My son is struggling academically in his Freshman Year....

Wonderfulmom said:
If he fails both classes will he have to go before an academic board?
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Policies and Procedures for academics can be found on pages 25 - 27 of the current catalog of courses, which can be found at http://www.cga.edu/academics2.aspx?id=306. You will find the answer to your question there. Those who fail Calc 1 usually retake it in the Spring Semester and then take Calc 2 at summer school. Chem 1 is not given during Spring Semester or summer school, so cadets who fail Chem 1 retake Chem 1, followed by Chem 2, their 3/c year. They then have to take Physics their 2/c year. Summer school in 2016 starts on June 20th and ends July 29th. The cadets who attend summer school will either be on Eagle, at a small boat station, or on a cutter for the period from the end of class (May 6th) until they go back to the Academy for summer school. They will have leave, if they are not restricted for any infractions, from July 30th until they have to be back at the Academy on August 14th for the start of the fall semester. See page 5 of the course catalog for critical dates.
 
Capt MJ said:
This is an educational "SA slice of life" thread, a reminder that someone's DD/DS gets the stinky end of the bell curve - and there is hope. Plenty of lurkers will benefit from Wonderfulmom's shared experience.
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Her thread has already benefited my family. The very same week that Wonderfulmom started this thread, I had received a frustrated text from my son who is a Plebe at USNA. He was complaining that his high school math program hadn't prepared him for Calc., since the highest math offered at our school was Pre-Calc. He told me he had just made a 57 on a test...the second lowest grade in the class...lower than classmates who didn't even seem to pay attention in class because they had taken Calculus in high school. He was also struggling in Chemistry (but not at the very bottom like in Calc.) It was tough on a guy who had only made one B in high school. He was used to succeeding without putting too much effort into schoolwork.

I advised him to take advantage of any extra instruction programs they offered, and encouraged him that, one day, someone would explain it in a way that would "click" and it would become much easier once it made sense. On November 13th, I came across this thread, and sent it to him...like Wonderfulmom did to her son. He joked, "that was totally you who started that thread." I assured him that it wasn't, that it was in the Coast Guard forum. :) He said it was good to read. I think it helped to see the other posters who had struggled and persevered.

Anyway, while I spent my time praying for him, he made Calculus his focus, got extra instruction, completed every homework problem, etc... It started making sense to him. During our phone call with him on Thanksgiving Break, he gave us the happy news that on his last Calc. test, he had made a 94...the highest grade in the class. I was so happy for him and pleased that he didn't give up when something was hard.

I realize that my good news doesn't help out your son's situation, Wonderfulmom. But, I wanted you to know that your thread, and your vulnerability, had helped my son. I also believe that once the Calc. clicks for your son, even if it's in the Spring semester, that he will conquer it if he perseveres. Just love him and pray for him. That's our calling as moms. Sometimes, we think of it as all we can do for them, when it's really the most powerful thing we can do for them.

Have a Merry Christmas with your family. :)
 
My DD has benefited from the thread as well. After surviving the shock of her first "C" in high school, she has taken a different approach to both her Calc BC and AP Chem classes. Although she still refuses to play chess with the Calc class during resource time and thinks both teachers could do a better job of teaching her (oh what a tude..), she has decided to ask for additional help. Plus I noticed one day she made a tray of rice crispies for her Calc classmates. The good news is that her competitive spirit is tackling it like a sport realizing that practice is what makes a great "final" happen.

Hang in there wonderful mom!
 
Whether he takes summer school depends actually on his major. For non-STEM, there is no summer school for Calculus II because they don't need it to stay on track with their major. Only the technical majors are expected to finish Calc II by the start of their 3/c year.

Calc II can be a train wreck for cadets that don't have a strong Calc I foundation. I've had many cadets in my class that eked by Calc I and probably should have retaken it. Sometimes, getting an F and retaking Calc I is a better situation than squeaking by with a D and drowning in Calc II.

One thing is for certain, if his heart is set on passing Calc then he will most likely pass Calc. I've gotten some very weak cadets through my Calc classes and they all had something in common....determination and a refusal to give up.
 
I am so glad this awful experience as a parent can at least benefit other parents. I tried to compliment him tonight and build him up and point out that at one point he was making good grades on his tests, even though by then it was probably too late. He also feels like his school didn't prepare him. He feels that they focused too much on grades and not content. He shut down and wouldn't even listen to me. Said he didn't want to talk about it.
 
Sounds like he needs some time to process his anger, grief, disappointment in himself, etc. I know it's easy for me to say, but try not to worry. If you're the kind of parent who can support and nurture a young man capable of the academics, sports, ECs, and by the way character that got him into USCGA, I'd put folding money on him working his way through this. I know it's hard to see as a parent (heck it's hard for me, and all I do is teach one of their courses!) but this is what it looks like when people build resilience.

Please keep us posted, to the extent you care to.
 
Well, he found out he passed Chemistry, so he only failed one class. That was a big boost to his confidence and he said he learned a lot this semester about what to do and what not to do. I am really happy for him. It feels odd for us to all be happy with a D when we always insisted on A's and B's (for Honor's classes) in High School...LOL!
 
I got a D in Chem and it was one of my greatest accomplishments at USNA! I worked my butt off for it. I bet your son worked harder for that D than he had for anything he had done academically in high school. Part of his stress was the unknown. Not that he knows, got some and has processed some it, I am sure you are starting to see him relax. USCGA will work with on his schedule and he will need really evaluate his future major and have a very open discussion with his ac advisor about that. But that is his responsibility and for him to tackle upon his return. Tell him congrats from another Plebe Calc/Chem struggler who figured it out and was never in that spot again. I bet he figures it out and doesn't have this issue again.
 
More commonly it's "What do you call the guy that graduated last in his medical school class?"....
"Doctor."
:)
 
He could've failed 2 classes and been fine. It says in the CGA regs:
1. Any cadet who receives two Fs in one semester or accumulates a total of three Fs is automatically placed on academic probation.
2. Any 4/c cadet who receives three Fs in the fall semester or four Fs for the year will be referred to the Superintendent with a recommendation for disenrollment.

Definitely more lax than the Merchant Marine Academy, where we take chem/calc crammed into trimesters, and it only takes 2 F's to be Referred for Disenrollment to the Superintendent.
 
Keep in mind it's not just about Fs. I only had one F but was on Academic Probation. GPA also matters.
 
LineInTheSand said:
Keep in mind it's not just about Fs. I only had one F but was on Academic Probation. GPA also matters.
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Jesus, even if a cadet is failing Chem/Calc they should be able to keep a 2. How the admissions people let people who are going to perform so poorly through the gate is disgraceful. You would've figured that they've been doing this long enough to know that a potential cadet is going through the gate prepared to make a mess academically.
 
MMA19kid said:
LineInTheSand said:
Keep in mind it's not just about Fs. I only had one F but was on Academic Probation. GPA also matters.
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Jesus, even if a cadet is failing Chem/Calc they should be able to keep a 2. How the admissions people let people who are going to perform so poorly through the gate is disgraceful. You would've figured that they've been doing this long enough to know that a potential cadet is going through the gate prepared to make a mess academically.
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Hahaha, well, you can certainly have below a 2.0 without an F (as I figured out).

I had a 4.0 in high school, a number of AP classes, good standardized test scores, etc. Heck, I'm a Mensan. But man oh man did I struggle.

Don't worry though, my poor performance could have been claimed by USNA had I not been accepted by CGA, or by USMMA had I not been accepted by CGA and USNA.

I think that's why struggling is tough for many cadets. We (they) go through life breezing through everything, little to not issues, great grades, well rounded life, etc. and then you get to a school with a number of other big fish and it's not as smooth.

Luckily, grad school was a breeze…. so maybe it was just CGA.
 
MMA19... Seriously?

What vast experience of knowledge do you have to know and make that statement? And do you not think admissions has specific indicators on prediction patterns of those selected? Guess what, they have tons of metrics that would make your head hurt! Yes it's poor academic performance but it doesn't make them a poor human. It's why the Academy will look at them holistically and see how they do second semester. If the trend continues next semester I am venturing to guess the issue could be extremely serious with a potential ticket home at the end. It happens at all schools, not just SAs. Heck a Cadet doing ROTC posted they had 4 classes or something and were below a 2.0 with an F. I think he figured out engineering is not in his future.

I pretty much did the same thing my first semester, it never happened again. Even made Dant's list quite a few times after, graduated and did pretty decently as a Marine Officer.
 
I agree. That was pretty insensitive and judgmental. My son was dealing with a lot. Being 10 hours away from all of his friends and family. Feeling lonely, feeling homesick. Suddenly feeling like a tiny fish instead of the big academic fish on the block. Her doesn't make friends easily because he was raised to believe that alcohol is bad and he has never even tried it. It's hard to find friends who don't drink in this society, believe me. I know. He's also Christian and has read the bible all the way through, which is also unusual for someone his age. His ACT's were good and his Chem teacher said he has the ability, it's just that he needs to stop being so shy and ask for help from his professors. He didn't have to do that in the past.
 
NavyHoops said:
MMA19... Seriously?
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The poster was exposed as a troll long ago, ignore him and he'll go away.

Just read each and every of the 17 posts he has made here and you'll understand his purpose is not to contribute to the forum but to sow discourse and belittlement.

Or as they've said in Usenet groups going back 20 years---Don't feed the trolls.
 
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