'Senioritis' in season"

[bethievt]

<p>My son is about to start his first AP exam in a few minutes–AP Gov. He was wide awake and in a great mood this morning–it’s a favorite subject for him–said he might not feel so motivated for Calc. In some ways, it probably feels like he’s checking off one more thing on the To Do list before summer and college. I can remember the feeling.</p>

[idad]

<p>My wife always had her doubts about UChicago for S1, would it be too serious, do they understand these are kids, etc. That was completely put to rest and she became a believer that they knew precisely who was sitting in those seats listening when she heard Ted O’Neill (admissions dean) say these words in his convocation speech:

Where have you been? It’s already September 17th your friends have been at school for a month. We hear that you were home staying out late, sleeping into the afternoon, and being ornery around the house pretending to study for the calculus placement exam, hanging around your old high schools, checking out the new threads in the mirror, waiting until the last minute to pack, not reading The Iliad as you promised yourself you would before you got to the Athens of Illinois. We hear that people back home wonder why, if you were so smart, you didn’t go to college. Bad enough that they thought you were going to a city college (at least the Chicagoans could get away with letting people think they were going to UIC.)…</p>

<p>…We hope, just because you imagined that when you arrived you would catch a whiff of the corpse of fun, that you didn’t delay your departure. Maybe you thought you got the wrong letter! Or, that we changed our decision – we found out that you didn’t study for your calculus placement exam, or read The Iliad, or memorize French idioms, or, that we really paid attention to your spring semester C- in AP Chemistry – that instead you went to the beach, de-tassled corn, or drank a root beer – things no University of Chicago student is supposed to do. But – we don’t make mistakes, and, stare decisus –the decision stands (for the next day or so, the Latin phase newscasters will take the most pleasure in saying), stare decisus, unless you really think those old judges didn’t know what they were doing – stare decisus – “you’re stuck” is the English translation.

</p>

[oldolddad]

<p>bethievt: Is your S taking both Gov exams? S is lamenting the comparative one. Does not fee ready. He had five full evenings of a musical up thru Saturday and spent Saturduy AM finishing gathering data for a universty research project. He comes home after the second AP gov test today and will be up all night finshing a 20 page research paper due at the university tomorrow at noon then he has to go to a junior high to rehearse with about 20 kids who need him to accompany for their state solos. He has 5 more AP’s but two different solo accompanying gigs that will be Thursday and Saturday. Next week before he gets to his last AP’s he has a concerto performace one evening. After AP’s he has only one more recital plus his finals and begins a summer job the day after classes end. But will take off for graduation day and the all night party. He has not had time for senioritis. I think working full time this summer will be relaxing for him compared to the past year.</p>