit for M.
  17. With this much writing, I'm wondering if this class fulfills a writing requirement? If that's the case, I'd count it as your English for the year and let them take history next semester. Many high schools do a block schedule where students take 4 classes each semester. It wouldn't be very different than that. When you write your course description make sure you emphasize the amount of writing they did.
  18. If they want to get out of their hometown, they need to make a plan. That's almost certainly going to require a hs diploma to execute. Maybe you could spend a week or two formulating a realistic plan to get out of Dodge next June. That might give them the impetus to finish up. They might also be more motivated if they know they can double dip by doing PreCalc for their high school graduation and, then, CLEP it for college credit. Modern States has free prep materials and vouchers so it's free if you put in the work. I don't remember their health challenges, if they've resolved and weren't self harm, they might want to consider the military. It's the quickest ticket out of town for young adults who have major conflict with their families. There are many enlisted who chose the military for this very reason. Feel free to DM if you need help researching this possibility. Keep on keeping on. It's such a stressful time for young adults and the older ones who are trying to launch them.
  19. I went through the UF course catalog for their required Quest classes (one humanities, one biology or social science, I looked at bio) to see what they offered. They had a couple of asynchronous options, one that was obviously a check the box to fulfill this requirement, and one that seemed more interesting but was recycled video from a live class that's no longer offered. I was looking at it from the opposite perspective. Dd is in Guam, which is literally on the other side of the earth, 12 times zones away from EDT. If a class is not asynchronous, it won't work. In fact, I hope she'll be able to find classes that unlock all of the content from the beginning so she can accommodate any underways she'll have without having to drop a class. But, tbh, she's looking for the relatively easy class that checks the course requirement box and gets the degree that checks the box on a job application. She's already got a "real" job that has to take priority. This isn't ideal for traditional students, but it is what the non-traditionals are looking for. (As a an extra point that probably only applies to military, but you can't always count on having good wifi. I was checking the Quest classes and sending dd screenshots because she doesn't have access to good wifi on board her ship or on the barge they lived on while they were in the ship yards. She had to rely on me or take her phone to a McD's or Starbucks to really use anything except email. This makes asynchronous even more important to her. She has to be able to download stuff and watch it offline.)
  20. 8 is right about the importance of developing good writing skills. I'd just like to add that you don't have to sit and watch him write a paragraph. You can sit with him for 5 minutes and make sure he has a topic sentence and knows where to look for supporting details, then send him off to write. When he's finished, you can sit with him again for 5 minutes to make sure he's used the topic sentence, that his supporting details work and identify any punctuation or word choice issues. Rinse and repeat daily (that stack of science books is an awesome source of paragraph writing material) and by the end of the year, you'll have a master of paragraph writing who is ready to move on to essays. PS: At 10, he should be learning to type if he hasn't already. That is something he can do by himself using a game.
  21. Their online high school classes do not fill out the entire workbooks. They use them to guide class discussion and use them selectively for written practice.
  22. The major problem I see with that price is that all the Smithsonians are free and that's more than you can hope to do in a brief visit to WDC. OTOH, I pay almost that much for special exhibits at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, so if I really wanted to see it, I'd pony up. I know about their provenance problems. It's clear the Hobby Lobby dudes were marks for every biblical scammer out there. But, I don't think the Museum of the Bible is the same as the Creation Museum or that Noah's Ark thing. They at least were trying to make a real museum and doing a crappy job of it, not blatantly making stuff up. I've seen the Elgin marbles and the Benin bronzes (before they were returned) and I wouldn't boycott the Smithsonian even though they have those Peruvian skulls. I wish the HMNS would not display their mummies (it's disrespectful IMHO) but I'm not going to not take Astroboy to see the museum because I object to that one display. I'm a hard-core none that deconverted from Christianity before puberty, so I'm not that sensitive to how they make American Christianity look. But, I'm not going to shell out $30 when I haven't even seen the African American museum yet and I'd want to spend a day at the National Gallery.
  23. My dd graduated from MP's online academy so she did all of her high school level classes with them. (She also did dual enrollment classes at our local CC and graduated high school and her AA at the same time). We DIDN'T use many MP products before high school. She used their Latin prep stuff and did a year of Henle before she started their Latin 2 in 9th grade. We read a few of their books with their study guides and that was all. It didn't make any difference. I think if you plan on doing their online high school you should do a couple of classes online throughout middle school, but they don't have to be with MPOA. We used the defunct Landry Academy, WTM Online and Art Of Problem Solving classes and dd was well prepared to do handle a full load at MPOA when she started. (OTOH, check current reviews when it's time to enroll. Dd had some excellent teachers but MPOA is so big that quality varies.)
  24. The article didn't mention Covid, but I think it plays a bigger role than it's being credited with. My dd was so sick of lockdown and online everything (not just classes, but Model UN, Asia Society camps, violin lessons). It ruined her last two years of high school and the thought of going off to college and maybe having to lockdown again definitely weighted the scales in favor of enlisting. She's gotten what she wanted, a real job, sailing on a big ship, visiting a lot of ports and living all over the place in her two years of Navy life. Now she's ready to go back to school. That means finishing her degree online at a highly ranked public university, but I don't think she regrets missing the freshman experience.
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