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bluebonnetgirl

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Posts posted by bluebonnetgirl

  1. Maybe St. Mary's University in San Antonio?

    Thank you for the recommendation Kinsa.  I just looked and sadly St. Mary's doesn't have most of my son' s most preferred academic majors (graphic design, architecture, film, theater).....the search continues.

  2. I am just beginning to look at possible colleges for my freshman.  It is very early of course, but I would like to gather some general information starting now.

     

    At this point in time, I think a college with these characteristics would be best for my son:

     

    1.  Small to medium size liberal arts college

    2.  Conservative, Christian, preferably Catholic or Catholic friendly

    3.  Active student body with lots of clubs and things to do (son is very social) and especially enjoys theater as a hobby

    3.  Offers majors in all or most of the following: graphic design, architecture, film, theater.  Business, and communications are secondary interests. 

    4.  Affordable, or at least generous with needs based financial aid and merit based aid

    5.  Best locations are Texas, PA, NC, and FL for family/friend support nearby, but flexible.  

     

    Thank you for any and all recommendations for me to begin our search.

     

     

    • Like 1
  3. My son took a year-long local format writing clas last year in 8th grade that was very helpful, and I saw much progression in his writing skills. He was writing weekly and by the end of the year, he’d become quite capable and produced a strong paper. He aced the course.

    This year in 9th he is taking a blended English class (English IV at Big River Academy) which is a combination of literature,grammar, vocabulary, and some writing, but not weekly writing, perhaps two papers per semester. I’ve seen his writing skills degrade. He’s not brainstorming, outlining, or using good transitions. He’s writing sloppy sentences, not building an idea fluidly, and not using well formulated logical conclusions. I think he’s just not getting the weekly writing practice to keep him on his toes. He was more concerned about the minimum word count, and threw in a whole lot of fluff to do so. I had to red pen more than a third of it!

    I feel he needs a one semester writing class to shore up this area, starting in January. But nothing too intense or time consuming, as he already has a full English class and its associated workload. He works better for an outside teacher, so looking to outsource this. I’d like a course with lots of detailed feedback especially on setting up a thesis, building a cogent argument, using fluid transitions and conclusions, omitting fluff words and phrases and using strong words to communicate.

    Does anyone have a good suggestion?

    Thank you kindly.

  4. My understanding is that both Frau Cruz and Gleason teach German history along with the language and teach it with a distinctly Protestant view, extolling the virtues of the reformation and Martin Luther. That pretty well shut the doors to those classes for us, as we are Catholic. Will look for a secular or a Catholic teacher of German instead.

  5. I like that this this model in the video is not a typical vocational school model - instead it offers real world experience in actual businesses that train the high schoolers themselves.   IMO, colleges and degrees for a lot of people are wasteful of time and money, and many colleges do not produce what businesses need.  This is why the model of the business training the students themselves is the solution.  And the sooner the better for many  For a lot of young adults, spending 4-8 years in college and a racking up a whole lot of debt is wasteful, time consuming, and life altering in a bad way.  So many young adults with degrees are having to live with their parents because they are saddled with debt and do not have the real tangible skills to offer businesses and are underemployed.

    • Like 4
  6. I shall do that.   If a  major requires higher math, he will probably say forget it.  I mentioned business and teaching, but that is probably not his path.   He is not even sure he wants college.  Community college at this point is more likely, as it will save a lot of money and buy some time in declaring a major.  And if he does pursue a degree, something in the visual arts or a creative field is most likely.  The big issue is that these core classes take so much time and energy, there is little time to pursue his passions. 

  7. Thank you everyone for responding.  I guess we will stay the course with Math up to Algebra II.  Biology will be taken in 10th, and I will see about another science other than Chemistry in 11th.  I think he might like Astronomy or Environmental Science better.  

     

    This child is very social and needs a lot of breaks, so that is why school seems to take so long.    Of  course when it is his passion, he can work for hours on end. But math and science are not passions, nor are they easy, so they wind up taking a disproportionate share of time and sucking the joy out of school many days.  Again, I wish it were different, where kids could pursue their passions instead of a prescribed course of courses that some college admissions rep wants to see and that many kids will never see or use again.

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