Bethany is on the computer right now doing her math for tomorrow. (We do school-light over the summer.) She's got a computer program called Descartes' Cove that includes 6 CDs of math problems. She's been stumped on a problem, working it out over and over and getting the same answer each time. She just realized what she did wrong and is working it out again. And it's still not working.
I am really working on not showing my kids how to do things, but on letting them find out how to find the answers themselves. Far too often they come to me asking questions, and I tell them the answer. (silly me!) Clearly, they can't do this their whole lives. And yet, it's so easy! Just ask mom! She knows. She'll tell me. And I won't have to look any further. College research papers will be a nightmare at this rate. Not to mention life.
So Research Rehab 101 is the other name for our house this summer. Ask a question-- and don't get an answer! At least not from Mom. =)
I heard Amy Barr from the Lukeion Project speak recently on preparing homeschoolers (and other teens) for college. She had some interesting points. (My notes from her talk are below) She and her husband are college professors and polled other university professors on what bugs them about incoming freshmen. The number one response was....
Parents calling the professors! Can you believe it? Parents calling to say, "Johnny was sick and couldn't hand in his paper. Can he have an extension?" Ok. I'm not that bad.
Her list of unrealistic thoughts homeschoolers (and others) have about college are:
-The most important thing is to get accepted
Fact: 50% of kids who begin college do not graduate. Getting in is the easy part.
-Mom and Dad are still my teacher and principal.
See the number one thing that bugs professors about incoming freshmen. (And these are not just homeschoolers whose parents are calling. These are freshmen across the board.)
-Time management is optional.
Parents: How to teach time management: Don't manage their time! Let them be late, fail, make mistakes and get embarrassed. Butter now than later.
-Schedules are flexible (You can see where we would get these ideas as homeschoolers)
Parents: Teach "Project Skills" -or- "How not to Procrastinate"
-Give lots of long term projects
-Make a syllabus for your homeschool classes
-Assign consequences that matter to the kids
-No nagging! (AKA reminding) Hand them the syllabus and don't mention it again.
-No shifting deadlines, even if they are sick. Really.
-No reduction in chores when due date approaches.
-Big rewards if the get the project in on time
-Projects may need to be objectively evaluated by someone other than Mom
Kids: In college, something is always better than nothing. Hand in what you have. 50% is better than a 0%.
-Creative writing is good enough.
Fact: The number two thing that bugged professors about incoming freshmen is that nobody knows how to write a research paper. Amaze your professors. Write well!
-Data is cheap. They won't be impressed that you can Google something.
-Cheating is easy and widespread.
-They want to see how well you can evaluate the data you find and express a complex conclusion from the data you've gathered.
-Failure is not an option
Fact: Oh, yes it is!
Thing that bugs professors number 3: Kids have failed to fail. They have been praised for everything they have ever done, made every team they try out for, and have never been blessed with the opportunity to figure out what to do after they've failed.
-Failure comes to everyone. Academic failure comes to everyone. You will not get A's on everything you do.
-Failure is paralyzing to kids who have never experienced it.
-Practice some failure daily.
Parents: Turn up the heat. Do not shield your kids from failure. Demonstrate healthy recovery. Shielding kids from failure causes low self esteem. Never do your kids work for them. Give them the gift of success and failure, both. There is a current crisis in the failure to fail. Kids are not growing up-- are not experiencing growth-- because they are paralyzed by a fear of failure.
Praise determination, not smartness!!
-Success is determined by giftedness.
Fact: Success in college is determined by determination. Not giftedness.
Quick Quiz:
Which is most memorable to a college professor?
-The silent, straight A student on the front row?
-The constant question asker in the back?
-The office hour visitor?
Answer: Not the first one. If you don't go see your professor at least four times a semester, you have let your parents down. Pop in and say, "I have an idea for my paper. What do you think?" Your professors will love you, hire you, name their kids after you! Ask questions! They will know someone was listening and will go home singing.
When time comes for professors to write letters of recommendation, they will think of the office visitor first, the question asker second, and will wonder who the silent straight-A student on the front row is.
Those are my notes from Amy's talk. As Josh said, "She's a great teacher!" (He was sad that I got to meet her in person while he was at EFY. He takes her history classes online and loves them. I love the skills she teaches-- oh yes, and the history, too.)
Now, if I can just apply everything I learned... Like I said, Research Rehab 101 this summer.
Rebecca =)
Book recommendation of the day: Olivia, by Ian Falconer. I don't know why I have never read this before, but for some reason I didn't. Until yesterday. Then I read it, and read it again, and read it again! It is wonderful! I started laughing today when I was driving as I remembered the line, "And moved the cat". =) And the picture after she spends time in the sun! LOL! If you haven't read it, take 5 minutes to do so. And then another 5 to read it again. It's a delight.
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