<p>Sadly enough, my S called today and says that he feels so far behind in calculus, and now doesn’t understand the new teacher (don’t think English is his first language). He is panicking because Friday is the last day to drop a class. I wonder what you all think about dropping the class and taking it during summer school. He is not a math/science kid so all he really needs to do is get the credit and be done. I just don’t know that he can recover from the first three weeks of confusion. He is meeting with his academic advisor tomorrow to see what his options truly are.</p>
<p>@3bysmom: If your son is taking a math class just to get that required math credit out of the way, I don’t think there’d be any issue with taking it later/another semester/over the Summer. Long Calc will always be offered, and the older you get, the earlier you get to pick your professors, so he’d probably end up with someone better if he tries it out later.</p>
<p>How accepting is tulane of credits taken over the summer at other schools?</p>
<p>I spoke to a kid who took calculus over the summer at Florida Atlantic University and Tulane accepted the credits.</p>
<p>He can also get Tulane to pre-authorize that the credits will be accepted by telling them where the course is going to be taken and, if needed, showing them the course description. I agree with the above, for a class that is simply to fulfill a math requirement and otherwise has no impact on his intended course path at Tulane, he should drop it rather than have the anxiety associated with it the rest of the semester. An unfortunate incident for him, of course, but there are no “valor points” for sticking with a situation in a case like this, and it would seem to have little impact or lasting effect on his overall situation at Tulane. Certainly it is better to do very well in his remaining classes instead, rather than risk having this drag him down.</p>
<p>If I recall correctly, there are still some schools that limit freshmen to 12 hours their first semester to ease the transition to college. Maybe that has gone by the wayside, I haven’t thought about that topic for some time. But it isn’t all that unusual to take 12 hours in a semester somewhere along the way.</p>
<p>Thanks for your thoughts, this is also why they insist that freshman register for enough credits that they can afford to drop a class and still be full-time.</p>
<p>Absolutely spot on. Now that he knows the ropes better, this shouldn’t be an issue in the future, barring something really odd.</p>
<p>Tell him to take symbolic logic. It’s better for “language” people (aka, people who like some sort of meaning attached to math.) I was never bad at math, but never particularly talented either, and thought the class was great compromise. I also use the “logic” equations I learned in everyday life, which I wouldn’t have done with calculus.</p>
<p>I will echo tulanechild’s comments for my D. That is exactly what she did, and she is great in math. But she is also a double major in liberal arts and symbolic logic just made more sense for her to take.</p>
<p>Thanks! I will recommend that to him for next semester!</p>
<p>There we go, I just sent S a text suggesting he look into symbolic logic - he said that his advisor had already suggested it and it is on his tentative schedule for spring!</p>
<p>I highly recommend Symbolic Logic.</p>
<p>If you get a chance, make sure you take Supprenant, he has the ability to make the class really interesting, and make the students get involved.</p>
<p>Today is the last day for add/drop. Waiting to hear from DD as to what she did with her dilemma. DD is in a one semester consolidated calc 1&2. She was advised this would be too easy for her via her counselor but DD felt that she wanted to stay in it as she is hoping to apply to Med School and has been advised to keep GPA way up. Counselor agreed. First exam comes this week and she feels she bombed it. In consolidated calc. if you bomb first exam you are forced to go to a Calc.1 class. DD begins searching for appropriate sections to transfer to. Goes to next math class and learns she got a 46 on the exam. With the curve THIS WAS AN A!!! DD said Prof. made students who did worse move but since she got an A she didnt have to move. DD was torn. Prof. said he would not curve so deeply again. Now what to do? She feels that all the really lost kids moved so she might be on the lower end of the curve next time. Stay in and risk a grade Med. Schools dont like to see or move to a class that will be basically review? She had to talk with Math dept head to do any change so I am waiting to see what she was advised to do. I suggested another section of same course if available. DD understands material in class and on homework but on the test, it appeared Prof. wanted them to use knowledge to solve problems not presented in class. I think it says something when the whole class receives failing grades without a curve.
Professor teaches Graduate level classes. This is his only undergrad class.</p>
<p>
what it shows is that we have a generation of kids who are good are solving math problems that LOOK EXACTLY LIKE the ones in the book, but haven’t learned the visualize numbers, or think mathematically, in a way that allows them to solve NEW problem structures.</p>
<p>This is not a problem only at Tulane, but, as I mentioned in my above post, in high schools and colleges across the board.</p>
<p>this is a consequence of kids who plan to be history, or Linguistic, or English majors feeling forced to take Calculus in high school to impress adcoms at elite universities… and when high school and college calculus courses are 80% full of kids who are taking it only because they feel it is compulsory, and do not naturally think mathematically, you end up with classes full of kids who rote memorize static methods of solving problems presented in a book. Change the problem even minimally, and the rote method doesn’t work.</p>
<p>spring162- I know multiple people in the class that you are describing, including one of my best friends at Tulane (and possibly even your daughter). As a student in Calculus I (who took BC Calc in HS), I feel that I am still challenged, but the class isn’t THAT easy either. The grad student that teaches it is decent, and I have no issues with his teaching (or his tests)! I’m a pre-med neuro major and since I was going to be taking gen chem and cell bio at the same time, I didn’t want to overload. </p>
<p>My best friend is staying in Consolidated Calculus (i’m pretty sure with the instructor you described) and is also a neuro major and pre-med, as well. She made a 100 on the first test (with the curve, of course) and is staying in the class. She only took AB in high school, but hopes that things will work out. Good luck to you!</p>
<p>Hey Tulane14, Well in speaking very briefly to my DD yesterday I found out that either her counselor or the math head told her it was probably not worth the stress it might cause my DD to stay in that class. She approved the move to Calc. 1. Now DD just has to make up 1 month of homework. Sounds like a fun weekend!</p>