Help! Unique situation: Daughter in a req class without background!

[TranquilMind]

I'm annoyed that she was expected to do this without the requisite background, honestly, but there aren't any options other than pulling her out of this school. It's not as if she is just being lazy or something. She has to get through this class.

 

Any suggestions that I can offer long distance? That's the hardest part. I can't just find her someone on my own time, this far away.

 

Thanks!

Edited September 24, 2012 by TranquilMind

[Mom2GirlsTX]

I have no advice but I feel bad for your daughter, this must be very discouraging. :grouphug:

[snowbeltmom]

I'm annoyed that she was expected to do this without the requisite background, honestly, but there aren't any options other than pulling her out of this school. It's not as if she is just being lazy or something. She has to get through this class.

 

Any suggestions that I can offer long distance? That's the hardest part. I can't just find her someone on my own time, this far away.

:grouphug:

Hippocampus has free videos for AP biology. Maybe if your dd watched the videos before reading her textbook chapter, the textbook reading would be a little easier.

 

Another option may be to purchase the Barron's prep book for the biology SATII. This workbook would give your dd a summary of the topics that she would have had in the high school level biology class. Having this background information might also help her understand the AP bio chapters better.

 

Good luck to your dd. That's tough.:grouphug:

[In The Great White North]

What text are they using? Does she have the study guides, solutions manual, web access that goes with it? Is there a resource center with free tutoring? Does she have a high school level text she can use as a reference?

 

Is there a resource center for study skills? Are there Quizlet games for this text? Does she use Cornell notes or some other organized method? Does she read the book before class so she can ask questions in class?

[OLG]

The Thinkwell Biology CDs prepared my ds well for AP bio. Lots of them and it would take time to work through it all but they are excellent! SO sorry for the stress this is placing on you all.

[Pammy]

He loved World History last year, had a 4.0. This year, the AP US History teacher doesn't give lectures at all, and expects them to do their own notes on the chapters without any help as to what is needed. He is going to talk to the counselor tomorrow to get back into a regular history class. He is doing dual credit college courses also. Perhaps try talking to the counselor first?

[Starr]

If she has to take this class then she really needs to spend a lot more time on it. Has she met with the professor? Hopefully she has a helpful professor that will give her some suggestions. Going to office hours regularly might help as well. My dd panicked when she didn't do well on her first Biology exam at a stem college. She hadn't had any biology and was in an early entrance program. She got a B out of the class but really had to settle down and learn the material. It's all in the book. Good luck to her.

[regentrude]

How much time is she spending on the class?

The first advice I give struggling students is to make sure they spend enough time. For a college class, our rule of thumb is two hours outside of class for every hour in class. If she is not yet investing this amount of time, she needs to.

My second advice would be to contact the professor and ask if any learning assistance is available at the school: learning centers, tutoring, regular office hours. She should make use of this, aggressively.

Lastly, a study group is a valuable tool. Talking about the material and explaining it to other students helps cement understanding of concepts.

 

I do not think that missing the prerequisite can be such a big deal. I have students in my college classes all the time who never encountered the subject (physics) in high school, but the final outcomes are not correlated at all with whether they had some before or not.

[Lori D.]

It seems ridiculous of the school system to force your DD to try and take a class she is not been prepared for, and I would think it would be too difficult for DD to try and do all the background work simultaneously and try to apply it to the current higher level class...

 

Can you:

1. withdraw from this higher level class

2. take an "intro to biology" class online or at home

3. take this higher level class again next semester or next year

 

BEST of luck! Warmly, Lori D.

[PeterPan]

Like the others, I would suggest the issue is time and study skills. If she puts in the time, she CAN do this. I went to a school for the gifted my junior and senior year (like what your dd is doing), and I went into multiple AP classes cold. AP Chem, AP Physics, AP US History, a college level russian class, etc. etc., went into all of them with no background. It's just her and the book. Don't coddle her or chastise the school. She CAN do this and they wouldn't have let her do it if she couldn't. She just has to learn how to beat the textbook.

 

Btw, between my junior and senior year is when the lightbulb came on and I finally figured out how to handle those classes. Maturity or finally having the time to slow down and realize what I was going to need to do to beat it? Don't know, probably both. That's the process she has to go through though, slowing down, learning how to read the text, learning how to study from it, learning how to answer the level of questions she's being given. She can do it and it's not unreasonable. Just talk her through it. :)

[TranquilMind]

Like the others, I would suggest the issue is time and study skills. If she puts in the time, she CAN do this. I went to a school for the gifted my junior and senior year (like what your dd is doing), and I went into multiple AP classes cold. AP Chem, AP Physics, AP US History, a college level russian class, etc. etc., went into all of them with no background. It's just her and the book. Don't coddle her or chastise the school. She CAN do this and they wouldn't have let her do it if she couldn't. She just has to learn how to beat the textbook.

 

Btw, between my junior and senior year is when the lightbulb came on and I finally figured out how to handle those classes. Maturity or finally having the time to slow down and realize what I was going to need to do to beat it? Don't know, probably both. That's the process she has to go through though, slowing down, learning how to read the text, learning how to study from it, learning how to answer the level of questions she's being given. She can do it and it's not unreasonable. Just talk her through it. :)

 

 

Thanks, this is helpful...and rather awesome that you were able to pull this off.

I have not coddled her, and I realize she has to sink or swim. I've said nothing to anyone, but have just directed her to seek out help or use Khan Academy. I'm just doing my Mom thing here, worrying. She's rather stressed about it and this one doesn't stress easily. (Or as my Mom used to say jokingly about me.."You'll never get ulcers...you'll just give them to other people!"