little man shockey's first semester grades

forgive me, friends, but i am stunned, distressed and at a loss as to what to do. his first-semester college grades are in. he ended up with four classes, dropping sociology early on 'cause he just "wasn't getting it." so carrying just three courses -- not a terrible workload -- he received the grades this afternoon:

C-plus.
C
C-minus.

i don't know how to deal with this, other than to tell him this is unacceptable. unless he steps it up next semester, we're gonna pull him out and enroll him at the local j.c. mrs. shockey and i are drowning in bills as it is without him not at least not making us think we're tossing money down the drain on his irresponsibl ass.

end of rant. but i'm pissed. any serious thoughts?

 

I did pretty terrible early on in college. I didn't start getting good grades until my junior year or so, basically when everything clicked for me.

Though I didn't get quite that bad of grades -- more in the B to B-minus range.

You could make him take out student loans or get a job and help pay for his education. Working during school really helped me manage my time better.

 

IJAG just threw a Scrunchi through a window and doesn't know why.

OK, serious answer: Don't totally wig out; first semester of college away from home is a challenge in so many ways. Strongly emphasizing he needs to improve is fine, but do be somewhat understanding. The daughter just finished her first semester, and she had some rough points, but we encouraged constant communication, and she ended up above 3.0. Don't make it so he doesn't think he can let you know if he is having problems.

 

Day-am, a 2.0 looks pretty workable to me.

Then again, you gotta know where I'm coming from on that.

 

Have him not go to school next semester and have to work?

I started out by going to the local community college. What my folks did if I got even one "C" was make me pay for the next semester's classes there. If I got "B"s or higher, my dad would pay for class. If I got straight "A"s, his partner would kick in to help pay for a class.

When I went to the university, my dad's partner's employment paid my tuition. If I'd gotten below a "C" I'd have to pay them back for the class.

And what dooley said is true. College is a major adjustment, especially for someone who isn't used to living on his own. I'd still encourage him to get a job on campus if he can. That not only gives him a bit of spending money, but like Angola! said, it will help him manage his time, plus it will help him build relationships on campus if he works things the right way.

I worked on campus during my time at the community college and at the university. They helped me by giving me some money, but they also helped me by helping me learn the people and the procedures at each school.

 

Yeah, I went through the same thing with Miss OTD. First time away from home, lots of distractions (including one we never had, Facebook/My Space), no parental supervision can make this happen.

I'd hold off on the J.C. route. First, one semester's a pretty small sample size. Second, if he's home from college, he's going to have distractions also, and they'll be non-academic: he'll probably work, he'll pile up hours, and it could lead to him dropping to part-time load or out of school completely. I'm not saying that happens to everyone, but it happens enough.

Little Shockey sounds like a bright guy, and he knows he screwed up. Hopefully, he'll use this as a lesson to work harder in the winter.

PM me if you want to talk more--like I said, I've been through this.

 

Honestly, shock, my dad's method was quite simple.

Any course which I got a C-minus or worse, the bill went to me. C or better, Dad paid.

Another factor here: Is young shockey's major one in which a 2.0 doesn't mean much different than a 3.6? There are majors like that.

 

I hope the young fellow doesn't have any newfound substance abuse habits or any other behavioral/emotional issues. First semester away from home can be great but it can bring some challenges.

What kind of student is he? I always found it harder to pull good grades in the intro-level courses than I did in the higher-level stuff. The Sociology 101s of the academic world may not require as much work as a course for upperclassmen, but it can be difficult to get good grades in the entry-level stuff, sometimes. Shitty profs, shittier TAs, dumbed-down assignments and testing, vague curricula and other landmines lurk in those seemingly easy survey classes.

I'd much rather have to read Crime and Punishment and then write a paper on it, for example, than read excerpts from Pushkin, Akhmatova, Turgenev and Pasternak and then have to take a poorly-worded test on those excerpts. My worst semester of college, grade-wise, was spring semester of freshman year.

 

You probably had too much ice cream in your life.

 

No such thing.

 

Don't we need to know what kind of grades he got in HS and the relative rigor of the college before we have any idea how to answer this question?

I mean, if he was a B student in HS and he's going to a good college but putting forth relatively the same amount of effort, C's would be what he would get.

If he was a straight A student in HS, then you've likely got something to worry about.

 

depends on the kid will he shrivel up and run from you if you threaten to cut off paying his tuition unless his grades rise? or will he rise to the challenge?

if you pull him out and send him to JC will he give up on himself and end up as assistant manager at wal-mart or will he grasp that his future is in serious jeopardy and that being at a JC means he needs to kick serious academic ass?

by the way, if he's not planning on grad school, and if he knows exactly what he wants to do in life, i'm not so sure that college grades are all that important.