<p>^^^ It’s a shame he didn’t go back and talk with the APUSH teacher, or else email him, and let him know that he’d gone home sick. The teacher might have cut him some slack about falling asleep, and reversed the grade drop. </p>
<p>My D did this after a day that she the Orchestra teacher called on her to play her solo – she couldn’t play it, and the teacher gave her zero credit. Turns out she had a migraine coming on, and didn’t realize it. An hour later she’d gone to the school nurse and been sent home. So she emailed the Orchestra teacher and explained (my D is usually well prepped, and a “good kid” so the teacher knew this was highly unusual for her) – and the teacher allowed her a re-do.</p>
<p>Maybe it isn’t too late for your S to talk to his teacher?</p>
<p>Sleep deprivation is a real problem for D this year. She burned so many pots by falling asleep while cooking, that I told her she can’t cook when she is alone. </p>
<p>School is winding down. D didn’t get a college list yet from the school. She has a list of six schools that she is interested in.
She did not start any Prep for the June SATII. At this point, all I want is for her to be familiar with the tests.</p>
<p>My understanding is that the college counselor usually meets with the juniors briefly in April, but that didn’t happen this year. His parents both died a few months apart this spring.</p>
<p>He said he’s available beginning July 1 for consultations. My D will probably make an appointment to go in sometime in early August.</p>
<p>Today’s the last day of classes. After today, it’s all over but finals.</p>
<p>Mathinokc, poor man having to deal with two deaths within a year. </p>
<p>I can’t wait to write “The school year is over”
D’s school has more kids on WL than usual. So the counselors are still dealing with the class of 2011. Quite a few of D’s classmates got their lists, but it’s going slow.</p>
<p>I am trying not to read any thread about the class of 2011. Ignorance is bliss if it keeps me sane. :)</p>
<p>Ok, sorry I need to vent. I know I should not be this kind of parent and I know how this will sound to some but… my daughter got a B on her English research paper. I am astounded. Her writing is first rate, has never gotten a B on an essay or research paper Ever. Ever. The teacher said she was missing section headings but D said that it was never specified to use headings. So that is odd. And what irritates me is knowing the quality of her writing is so strong, I am sure there were some who received A’s with mediocre writing skills. I know I shouldn’t pout and make excuses but D’s paper had a definite liberal feel related to xenophobia, nationalism, American heritage and disturbing trends in legislation related to immigration and foreigners…you get the picture.</p>
<p>Ok, so. Her English teacher also writes an editorial column for our local paper and while I would never call her a conservative, she is definitely a little nationalistic in here views. Especially regarding the importance of English being an official language for practical reasons in America. There are other nuances that convey a moderate to slightly conservative view on life that show in her writings. Before D turned her paper in, after I read it, I thought about this. I felt some misgivings but was confident the teacher would be objective. This is one of D’s favorite teachers who has consistently given her A’s in EVERYTHING. so needless to say I am disheartened. And this just wasn’t any B, it was a low B…86 %.</p>
<p>Anyway, it is astounding. I haven’t shared my thoughts with my daughter and o will try hard not to but I was going to lose it if I couldn’t talk about it. Like I said, our community is so conservative. The thing that really has me concerned is this teacher is going to be her ap English teacher next year! Horrors. I guess I can be thankful she ended up with a 93%…A- for the nine weeks. There are no more assignments except for 4 point extra credit on something which I am sure D will do.</p>
<p>Again, please please do not think I am in denial and that the paper was bad, it absolutely was spotless. I am a former English major with a 5 on her ap in high school so I feel a little confident in being able to judge writing. I may be pouting but mostly I am really shocked. I so wish I could share this paper! The writing is so strong. Alas, I cannot and I will suck it up and try to keep healthy boundaries related to my daughters life but it is hard knowing there is a possibility that her grade was suppressed based upon an ideological rift between her beliefs and those of the teachers. I have lost a spark of innocence and faith today. I hope people won’t hate me and think I am a bad/dysfunctional parent but I truly feel my daughter was discriminated against. And Yes, I will move on and forget it but for now I feel bad for her. When she turned that paper in she was so proud of herself! She even commented that she wondered if it was possible to share examples of writing to colleges she will be applying to…:'(</p>
<p>Ok. I am ready for some potential admonishing but I had to get that out. Thanks. Excuse my grammatical errors and spelling as I am writing this on my phone and it is a pain in the a$$ to edit. Lol.</p>
<p>Oldfort: my D is exhausted from the stress of the end of the school year. If she wants to that is fine but I don’t think it will help. The only comment the teacher made was lack of headings. And I would think nothing probably had it been a 90% but an 86%? Sorry but that is not right. Like I said, I am not going to share my feelings with my D because I don’t want her to have a bad attitude. I am going to be optimistic and hope the teacher was grading according to D’s potential…but I am going to wallow a little. And I don’t think she is perfect and should never receive a B but this was almost a C and all the teacher can say is lack of headings? Something isn’t right. But life goes on and I am just exceedingly thrilled it is the end of the school I could possibly combust.</p>
<p>Well, spoke with D more re: paper and there were two A’s, a few B’s a majority of C’s and 5 D or F’s. Most people got docked for…lack of headings and the extra credit is a one page paper on the importance of following directions. Hmm. D said the first day the teacher passed out the rubric/sheet on how she wanted thing D asked " do you want us to put headers in the paper?" The answer was no. The only instructions she verbalized were at least 10 pages, mla format and at least three citations. </p>
<p>She is furious as are many others. I am very close to emailing this teacher. But I probably won’t…sigh.</p>
<p>Mspearl - Is this just one paper and she still has an A for the class? If so, let it slide. As long as the extra credit makes up for it, she should be fine. I always tell my kid forget the bad grade and find out what you can do to make that A including a 50 page paper if needed. Your transcript only shows one final semester grade and thats what counts. Everything else is the journey.</p>
<p>mspearl, I hear that you are upset for your daughter, but it sounds like
(1) your D got one of the higher grades in the class
(2) an 86 is hardly a low B – it’s above mid-B!
(3) your D still has an A in the class, and has an extra-credit opportunity to solidify that</p>
<p>I second oldfort’s suggestion to have your D talk to the teacher about what could be improved for next time – especially since your D will have this same teacher in future.</p>
<p>And beyond that, vent away to us, but don’t impose your feelings on your D. She has probably already moved on. Kids are resilient!</p>
<p>I wrote very quickly at work of my previou post…My daughter’s lowest grade is her English grade (93), one of her highest grades is physics , but writing is her forte. This winter when she was applying to summer programs, she asked her English teacher to write a recommendation letter for her. He gave us a copy after he sent it in. He wrote in the letter that D2 always made a point of going over her paper with him after she got it back - not to try to get a better grade, but to see how she could do better next time. He thought she was a breath of fresh air.</p>
<p>D2 is a new student at her school. She just got appointed to be the editor-in-chief for her school newspaper. I would have to think it was with her IB English teacher’s endorsement, and her A- grade didn’t hold her back.</p>
<p>Mihcal- it is a low B as their grading scale is 93-100, 84-92, etc…
Trust me, I did not impose my feelings on my daughter, she wanted me to email her teacher and I refused. And the whole English class is protesting hence the 4 point extra credit on “why it is important to follow directions.” And I did not relay my feelings regarding the teachers ideology to my daughter but I found it humorous that as she was coming down the stairs she pointed out that she believed part of her low grade could have been because she pretty much “trashed the tea party.” Her words. Obviouslymy daughter and I are like minded politically as are most family units, but I am not one to impose my beliefs on my children. I consider myself a Christian and my 15 year old thinks she is agnostic…</p>
<p>But anyway, I am not trying to be contrary or mean spirited and thank you all for providing an outlet for this stress!! :)</p>
<p>mspearl - I am with you. Teachers are human and as such, biased. I would be feeling the same as you, given the circumstances, had this been my son. That said, unfortunately, there is little that you can do about it (as you know) other than to support and encourage your daughter. This is one of those life lessons about the way things should be versus the way that they are. She should not have been penalized for not following instructions if it was not specifically written into the rubric. She should not have been penalized for showing a difference of opinion, yet, in our world this is frequently the case. It sucks. You have justification to vent.</p>
<p>mspearl: I have not seen the paper, but perhaps if she had explored other bases for current trends in immigration and border security legislation other than “xenophobia” and “nationalism”, she might have gotten a higher grade. If her paper was suppossed to be commentary that is fine, but an objective treatment of the subject matter would not be one-sided.</p>
<p>CPU, my older D is at Wellesley, and I would encourage you to keep an open mind. While taking her distribution requirements she has been exposed to new areas and has discovered new interests along the way. For her science requirement she’s taken a couple of classes in Geo Science and absolutely loves it. It’s good to have a general idea of what you are interested in, but also allow yourself to be open to new areas. </p>
<p>Also, with a liberal arts education, I think there are opportunities to pursue your career aspirations outside of your intellectual interests. I work in higher education and have wonderful friends who started out as math professors who also have great leadership skills and are now in charge of non profit organizations. </p>
<p>My S, who is HS class of 2012, actually come up with a list of schools to apply to and also successfully met the deadline for a scholarship application open only to juniors. I think seeing his older sister go through the college search process has given him a big advantage.</p>
<p>Last I heard CPU is in love with Wellesley and it is her top choice. But then we told her to go check out these other schools in summer and so who knows. Love for a school is so fickle…</p>
<p>Thanks parents!
I’m mostly worried because I’ve always been a person who plans far ahead in the future, and has at least two back up plans. </p>
<p>I just got a little frazzled when I realized that I didn’t want to do CS for the rest of my life (which I became dead-set on), even if there are better job opportunities than being a polysci major. </p>
<p>I find myself having frequent little epiphanies, and this last one came out of nowhere and screamed, “DO WHAT YOU ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT AND MAKES YOU HAPPY!”</p>
<p>Sorry I have been gone for a while. DD 2012 is planning a busy summer. She will take the SAT II (math2 & Chem) on June 4 and we go on a big family vacation (cruise) June 5th. She has been invited to Texas A&M for the Summer Honors Invitational later in June, then the Women in Engineering program at UT followed by the Honors Colloquium also at UT in July, then she gets on a plane the next day for the Global Issues Seminar at Notre Dame! Whew! I am exhausted just thinking about all the packing up.</p>
<p>On a funny note, I also attended the UT/Honors Colloquium 25 years ago! Back then, they flew us to Austin from Houston. Shortest plane ride ever! They no longer pay for transportation, but the program is still going on. I was surprised because I thought UT didn’t really recruit academically that much. DD was considering wearing her Texas A&M shirts but I told her that would probably not be polite.</p>
<p>Wow glide. No you have NOT read the paper and she used the word xenophobia ONCE on the last page in the part of the paper the teacher instructed them to insert their commentary. The paper was about multilingualism and the effects of initiating a curriculum of study beginning in early elementary to learn a foreign language. You know, encourage a bilingual society. And it mainly consisted of research to validate her thesis. Even neuroscience studies. Also used the word Immigration ONCE relating to a certain volatile attitude that has been reflected in legislation targeted at immigrants/foreigners because she wanted to comment on certain Americans fear of the inclusion of other cultures. My goodness. You must be exceedingly brilliant to discern the potential weak points of a 15 page paper written by a 17 year old girl that you have not read. No, her paper wasn’t perfect. She is a junior in highschool. Ok, I am done defending this. Time to move on. </p>
<p>Thankfully I am not burning in the apocalypse and facing eternal damnation. That is something to be thankful for! And my friend has a brand new swimming pool so this summer is looking good! Whoohoo.</p>
Obviouslymy daughter and I are like minded politically as are most family units, but I am not one to impose my beliefs on my children. I consider myself a Christian and my 15 year old thinks she is agnostic…</p>