.@militarymom2020 did your son attend NAPS? And if so, how did that go??
Well said, Doc.I would wonder if you are getting full and accurate feed back.
professors that don’t help and only scold and chaplains that will listen but have nothing to say——-I wonder what the reality is.
IME as a parent the teachers did a lot to help one of mine that found the course work not easy. Lots of extra help and patience delivering that help including hours on a weekend Is what I saw——from a distance.
No he didn't. He was a direct@militarymom2020 did your son attend NAPS? And if so, how did that go??
Thank you . He has decided to take a break from the sport starting this week. Coincidentally, it is 6 week exams this week. He is failing every class he has, which are all Math based. He has been working with private tutors and he says the material is too difficult to comprehend. He studies alone in the academic building. Even the extra time he has to study has not helped him. He's hit a wall and doesn't know what to do. Is there someone at the school that can help him get some help?Alot of great advice and feedback from those on this thread. I was also once your son in many ways... I was a basketball blue chip recruit, extremely far from home, and come to find out, not very prepared for USNA. I had solid high school scores that put me above average in our class profile... yet it was like a bus ran me over academically. My first semester GPA was 1.66. I dug myself out of that and eventually graduated middle of the pack, had a decent enough basketball career, held some stripes along the way, and became a Marine. Here is my advice to your son.
This comes down to priorities... How much does he want to graduate and commission from USNA? I had to make it up in my mind that the only way I was leaving USNA was when they tossed me out. That meant, if I had to leave my sport, take summer school and miss leave every year, or hire private tutors, I would. If I was tossed out, I knew I had done everything I could along the way. He has to develop this mentality to make it. If this means changing majors to something more his strength, then do it.
Deciding if you will leave your sport is so difficult. Not sure what sport your DS plays (none of my business either), but as a basketball player, we were our own family, support system, etc. We spent 3-6+ hours a day together. We bled together, sweated together, cried together, traveled the country together, picked each other when things sucked, and so much more. I am extremely close to my former team mates and non-basketball room mates at USNA, even to this day. The basketball team also provided me additional academic support. I had some brilliant team mates that helped me. We had a professor that traveled with us sometimes to tutor the Plebes in Chemistry (we missed alot of classes and this was massive to help fill in those missed classes). They also never let us use basketball as an excuse, miss an assignment or give up. If it meant an hour long "class" in the hotel lobby or spreading out nav maps and upperclass helping us do charts, that is what we did. It also meant taking an exam, proctored by our Academic Advisor or O-Rep, during down time when everyone else was napping. It also provided a very disciplined schedule and alot of oversight. So walking away from a sport, is hard. He has to decide if he will improve or not with or without his sport. Only he knows this answer. Give it a 2 week trial.
Go to the Mid Counseling Center or whatever it is called. Go see a therapist. Chaplains are amazing, but he needs to talk this out with a therapist and get to the root cause, help with some positive steps that can help with test anxiety, and help gain some confidence back. He is doubting himself and frustrated. He is own worst enemy right now, being hard on himself and thinking he is stupid. I have no idea what sport he loves, but if I was in a shooting slump, I would watch film, work with a coach, mental exercises. This is the same thing, go get help!
What is his study environment? Its not working. Eliminate distractions such as his phone. Studying more isn't the answer all the time. Its studying the right things and retaining the information. Its being alert and awake in class to absorb the material. So burning the midnight oil is not always the answer. At the Academic Center seek out someone who can help him review his study habits and adjust them. Take summer school every year and remove the hardest class he can. If they let him take 2 classes, do it.
I wish your DS the best of luck. I truly believe your son can make it through USNA, but doing what he always done, will not get him there. He is going to have to do some honest reflection with himself, seek a different type of help than he has before, and decide that he can live with whatever the outcome is that he did all he could.
Thank you . He has decided to take a break from the sport starting this week. Coincidentally, it is 6 week exams this week. He is failing every class he has, which are all Math based. He has been working with private tutors and he says the material is too difficult to comprehend. He studies alone in the academic building. Even the extra time he has to study has not helped him. He's hit a wall and doesn't know what to do. Is there someone at the school that can help him get some help?
See link below and work your way through all the drop-down menus and links. There is a massive amount of help available, both general and targeted. The staff and faculty there are learning specialists. They know how to identify and address root causes. They also have help for the mental coaching for success.Thank you . He has decided to take a break from the sport starting this week. Coincidentally, it is 6 week exams this week. He is failing every class he has, which are all Math based. He has been working with private tutors and he says the material is too difficult to comprehend. He studies alone in the academic building. Even the extra time he has to study has not helped him. He's hit a wall and doesn't know what to do. Is there someone at the school that can help him get some help?
Thank you . He has decided to take a break from the sport starting this week. Coincidentally, it is 6 week exams this week. He is failing every class he has, which are all Math based. He has been working with private tutors and he says the material is too difficult to comprehend. He studies alone in the academic building. Even the extra time he has to study has not helped him. He's hit a wall and doesn't know what to do. Is there someone at the school that can help him get some help?
My advice is based on 26 years active duty with 2 commands, a tour as a USNA Battalion Officer (one of 6 post-command senior officers charged with professional development, mentoring and leadership of 1/6 of the Brigade), 25+ years of having sponsor midshipmen and alumni as part of our family (I have a ‘00 grad sitting with me on the sofa right now, she came over for dinner during a TAD to DC, headed to BWI in the AM), married to a USNA grad with 4 commands and 26 years, and a commitment to servant leadership that keeps me busy with wherever I can offer insights and assistance. I do this same kind of thing with a transitioning veteran non-profit where I have 4 active coaching mentees in various phases of leaving the military, serve on boards of two other vet-mil non-profits, and some other cats and dogs in paid consulting. I think this has always been my passion throughout my Navy and corporate careers, and I’m privileged to be able to spend time supporting those who follow the path of service in uniform.To Mom….one thing I have done over the years, is send a piece of advice from the forums DIRECTLY to my Mid. @Skipper07 is a Mid. @Capt MJ has been there, done that as a USNA (CO? XO? I don’t know the proper verbiage…my apologies to @Capt MJ) leader.
Sending these to my Mid, at the time they were needed, was awesome. Bc I’m mom and have no idea what I’m talking about. But THEY DO. And my Mid appreciated the advice.
Not sure where all that is with your advising your son, but there is some seriously good advice here from people that actually know.
I hope there is some peace soon for everyone. This is no fun. That’s for sure.
Studying alone is not the best use of your son's time. If he is struggling that much, reading the material on his own will just confuse him that much more. He needs to reach out to anyone and everyone to see where he can get help. He should ask his company, professors, dept heads...He studies alone in the academic building. Even the extra time he has to study has not helped him.