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Lawnmower Mom or Sensible HOmeschooler?


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My dd has really struggled with most of her online classes this year.  We dropped Saxon math immediately because the math was not a good fit, AND the clas and teacher turnaround were not working out.  We also dropped the WTM History because it was not what we wanted in a history class.  I made the decisions very quickly and felt I was just being a good homeschool parent in fiding out what works for my daughter.  She has successfully taken an online class before, and she has dealt with all the technical issues herself and figured out the format.  She is thriving with her new history, and she is thriving with Teaching Textbooks math, and doing really well in showing her work and staying accountable to show her work.

However, she is really struggling with the online Biology.  Her grade is still good even though she's had a few F's sprinkled in.  She is making flashcards, taking notes, studying regularly and reading the book.  But she is very frustrated.  The book is very challenging and the format is hard for her, in that it doens't necesssarily walk her through.

She really doesn't want me to be a lawnmower mom but her high school GPA will determine what colleges she gets into. (She;s looking at mid tier colleges who rely more on GPA than on amazing SAT scores) so I really don't like the idea of her grades slipping ever downward when I know that we could find a program that works better for her.  

Should I have her stick out this one class or switch now and start over?

Edited by Calming Tea
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I'd leave her in. We homeschool to protect our kids, give them the best fit education, etc. However, you're right - it can go too far. She's working hard on the class. Let her have a chance to succeed. I know from other posts that you're extremely anxious about her college applications... but in the end, it's on her.

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I would leave her in and support her in every way you can. It is good to go through the struggle and come out on the other side. 

My college freshman is struggling in a couple classes (and a scholarship is dependent on him keeping up his GPA). He has struggled before and right now I am glad it is not his first time having this experience. He knows he has struggled before and worked it out. So, while he is frustrated currently, he is not distraught or excessively discouraged. And he isn’t giving up.  

It will be better for her to go through this now and have that experience behind her when she bumps up against a college class that is difficult for her.

I would jump in and be her teammate, cheerleader, etc. If she wants help making flashcards or being quizzed I would happily help. And make a special snack if she has a long night of studying, etc. And just keep encouraging.

Edited by teachermom2834
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Thanks guys, I feel you are right.  She definitely can do this, if she works hard enough.  I will have her reach out to the teacher and ask if there is more supportive worksheets available from the publisher.  My dd is doing vocab and flash cards, but she's struggling with taking notes and I know many of these public school publishers have packages of worksheets that help the students organize their learning.

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And, I will say, this teacher is excellent.  SHE REALLY cares about the class and the students.  She is a good teacher with an EXTREMELY fast email turnaround.  So, while the material is hard, and my dd finds online classes a harder learning environment than face to face, I do believe this is the best case scenario as far as online classes go. It's just a very thick textbook, a ton of reading and a difficult format for my dd.

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One other thought that a lot of time students get frustrated or demoralized when they see a low grade because they're (undertandably) thinking about what letter grade they got on that assignment, but not thinking about the relative weight and purpose of the assignment.  A lot of science classes (high school and college, lecture and lab components) tend to have very frequent low-stakes quizzes to encourage students to stay on top of the material, and it's common for students to bomb the occasional quiz due to not understanding a particular topic or having a 'life happens' week that makes it hard to study.  I remember the shock of not doing well on my first few college lab quizzes in biology, but it clued me in to what I needed to do to improve, and, because the quiz grades weren't a huge percentage of our final grade, they didn't have a lot of impact once we got going and had other types of assignments averaged in.  It sounds like she's doing well overall, so this could be one of those classes where the 'don't get frustrated - learn from it' aspect could be as difficult, and more useful over the long-term, than the actual class material.

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I also think working really hard in a course will help her later in college. If everything is too easy in high school because you've changed the course every time she runs into difficulty, she will be unprepared for having to work hard in college. 

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