thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Nov 26, 2013 9:51:14 GMT -5
Well, it happened. My son, who had straight A's at the end of last year came home with 2 C's.
Now what? My husband is against tutors because only stupid people use tutors and our son isn't stupid, just lazy. I told him to get over it.
I'm debating stopping the after school program and hiring a nanny. Or, just getting a tutor for a couple hours per week. I just really want to help direct him towards good habits now. It feels like it will all just crumble from here.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 26, 2013 9:54:24 GMT -5
Have you talked to him about drugs?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 26, 2013 9:59:03 GMT -5
No ballet until he gets his grades up!
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giramomma
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Post by giramomma on Nov 26, 2013 10:02:01 GMT -5
What grade is your son in? What is the school doing to help with study skills? Do grades matter to him? Is the afterschool program include a homework club?
What do you mean, lazy? Not doing homework? Not turning it in? (That's the issue in my house...)
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andi9899
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Post by andi9899 on Nov 26, 2013 10:14:32 GMT -5
Have you talked to his teachers? You have to know the root of the problem before being able to solve it. Is he just not paying attention? Does he not understand? And depending on his age, do you think he may be experimenting with drugs? And tutors can be helpful. Mor info needed.
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whoisjohngalt
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Post by whoisjohngalt on Nov 26, 2013 10:17:51 GMT -5
Do you really think he is not getting the material ? When I started getting C's (although I was much older than your son), the ONLY reason was that I WAS lazy and didn't open a book once. So, I didn't need tutors, I needed discipline. Could your son need the same ?
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Great
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Post by Great on Nov 26, 2013 10:29:23 GMT -5
How old is your son? What subjects did he receive the C's in? Have you talked to DS to find out why he got the C's?
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Waffle
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Post by Waffle on Nov 26, 2013 10:46:42 GMT -5
Could it be an emotional problem - stress of losing his grandfather or worrying about his dad because GF is dying?
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moneyminded
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Post by moneyminded on Nov 26, 2013 10:51:30 GMT -5
It could be part of a bigger problem. This is the first year of "common core" and the kids this year are having a really difficult time in some of the subjects. I know of three kids that had always gotten A's in math are now failing. These are straight A kids as well. The books are not very good in teaching common core and even the teachers are lost on how to teach to the standards required. Talk to your son's counselor and get some insight as to what is going on in the school and what can be done to assist your son. Lots of after school programs have tutors available, oftentimes students that are really good in certain subjects. Check into that.
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Virgil Showlion
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Post by Virgil Showlion on Nov 26, 2013 10:56:36 GMT -5
Well, it happened. My son, who had straight A's at the end of last year came home with 2 C's. Now what? My husband is against tutors because only stupid people use tutors and our son isn't stupid, just lazy. I told him to get over it. I'm debating stopping the after school program and hiring a nanny. Or, just getting a tutor for a couple hours per week. I just really want to help direct him towards good habits now. It feels like it will all just crumble from here. Figure out why he got the C's. How to best proceed will depend on whether it's a problem with effort, whether it's a problem with particular subjects, or whether he's falling behind. You have to start with the premise that C's are not acceptable. A C grade generally means that a student is proficient in less than 70% of the total course material. Regardless of how "smart" a student may or may not be, perpetually graduating them to a new level of difficulty when they haven't grasped at least 30%+ of the prerequisite material is a recipe for failure. Assess the problem ASAP, and if it turns out he needs a tutor, then he needs a tutor. Different people learn in different ways.
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movingforward
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Post by movingforward on Nov 26, 2013 10:59:36 GMT -5
What are the subjects? I received really good grades except in Geometry. My parents hired a tutor and I still only averaged a C in that class, but I really think if they hadn't gotten me a tutor I would have failed. That was the only class I ever struggled with. I had a terrible teacher who was one year away from retirement, and actually told the entire class that she didn't care because she was just waiting to retire. And let's face it, I had absolutely NO interest in Geometry whatsoever. I was good at Algebra and Chemistry but I just didn't get Geometry. At any rate, there is absolutely nothing wrong with having a tutor. Sometimes there is a particular subject a student might struggle with. That one C didn't keep me out of college or ruin my life...
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 26, 2013 11:03:04 GMT -5
How old is he? What grade?
What subjects?
Upon what were the grades based?
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sheilaincali
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Post by sheilaincali on Nov 26, 2013 11:51:02 GMT -5
Talk to your son, find out why he thinks he got the C's. Schedule a meeting with the teacher to get his or her perspective.
Are these harder Advanced or AP classes? New subjects? etc. There are several questions to be answered before you drop after school activities and hire a full time tutor.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 26, 2013 11:54:11 GMT -5
The first thing you need to know is the reason for the C's. Laziness or not grasping the material. Only one of those will be fixed by a tutor.
DD's grades were less than steller when she was in after school care. She found it too distracting.
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973beachbum
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Post by 973beachbum on Nov 26, 2013 11:55:58 GMT -5
Did he change schools this year? Different schools have different standards for what is A work VS C work.
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sheilaincali
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Post by sheilaincali on Nov 26, 2013 12:06:12 GMT -5
DS' AP History teacher told me that an in the land of "AP" and A was equal to an A++ in a regular class, a B was equal to an A in a regular class and a C was basically the same thing as a B from a regular class. Plus it should go without saying that as your son gets older his classes should get harder and start to expect more out of him.
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Sunnyday
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Bad Grades
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Post by Sunnyday on Nov 26, 2013 13:00:13 GMT -5
I use to tutor French to kids. The kids were far from stupid. They just had difficulty with seeing the relevance, so they slacked off or they didn't know how to study another language.
Sometimes, all I needed was to help them study and do their homework. And if they had problems with something, I broke it down for them. With no more effort than meeting with me once a week, they would get As and Bs. Yeah, it was hand holding, but I couldn't make them passionate about French, and all the parents wanted were good grades. . So, get a tutor. And if it's any other issue besides being lazy, I have nothing.
Good luck!
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tskeeter
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Post by tskeeter on Nov 26, 2013 15:11:43 GMT -5
Well, it happened. My son, who had straight A's at the end of last year came home with 2 C's. Now what? My husband is against tutors because only stupid people use tutors and our son isn't stupid, just lazy. I told him to get over it. I'm debating stopping the after school program and hiring a nanny. Or, just getting a tutor for a couple hours per week. I just really want to help direct him towards good habits now. It feels like it will all just crumble from here. So why did the teachers give him C's? I once had a higher algebra teacher stop by my Dad's office and tell him that the teacher was going to give me an incomplete because I hadn't done most of the homework during the past grading period. When I got the homework done, he'd give me a grade for the work. In an effort to provide me the most opportunity possible, the teacher decided that if I hadn't done the homework, I probably hadn't done very well on the tests and quizes he had given. So he decided that I would get a chance to re-take anything I'd done poorly on. But, looking at my scores, he found the poorest score I'd gotten was a B+. Obviously, I'd done a reasonably competent job of learning the material without doing the homework. So, are the C's about not learning the material, or are they about not following the rules the way the teacher wanted?
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chiver78
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Post by chiver78 on Nov 26, 2013 17:14:44 GMT -5
What are the subjects? I received really good grades except in Geometry. My parents hired a tutor and I still only averaged a C in that class, but I really think if they hadn't gotten me a tutor I would have failed. That was the only class I ever struggled with. I had a terrible teacher who was one year away from retirement, and actually told the entire class that she didn't care because she was just waiting to retire. And let's face it, I had absolutely NO interest in Geometry whatsoever. I was good at Algebra and Chemistry but I just didn't get Geometry. At any rate, there is absolutely nothing wrong with having a tutor. Sometimes there is a particular subject a student might struggle with. That one C didn't keep me out of college or ruin my life... one of these things is not like the others....? thyme - there's some great advice in here about figuring out why he got the C's before jumping to any conclusions. like a couple people in here, the handful of Cs I came home with over the years had more to do with my not opening the books than a lack of understanding. if your DS isn't typically a struggling student, I wouldn't just assume that he isn't understanding the material. good luck!
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movingforward
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Post by movingforward on Nov 26, 2013 17:43:40 GMT -5
What are the subjects? I received really good grades except in Geometry. My parents hired a tutor and I still only averaged a C in that class, but I really think if they hadn't gotten me a tutor I would have failed. That was the only class I ever struggled with. I had a terrible teacher who was one year away from retirement, and actually told the entire class that she didn't care because she was just waiting to retire. And let's face it, I had absolutely NO interest in Geometry whatsoever. I was good at Algebra and Chemistry but I just didn't get Geometry. At any rate, there is absolutely nothing wrong with having a tutor. Sometimes there is a particular subject a student might struggle with. That one C didn't keep me out of college or ruin my life... one of these things is not like the others....?thyme - there's some great advice in here about figuring out why he got the C's before jumping to any conclusions. like a couple people in here, the handful of Cs I came home with over the years had more to do with my not opening the books than a lack of understanding. if your DS isn't typically a struggling student, I wouldn't just assume that he isn't understanding the material. good luck! LOL! Well, all I know is I HATED Geometry. I really did used to wonder WTH was wrong with me that my brain couldn't "get" Geometry and I did well in other types of math, especially Chemistry (Chemistry made perfect sense to me). Luckily, my parents saw how hard I struggled with it. I do think that part of it was due to having a horrible teacher. My mom tried to have me switched to a different teacher but the principal refused. He said I would have to deal with people I didn't like my entire life so I needed to get used to it... not liking someone is not exactly the same as having a piss poor teacher who didn't give a crap if you learned or not but whatever...
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chiver78
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Post by chiver78 on Nov 26, 2013 17:49:06 GMT -5
Chemistry isn't math! there's a large math component to it, but it is a science. that was what made me scratch my head...... I'm with you on the rest of what you say though. I hated anything to do with the English dept, and found my way to a STEM degree. I had my little sis (who is now a HS sped English teacher) help me with some of my papers back in HS. free tutor and I had a piss poor Calculus teacher as well, my first semester of college. I actually went back to my HS pre-Calc teacher to ask questions. I swear that's the only way I passed that class.
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movingforward
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Post by movingforward on Nov 26, 2013 17:55:01 GMT -5
Well, you know us non-STEM people, if it has a math component to it then it all gets lumped together
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chiver78
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Post by chiver78 on Nov 26, 2013 18:00:23 GMT -5
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 26, 2013 18:11:00 GMT -5
Chemistry isn't math! there's a large math component to it, but it is a science. that was what made me scratch my head...... I'm with you on the rest of what you say though. I hated anything to do with the English dept, and found my way to a STEM degree. I had my little sis (who is now a HS sped English teacher) help me with some of my papers back in HS. free tutor and I had a piss poor Calculus teacher as well, my first semester of college. I actually went back to my HS pre-Calc teacher to ask questions. I swear that's the only way I passed that class. Around here you can't take Chem until you've had Algebra though...
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chiver78
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Post by chiver78 on Nov 26, 2013 18:16:32 GMT -5
I don't know that the restriction exists where I live, but nobody was taking Chem until junior year in my HS due to other requirements. Algebra was freshman year, or 8th grade if you were in the advanced group. whether that curriculum plan was to accommodate a similar sort of restriction, who knows. my point being, Chem is taught by the science dept. Geometry and Algebra are taught by the math dept. I didn't mean to hijack the thread with a discussion on sematics, sorry thyme!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 26, 2013 18:24:26 GMT -5
We're all just waiting for thyme to get back with details anyway... Geometry is the odd man math... Lots of times people who hate math love it, and many who love math hate it... I liked all math, but I've met many who fall into those catagories. Chem as a junior? When do they take physics and bio/chem and advanced classes?
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chiver78
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Post by chiver78 on Nov 26, 2013 18:36:36 GMT -5
I just looked up my HS curriculum (mom and dad recently dumped my files in my garage...)
FR: physical chemistry (basic lab stuff, basic chemistry), Algebra II - I took the 1st part in jr HS/8th grade SO: biology, geometry JR: chemistry, trigonometry SR: physics and advanced chem, pre-calc
I graduated in January of my senior year and took classes at the local state college for the 2nd semester, including that Calc I class that sucked.
to answer your questions, oped - physics wasn't required at my HS, neither was pre-calc. calculus was only offered as an AP class. you were required to have 4 course-years' worth of both math and science, but the details weren't specified. there was a curriculum path that everyone I knew followed, but it wasn't requirements like a college degree.
hope that all made sense....
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Virgil Showlion
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Post by Virgil Showlion on Nov 26, 2013 19:26:31 GMT -5
Of possible interest to some here: A thoughtful and persuasive article by Stanford professor Dr. A. Stly proving that once your kid starts getting C's, his/her intellectual potential is basically already toast.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 26, 2013 20:07:17 GMT -5
I remember when I received my first B ever my junior year in High School. My mom asked me if I was on drugs. I was like, seriously ?
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Knee Deep in Water Chloe
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Post by Knee Deep in Water Chloe on Nov 26, 2013 20:12:53 GMT -5
I definitely think some more investigation is needed. Did he just switch from elementary/self-contained school to middle/junior high? Does he place any value on his grades? Was he aware of any consequences should he not earn As? What is the grading process (has proficiency instruction/grading been mentioned? Other terms for it are competency grading and standards-based grading.
Just an FYI: CCSS (common core state standards) are not new this year everywhere. In my state, most districts have been working with the implementation for at least two years making this the third year of implementation.
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