<p>So glad my S doesn’t deal with TA’s, because from experience I can tell you they have their own agenda and it may not necessarily be teaching at all, let alone teaching for the time being.</p>
<p>Son got the first C of his life first semester freshman year. And yes he worked hard but he also had a lot of adjusting to do… making new friends, finding his way around campus, etc. Heck! Even fitting in the process of doing one’s laundry is an adjustment! So… I would definitely talk about expectations he has for himself. Those you have for him and try to find out if perhaps the tests, papers, etc (whatever was used in grading) was also a learning challenge. Face it, kids learn to write for their audience and by senior year they have a pretty good sense of the teachers and what they want. College is VERY MUCH about the LEARNING CURVE.</p>
<p>Also… I would not in any way rush to diagnosis a kid with ADHD - borderline or otherwise - especially if it might be because they’re not pulling all A’s at college. As someone who actually has ADHD and has two children with varying degrees of it as well, I honestly feel there is a rush to diagnosis when there are certain skills that may require simple maturation vs a medical intervention. There is something to be said for resilience and the ability to sustain effort… give your kid a chance to build both up to the level he needs it to be. </p>
<p>And by the way… my own’s son’s grades improved greatly second semester but it came totally from his own desire to push himself. This semester he landed all varying degree of the A and yes, worked his butt off.</p>