Protecting a child's GPA

[Mickey'snewestfan]

Our school system has what I think is a weird rule that says that if a child takes a high school level class in middle school it goes on their high school transcript and is figured into their GPA. All foreign languages, math classes at Algebra and above, and the 8th grade science class all count in this category. My son, who is a pretty average student, and most of his classmates will graduate from 8th grade with 4 credits. I do not agree with this policy at all. The classes are listed has having been taken in 9th grade. Now presumably, the colleges will know that my kid didn't take 2 sciences, Algebra, Geometry, and Chinese 1, 2, and 3 plus 4 other courses in 9th grade, but that's how they're listed.

This year (7th) my son decided to take Chinese for his foreign language. He was very excited that they're teaching it. For other foreign languages (French, and Spanish) there are 2 speeds of options. Kids can take "Spanish 1A" in 7th and then 1B in 8th and get 1 high school credit for the 2 years, or they can take Spanish 1 which is the regular Freshman course, and then Spanish 2 in 8th. But for Chinese the only option is to take the full year of high school Chinese.

Well, it's Chinese, so it's hard, and it's full speed so it's hard, and I don't speak a word of it, so I can't help at all. In addition, the teacher is split with the high school so she's not available before school, during homeroom, or at lunch for help like the other teachers, and the classes seem huge. I counted 47 parents in the room at Back to School night compared to 15 to 20 in his other classes. The school also offers free tutoring afterschool in Spanish, but not in Chinese.

Right now he's failing. Not C or D, but completely failing. I spoke to his guidance counselor, and only the semester and end of year grades go on his transcript. If he gets a low grade, the only way to "erase" it is to retake the same course. He couldn't switch to French or Spanish without leaving the grade on his transcript. He could, however, switch to Art for the rest of the year.

On one hand, I'd like him to stick it out -- I think that's a valuable lesson, both that I believe in him, and that he should finish what he starts. If it wasn't for the transcript issue, I wouldn't even be considering letting him switch. On the other hand, for a kid who is generally an A/B student, one D or E can have a pretty significant effect on their GPA. I'd hate for him to lose a chance at a college he likes or a scholarship because of his grade in the first semester of 7th grade.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Honestly, I would just have him retake it or just "deal". And by that, I mean--it isn't the end of the world.

I can't recall the precise number of credits to graduate--but 1 F in the mix won't mess him up overall if he is a good student.

For me, I was A/B and I was devastated to get a C. That wasn't the end of the world either and I still had a respectable GPA. I really honestly would not sweat it if the rest of the time he is a good student.

I have no recommendations for what he can do now. But I do want to share that my dual enrollment was treated the same way for college. In my case it was of great benefit.

My friend was fluent in Chinese but was illiterate (ETA: illiterate in chinese, that is. She was able to read English ). She bombed it in college big time. So I Can appreciate how difficult can be. To say she was upset is an understatement. It isn't a phonetic language, so learning to read and write it is starting completely from scratch.

I don't think it is totally fair to compare it to other languages as though those are much easier.

The colleges will know what he took because they know that those courses are pre-req's for other courses and he wouldn't be able to achieve the higher levels if he never took them. I also don't think they will hold it against him that things did not work out so well for his Chinese class.

 

[Swan4Me]

Sorry I disagree-its not a valuable lesson the screw up your GPA=let him switch

I cant imagine encouraging someone that young to take such a difficult class anyway

 

[snarlingcoyote]

If you're miserable, know you can't succeed in something, know your efforts will not remediate the situation, and further know that staying in that situation will affect you negatively down the road why would you stay in that situation?

I think letting him withdraw and go into Art will teach him flexibility and how to manage when things don't go very well. This isn't a kid who doesn't want to finish out a soccer season at the rec league; this is a class you both know, in retrospect, wasn't a good choice so now you're doing the best you can with the options available, which would be a pretty good lesson in life for your DS.

Good Luck OP with whatever you decide!

 

[It'sOffToDisneyWeGo]

I would let him change out of the class.

 

[abdmom]

I've taken Chinese in college, so I know how hard it is. My ds took it in 7th grade. I'm also a hs teacher.

#1 Just because he is failing now, doesn't mean he won't pick up his grade by a lot by the end of the year.

#2 Chinese, as you noticed, is a lot more difficult than the Romance languages. Colleges also know this and will give him points for attempting a difficult subject.

#3 Colleges also like to see an improvement in grades, so going from 1F in 9th grade to all A's in 12th is actually a good thing.

I wouldn't be too concerned about this one grade unless it causes his other grades to suffer.

 

[Mickey'snewestfan]

One more thing, if it makes a difference.

He's not miserable. He likes the class, likes the teacher. He gets anxious about the tests, but otherwise happily walks around singing Chinese songs, and tells people proudly that he's studying Chinese.

I'm pretty sure the thought of switching classes hasn't crossed his mind, and if I suggested it he wouldn't be thrilled since he didn't particularly enjoy art last year and switched to chorus instead.

 

[disneydentist]

I'll respectfully disagree with the PP. One "F" can be a big deal. It will certainly have a negative impact on GPA and class rank. This could hurt your son when it comes time for college scholarships as many schools now base them on class rank.

I'd let him switch to art. I'd explain that you do have faith in him but some people simply don't do well in certain subjects. Finishing what you start IS important, but there are also times where discretion is the better part of valor.

If he were in 9th grade I would probably look at things very differently since either repeating the course or starting a new language would limit his options as an upperclassman. Then I might consider it as a case of "D means done."

JMI.

 

[addicted_to_WDW]

I think I'd switch him out now, with the understanding that it won't happen again in the future.

Some classes are hard and kids have different aptitudes. They absolutely need to learn to deal with that. Imagine if every kid who was terrible at math got to switch out to an easier one rather than be expected to do what it takes to get the grade up.

My DS took Spanish I in 7th grade and Spanish II and Algebra I in 8th. I think he got B's for the year in all of them and they are on his transcripts. If anything, those classes prepared him for having to work harder in high school. Prior to taking those courses, he never cracked a book and got A's. It was an adjustment.

 

[sookie]

If he is just a 7th grader, I'd switch him. He can take the class when he goes to high school. He might have better access to tutoring and to the teacher at that time as well, especially if it becomes more popular. If he really wants to do this - maybe something a study at home library program would be fun!

 

[snarlingcoyote]

One more thing, if it makes a difference.

He's not miserable. He likes the class, likes the teacher. He gets anxious about the tests, but otherwise happily walks around singing Chinese songs, and tells people proudly that he's studying Chinese.

I'm pretty sure the thought of switching classes hasn't crossed his mind, and if I suggested it he wouldn't be thrilled since he didn't particularly enjoy art last year and switched to chorus instead.

Ahhhh. That makes a big difference. Have you asked him what he wants to do? Is there anyone who could do any outside tutoring for him? (The first thing that comes to my mind is to check any local colleges or universities and the churches. You might well find someone who doesn't normally tutor who might be willing to help.)

I really wouldn't worry about the one F in that case. If he flunks it he can take it again and probably do okay in it.

ETA: I just remembered. My senior year of HS, first period I had a class that I flunked the first 6 weeks on and made a D the second six weeks. It was Human Anatomy, taught at the college sophomore level for classes I and II, even though we didn't get college credit. I finished that class out with a B as my final grade and still remember almost everything I learned. I wanted to drop the class in the worst way but there were no other classes 1st period that I could take, and I couldn't come in 1st period, so I had to suck it up and deal with it. It turned out okay for me. Maybe it will for your DS!

 

[Poohforyou]

What does his teacher say about his standing at the moment and what it means for his term grade? I'm asking because last year my DD was in pre-algebra as a 6th grader and her teacher said the 1st marking period would be the toughest and she was right. DD hung in there and ended the year really well but the beginning was very rocky.

If your son is really trying and just seems overwhelmed I'd let him drop the class.

 

[SandrA9810]

For the most part, colleges allow you to retake a course if you get an F, D or withdraw from the course. So he can retake this class next year and have a heads up on it. College is only going to look at the better grade of the two classes.

As well it might not hurt him to think about going to community college his first year, then when he transfers to a university, this one bad grade won't affect him much at all and probably won't even show up.

If he's enjoying his class, don't make it seem like it's a life or death decision about succeeding later on in life. Let him enjoy the class.

 

[Schmeck]

47 parents in the back to school night - how are those students doing in the class? If your son can't do better than they are, he'll still be below them in rank whether he takes Chinese or art this year. Those kids know how to pass Chinese, kwim?

In our school district, we have a really lame middle school, IMO. At least half the class makes honor roll. Kids that were consistently on the middle school high honor list are not even in the top 10% of the senior class now. I'm not sure how your middle school/junior high rates academically (I pray it is not as bad as ours!) but ours was just not challenging. Kids were in for a big shock when they were getting all A's in middle school but couldn't get A's in honor classes in high school. Many dropped down to college prep level, the basic level at our high school.

When your son heads off to high school, will he be headed for all honors/AP classes? If so, he needs to find a way to teach himself what he is not grasping in class right now. Be it Rosetta Stone, something online, etc, he'll need to be self sufficient in finding ways to supplement what he gets in class.

If he's not headed to honors/AP, then he won't be competing with the top students for top scholarships, will he? We've got a definite division of scholarships in our district (for the local ones) and the big ones always go to the top 10%.

It sounds like a pretty frustrating scenario for you - but it does seem like you at least have a strong district, which will look really good to colleges. Getting four/five years of any foreign language is fantastic, and your son will be ahead of every student in our district, since here we rarely have any foreign language in middle school these days!

 

[Swan4Me]

For the most part, colleges allow you to retake a course if you get an F, D or withdraw from the course. So he can retake this class next year and have a heads up on it. College is only going to look at the better grade of the two classes.

This thread is about a 7th grader

 

[bumbershoot]

One more thing, if it makes a difference.

He's not miserable. He likes the class, likes the teacher. He gets anxious about the tests, but otherwise happily walks around singing Chinese songs, and tells people proudly that he's studying Chinese.

I'm pretty sure the thought of switching classes hasn't crossed his mind, and if I suggested it he wouldn't be thrilled since he didn't particularly enjoy art last year and switched to chorus instead.

It's only October. If he's enjoying it THAT MUCH I bet you he'll start improving.

Meanwhile, ask the teacher if she knows of any outside tutoring sources; look around in your area. I know that the Japanese descent students I knew in school all went to Japanese School after regular school; there might be a Chinese school that's similar and they might have a line on someone who can help him with the class. And heck, try to learn it with him! My mom always thought "I took German so I can't possibly help Molly with Spanish or Japanese", and I always wanted to give her a big "whatever" at that attitude. If we expect immigrants to learn the language of a new country, we can certainly learn it while still in our own country! So try it!

This thread is about a 7th grader

I think that Sandra is saying that if colleges allow re-takes, surely they'll allow a 7th grader to have re-taken a course. The whole stress of the situation is the ridiculous IMO policy of a grade made in 7th grade ending up on a transcript for college...so it's totally valid to think about college policies.

 

[kirstenb1]

If he enjoys it, and is doing his best, I'd let him continue.

 

[cornflake]

I think I don't quite get the point of the classes for credit. Like, a kid could end up with, as you said, 8 or whatever *extra* classes on their 9th grade transcript and then ... what? If it's for h.s. credit, do they then not have to take any languages because they took four years of a language from 4th to 8th grade? In which case, they coul rack up enough credits to skip h.s.? Just confused.

However, first, I wouldn't suggest or encourage he drop it - it just started and he'll probably get better if he enjoys it and tries and is generally a good student.

Also, I know you said the teacher isn't available and the school doesn't offer it but you can get him tutoring by other means. It doesn't have to be super expensive - if there's a Chinese family with native speakers nearby maybe one of the parents or a h.s. or college-aged kid would be willing to help out for cheap - or maybe you could ask if he could go over and spend an hour helping out with yardwork or something if they'll do immersion Chinese with him, or just let him come over for a half hour after school a couple times a week and just be immersed in the language - it'll help.

Or you might post a notice at a university or college nearby that you know to have a Chinese program - stick up a notice by where the language classes are held offering $20/hr. for a weekly session from a kid in at least their third year of Chinese (whichever dialect). I'd bet you'd get a bite.

 

[babytrees]

If he enjoys it, and is doing his best, I'd let him continue.

this!!

My then freshman failed her dumb math class (believe me it was dumb: new math curriculum and a grading system that was even dumber made up by the teacher) and graduated 2 years ago with a 3.2 or better (gosh, I can't remember) She is now a sophomore in college. One F didn't hurt a normally good student.

 

[SandrA9810]

Exactly, if she's worried about his college selection, then play by the college rules.

If he's a high achiever, then he needs to focus on getting into AP courses in HS, which will transfer as college credit, and are worth more than just a 4.0 for an A. Not all schools have the same grading scale, but I think most fall under 5.0 for an A in an AP course.


But why is the OP even so worried about this much pressure on a 7th grade child?