Self-study for 7th and 8th graders

Mascara
Tue, 25 Sep 2012 19:51:26 +0000

I think your time would be well spent figuring out why he’s so embittered about not taking geometry. Is it because he actually fully understands the concepts and feels that he’s mastered them, and and that taking the class would actually hurt his intellectual journey? Or is it because he wants to get bumped up another level so that “it will look better” to colleges that he’s in an even more advanced math class?

Instead of going for the national scholar award, I highly suggest your son take the tests that will actually give credit to the classes that he will be taking in college, not tests that are there just to pad his resume and make him appear “better” to colleges.

What I think is that right now is a great time to fuel his other interests, and try to build new ones. You probably know that colleges look for students who have more to their name than just a couple high numbers. Use this time to allow your son to find out what extracurriculars he might enjoy. There are tons of activities that any young student can fall in love with, and they don’t have to be expensive. Sports and music may be out of the question, but that barely narrows down the list.

Your children sound like high achievers, so they’ll probably get some type of merit aid. But for more competitive scholarships, colleges will want a real human being–not just a list of AP scores and a label of “National Scholar.”

By the way, not everyone has that attitude that you described. Many of us understand the ridiculous cost of higher education, and I’m willing to bet there are quite a few members on this site who have to pay tuition, etc. by themselves. That logic does not surpass us, thank you very much.

Your children might not know it now (I know I didn’t learn this until last year), but the only thing they should do in high school is push themselves as much as they can. What they’re doing should be worthwhile. They should be doing it for them, and not for anyone else.

Unfortunately, that’s not a lesson any lecture or AP prep book can offer. They’ll have to figure it out somehow.

I get a sense that you’ve already made up your mind about this. Wish your children the best of luck in their endeavors. Remember–it’s their journey.