My DS exactly. We've gone to "These assignments must get done this week, or electronics/video games are gone next week". Mostly, that works. But you've got to be very persistent sticking to it (the keyboard to his gaming computer and his phone are sent for safekeeping to DH's workplace so he can't hound me non-stop for them).

We are in the very similar debate with DD this year. DD wants to train horses and is going to college for a degree in animal/equine science. We are preparing her for whatever level of college she winds up at, whether that’s highly competitive or not. However, now we are starting to see that her experience and hands on capabilities will count much more than her degree and so we are cutting back on the high pressure academics in order to spend the majority of her time with horses. We are currently negotiating how to do that, keeping in mind that academic rigor will probably play a factor in the merit aid she receives.

Update: My sister brought the dog to the vet and blood work showed nothing abnormal; so they don’t really know what it is causing his seizures. They speculate either barometric pressure changes (which apparently is a thing with dogs) or a brain tumor. That gave her meds to stop the seizures, but really she just has to watch him overtime and see what develops.

These are the kinds of things my sister is worried sick over. She has a vet appointment tomorrow afternoon.

Can anyone tell me about the CLEP exam in French? DD wants to take this exam, but I can not seem to find info on how much of it is speaking vs writing, practice exams that reflect the actual test, credits earned, and so on.

They are not in the southwest, and he seems normal otherwise.

No, my sister can't correlate it with anything.

My sister is bringing her dog to the vet about this for answers, but I was just wondering: What maladies can cause cluster seizures (every 6-7 hours) in dogs? Dog is an 8 year old Husky, seizures started every few months several months ago and have increased in frequency, dog is otherwise acting normal (eating, playing, drinking), no history of medical problems. What are the possibilities here?

Can anyone recommend an excellent brand of lined blackout draperies? I would like to find draperies where virtually no light comes in while I sleep, and am looking for advice and brand suggestions.

I don't know what Tim Tams are (the only Tim Tam I know of is a long-dead racehorse), but I am certain it is no worse than eating an entire box of Girl Scout Tagalongs!

Nope. nope, nope. Don't want all that hard work and excellent performance turned to a generic "C" when you apply for scholarships.

As long as it is before the withdraw date, he can withdraw without explanation for any reason whatsoever. If he is looking at very competitive colleges, I would withdraw rather than take the hit, if he finds it is not recoverable after talking with the prof. If the withdraw date has passed, a dean can override that and make sure it says W-Passing on the transcript. That's sometimes a difficult thing to squeeze out of a dean, but it's worth a shot. Barring that, I would ask about the re-take option and see if it replaces the original grade.

I'd take it up the corporate chain, as well.

Funny you should mention this, because I just found this on Amazon last night. Another gorgeous book, but I agree more horticulture-ish instead of botany-ish. After giving this a lot of thought, I am pretty sure I will need to do a lot of general biology in order to provide the underlying support for a science-heavy botany, and then save the dedicated plant stuff for the second semester. This means I will probably use the Miller macaw text, and emphasize the plant aspect of general biology. For example, I will go over plant cell structure (but not animal cell structure), a brief over-view of the kingdoms and Linnaean hierarchy, an abbreviated version of cellular respiration, skip topics that aren't absolutely necessary for the botany portion of the class (evolution, DNA replication, protein synthesis), and instead use the "free time" for more in-depth plant things in the second semester, extended photosynthesis experiments, and add in some of GH's wonderful resources using real books.

No, I would not. I would expose the student to other points of view, but not as the base presentation.