Barbara H
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Posts posted by Barbara H
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Yes, the quality of advising varies dramatically. Some colleges draft faculty (who may or may not be trained), some have professional advisers who are well trained, and some have whatever hourly employee happens to be there. The person could be highly competent or totally incompetent. Often the worst advising a student receives is during freshman orientation! I do not believe you should go over his head. I don't think that's appropriate in this situation and it is sending the wrong message.
A story you may share: Here's how a friend's son ended up entirely retaking calculus II. He'd taken it as a college course during high school, gotten an a good grade and the credit fully transferred as it was in the same state university system. He told the orientation adviser that he thought they were signing him up for the wrong course and he produced a copy of his transcript. The adviser noted they had different course numbers (as is normal in that state university system) and this was the next course in the calculus sequence. His mother told him she thought it was a mistake. He got mad and insisted the adviser would not tell him the wrong thing. When he started the course that fall he thought it seemed like review, but figured that was normal. By the time he was sure it was the wrong course he'd already taken it was too late and he didn't want to go back to his mom and admit he messed up. So, that's how he ended up taking calculus II twice. It was a waste of time and money and yeah, he learned the lesson to keep with it when you have a question about advising.
College is a big transition and it is totally normal to feel unsure. One thing to keep in mind is that the people at the college are there to help. It doesn't mean that they will always give you the right advice, but it does mean that students should not hesitate to ask for help. Sometimes you won't get the right advice the first time. It is frustrating, but it happens. It is a typical feeling to be hesitant to ask for help - but it is important to push past it and try to keep in mind that everyone wants you to be successful. By asking for help you are allowing people to do their jobs.
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It is great that you want to go back to school. One idea would to be try to get some volunteer experience in archeology. This would give you an opportunity to meet people in the field and start to get a better idea about how it might work as a career. Here are a couple of places to find out about digs that accept volunteers. http://www.archaeological.org/webinfo.php?page=10016 and, with the Forest Service http://www.passportintime.com/
Most jobs in archeology require an advanced degree. Many of the entry level jobs in the field are done by graduate students and other jobs often require an advanced degree. It would be a good idea to identify some people who have the sorts of jobs you are interested in and to interview them. Find out how they got there and get their opinions about your study options.
Best wishes!
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For any fellow geeks who enjoy statistics there is a good analysis of homeschool frequency at the International Center for Homeschool Research blog
Comments include: "Since I last reported this data, six states have seen increases in reported enrollment, six states have seen declines, and four states have flat-lined. I myself detect no pattern that might suggest an interpretation for why some states are up and others down, but this data does suggest that the days of dramatic nationwide growth in homeschooling may be coming to an end."
There are a lot of problems with accuracy in homeschool statistics and that includes trying to figure out how many people homeschool. It is clearly many more and a more diverse population than it was ten years ago but it sounds like we may be reaching an end of that growth.
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We really enjoyed Minimus. So often gifted learners end up having to use curriculum that is designed for much older learners, so we appreciated that this was was both on a good emotional/social level and provided a solid introduction for further study in Latin.
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Most books we've been able to save with shopping online, but we hit on one customized textbook that had the problems numbered differently so we had to go with the custom version or homework would have been impossible.
Great advice to shop early online. Also, if your student wants to resell books - list them as soon as possible at the end of the semester and write good descriptions. I much more likely to buy a book that lists condition very clearly - no writing, no highlighting, tight binding, nonsmoking. We have often been able to sell the book for as much as we paid for used.
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Also, why customizable texts? Someone mentioned on another board about replacing the part about evolution in a science text with their own part about creation. How much does a university customize a text? Is there a valid point for it?
The reason you'll often hear is that it cuts down on cheating. For some of the most popular tests there are full solution sets circulating on Ebay.
But, the bigger reason is probably profit for both the textbook companies and for the universities that get royalties. online.wsj.com/article/SB121565135185141235.html
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I encourage you to go for it. Just be friendly and make sure everyone knows they are invited and welcome them to share it with other homeschoolers too. Often other people are waiting for someone else to organize and will appreciate that you did. My one bit of advice is especially initially don't look at activities that require a minimum number of participants or a financial commitment because you will always have people who will say they will show up but won't. Don't let that discourage you because you can have fun even if you have a small turn out to start.
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Which reminds me - in that sticky there should be something about naming one's school especially if you intend to do it all the way through. No self-respecting high school senior wants to put "My Little Pony Academy" on their college applications
Good point. Though, I have to say it made me think of this My Little Pony trend in the military: "You, the bronies, have taught me that there are things and people worth protecting; things bigger and more important than myself," write Ken "Derpy" Catlin
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Great subject to cover - everyone should. I think personal finance is one of the easiest homeschool subjects to learn for free and your kids have already learned a lot from seeing how you live. There are a lot of good online resources that would be enough without spending $100+ on it. I have a Pinterest Homeschool Personal Finance Board that might be helpful.
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I know it can be hard when so many of us have had negative experiences with K-12 education, but I would really encourage students not to see the professor-student relationship as adversarial. Most instructors and professors really do want to help students and are eager to see students learn and do well. Job satisfaction doesn't generally come from having students fail - it comes from having them succeed. When students see professors or institutions as their enemies they are not inclined to ask for help and asking for help is exactly what they need to do early in the course before it is too late to turn things around. Are there bad professors out there? Sure, but they aren't the majority and what I hear from homeschoolers is often a lot of enthusiasm for what they are learning in college and the positive support they've gotten from faculty.
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My thought is that by the time you get to high school it matters really very little what curriculum you did or didn't use in elementary school. If possible, yes it is best if your child has good foundational skills particularly in math and reading so they do not need remedial work. That's something most curriculum will accomplish though.
This may sound odd coming from someone who advises students on high school and college admissions, but in elementary and middle school I would focus more on the bigger picture. Yes, get solid math and reading, but remember the real reason to homeschool isn't just about teaching academics. It is about your child's whole development. What I see at the high school level is that students who have a solid foundation in social, emotional, and lifeskills are the ones who fair the best. So just to think about the big picture that includes:
- Strong parent-child relationships
- Kindness and concern for others
- Enjoying learning rather than just expecting to be entertained
- Keeping curiosity and creativity alive
- Traits like work ethic, internal self motivation, and the ability to withstand frustration,
- Life skills (cooking, household stuff, money management)
- Strong body and healthy life management (sleep, stress, eating, exercise)
So, think about what you'd hope for in these areas for your teenager and see how you are putting down the foundation for that now.
Hope that is helpful!
- Strong parent-child relationships
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Yes, to checking college email accounts. It was surprising to me to find out how many students rarely or never check their college email address. A lot of kids in this generation are just not as email oriented as their parents, but it is a habit they should start cultivating as they apply to college and continue during college.
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Regentrude and Dana and any other instructors -
I'd love to hear your thoughts about the cause of these negative student behaviors (the whining, begging, not accepting the grade earned even when the grading system has clearly been explained repeatedly). Do you think it stems from experiencing again and again in high school that there will always be a second chance or extra credit? Is it something about the way students have been parented? Something about our culture?
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You can lead a horse to water....
But, you can't make him understand there will be no extra credit available.
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This may not be exactly what you are looking for but it may help to share some of these thoughts...
1. It is totally normal not to know at 17 what you will study in college. Most students don't. A large percentage of students enter college undecided. And, those who do select a major most often change it. In other words, he shouldn't feel like everyone else knows what they want to do but he doesn't. Most don't know what they want to do and a big percentage of those who think they do end up changing their minds. He can still look at different colleges. The most important factors for most students in college choice aren't about major - look at size, social fit, financial fit, extracurricular activities, etc.
2. This is why the general education requirements in college come first. He will get a chance to explore and he will figure it out.
3. With the exception of some more specialized fields (such as speech pathology, accounting, engineering) most subjects can be studied at most colleges. It is actually pretty rare for students to transfer because a school doesn't offer what they decide they want to study. It happens, but most students end up finding something they like where they are.
4. There is not a very strong relationship between college major and what you end up doing for a living. Most people work in something only somewhat related to their college major. A couple of students at Williams College did a very cool illustration of how liberal arts majors relate to different careers.
5. If he is interested in exploring different careers I have some ideas on my Pinterest careers board. Most of all though I'd encourage him just to know it is normal not to know and it'll be okay.
Hope that helps!
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Does he enjoy Miquon if you don't require use of the rods? If so, I'd just let him pick and choose and do what he wants. My very mathy kid (now a math major in college) didn't care for the rods, but really enjoyed Miquon and got a lot a very good foundation in mathematical thinking just from using the materials in the way he wanted to. We did some of the handwriting for him too.
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Good concern to raise. For the 2013 year (this year's seniors) the SAT could be taken up until December 2012 as long as it was submitted on time to NMSC. If it is a concern good to check with NMSC, but unless the rules change significantly for 2014 taking it in the fall should be okay.
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Just in case it is of interest to anyone...
Here's a 60 minutes interview with one of the SAT cheaters that lead to these more stringent rules (which some schools are obviously struggling with and being overzealous about enforcing). Watching this with your teens might be a good starter for a conversation about ethics and how there will always be people who really don't have them. http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7393498n
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Arg! I wish they'd been able to accept some alternative form of ID. Please don't be so hard on yourself - everyone makes mistakes and this is not going to make or break his life.
Is he a rising senior applying to start in the fall of 2014?
No guarantees but one option would be to pay extra and register for standby for the ACT. The deadline is June 3.
http://www.actstudent.org/regist/standbytest.html
There is also a SAT test date in the fall on October 6.
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Congrats to your DD!
Keep in mind that you would be submitting a photocopy of the diploma not the original. So I don't think there is really a lot of purpose in paying for a really fancy printed diploma because once it is photocopied it will look the same as what you print on your home computer. Assuming you followed the laws of your state, there is nothing unethical about creating a diploma. She graduated and you are just giving her official proof of that.
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I've almost finished this book. Based on other things I have read in the past, I've tried praising effort instead of achievement, but it seems hard to come up with things to say sometimes. I wish there had been more examples of that in the book.
It has been a while since I read Mindset so I don't remember the specific examples she uses, but here are a couple of thoughts that may be helpful.
One idea is just say a lot less. In our culture kids are getting so much external feedback and commentary so often. It can just become a sort of mindless habit to feel like we have to say something about everything kids do. I find that kids often do better if we say less in the way of evaluative comments and let them make their own observations. Too much attention for some kids can quickly lead to avoiding trying stuff they think they will fail at. If you do say something often less is more. So, instead of 10 "way to go - you are so athletic" Try one more insightful comment - "wow, it looks like you've worked really hard - that's a lot more somersaults in a row than you could do last week."
Another thing I've found really important, especially with perfectionist kids, is for parents to role model healthy thinking. Instead of "oh no I'm so bad at knitting this lace pattern" - "Wow, that one was tough. I had to take it out three times but I'm glad I stuck with it because I love it!" More than what we say kids see what we do. Modeling persistence in learning can make a big difference.
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Not sure if anyone mentioned this but one big issue with distance learning classes is just making sure all the students are able to log in, access Blackboard and upload documents or files as needed. The early assignments may be in part just to make sure the first part of class isn't wasted waiting to make sure any IT problems are worked out. There just isn't a lot of extra time in summer classes.
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How would a 12 year old get into college? Don't they need transcripts of high school courses? This still fascinates me, but I still don't understand it. Can we give our children an SAT at any age and that's all they need, as long as they get a good score on it? I don't get it.
The process is the same as it is for older students at that particular institution. Typically students submit a high school transcript and ACT or SAT scores as well as whatever else that particular school requires such as essays or additional test scores such as SAT subject tests. Maturity level is often scrutinized carefully and students are sometimes asked to do additional interviews with administrators. There are also some early entrance college programs that are primarily designed to allow high schools students to skip junior and senior year or complete it at the same times as the first two years of college.
Several people raised concerns about students living in the dorm, but that tends to be a nonissue. Most early college students either live at home with parents or are enrolled in special early college programs (such as Mary Baldwin's PEG program) where the dorms and support services are designed specifically for younger students. For students who begin in the 11-15 age span most treat college as a kind of high school. They go for classes and some campus clubs or activities. but they maintain a social life separate from college through regular teen activities like soccer, church youth group, music lessons, etc. Taking classes is a distinct activity from hanging around a frat house keg.
It may be easy to get a different idea with the buzz this topic gets in homeschool circles. but really early college students are pretty rare. It is very common for homeschoolers in high school to take some college classes, but middle school aged kids enrolled full time in college are quite uncommon. Families tend to choose this option when other options fail, not as a first choice.
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I see a big range in maturity - some 17 year olds are more mature than some 19 year olds. It is not uncommon for students to start college at 17, 18, or 19 and it won't raise a big concern in any direction. It is very common at a lot of schools for students to attend for five or six years for undergrad and again age is not a big issue. I don't think there is a magic thing where people are all across the board mature at the same age. So, I really see it as a very individual decision based on her circumstances and she should be the main one making that decision. If anything I think it takes much more maturity to travel abroad than it does to be on most college campuses.
Just on the practical issue of being under 18, over 18 you may still be required to co-sign for a lease or utilities. That seems to be the most common scenario. While there are exceptions to that rule, most students who attend campus away from their hometown do better to live on campus the first year of college anyway.
Which schools offer automatic, significant scholarships to National Merit Finalists?
in The College Board
Posted
There are some great options. I have wrote an article about university awards tied to National Merit Scholarships that explains the process and provides links to many of the bigger scholarships. Also you may want to check College Confidential as readers there work to try to keep an updated list (don't take it as the final word because it often has errors but it is a place to get some further ideas).