Should my son quit college for now?

Question

My 17 year old son is in his 2nd year as a joint enrolled student at a local college. He gets to take one course at no charge. His other classes in the past have all been 3.8 or better. This semester he is taking College Algebra. He seems to be having a difficult time. Part of it is maturity. He is not applying himself enough and another part may be that it is too difficult for him. Should I take him out of college for now and let him concentrate on his high school studies ONLY ....or should I insist on him continuing with this course and get what he can from it?

They only have a tutor available for this course...during the time the course is offered to my son. Doesn't make sense. When my son is asked what he wants to do, he says "I donno, quit maybe...I need a teacher that will teach. He says this teacher depends on him to read the book and self teach a lot of it. He says college is more independant learning and work. I would say that joint enrollment was more my idea than his. I found out about it and as a homeschool mom, I looked into every thing I could that would help suppliment his learning. (everything from field trips to community service.) But he was excited about doing this. And I think it is a great opportunity for him...but on the negative side...it is a long drive(50 miles) and that takes away from time that could be spent on his high school studies.

Answer 1

College algebra courses usually rely on the students having already had at least one year of Algebra on the high school level. Since they assume the students already have basic mastery of the material, the professors typically do not spend a great deal of time with explainations. It could be your son doesn't have the basic mastery down, or needs more refresher than the class is designed to provide. It may also be he is simply overloaded or over his head, and as the experience is making him feel like a failure, it may be more to his benefit quit at this point. Nothing is accomplished through frustration, it defeats the point of education.
There is no point to continuing the college courses at the detriment of the high school courses. If there is a conflict, it would be better to back up and regroup, and master the high school level courses first. If he doesn't have mastery of the lower level material, nothing else matters. If he is stuggling with the Algebra, it would be better for him to go back and get a mastery of it where he can work it through at his own pace. Then he would stand a much better chance of suceeding at the college level. If you insist that he continue the course, he is more than likely going to end up failing, with the record of that on his transcript and still needing to repeat the course again.
I'm afraid from the sounds of this, you are pushing the young man to his limits- possibly beyond them. I'm not sure he is doing this for himself, or to please you. The failure could be from resentment at being pushed, or a lack of preparation for the material. Either way, the failure is not good for his self esteem or his grade point. There is no sin in quiting if you realize you are over your head and need more instruction to suceed. The only thing I can see he will get from finishing the course is a case of further resentment, a feeling of frustration, and a sense of failure. I can't see where he would possibly learn anything worth learning at all, or anything that would benefit him in the future. I say quit and regroup to have a better shot at sucess in the future. Concentrate on mastering the basic material of high school and then move on to college level classes when he is fully prepared.

Answer 2

I have a BS in engineering. I found College Algebra to be very difficult course. It was sort of like basic training in the military. The difficulty I was having was building up my math mussel's for what was to come later. The math after that seemed easier.

Your son may need a break from studies. Take a job, travel, take fun classes.

At 17 he needs to be finding his own direction.Maybe you should be the one taking a class or two. Hopefully your job is done.
B Macdugal

Answer 3

I understand the maturity aspect. It's really hard for a 17 year old to look at the big picture vs. here and now, however you may want to remind him that if he plans on going to college full time (after graduating HS), the college classes that he has the opportunity to take right now will apply towards his college credits. This means that he will be able to graduate earlier than everyone else.

Answer 4

I suggest you talk to him and see if he is wiling to work with a tutor and commit to preparing his homework ahead of meeting with the tutor. Colleges usually have free tutoring. If he does his homework before meeting with the tutor he can get a lot out of it. Tutors answer questions; they don't teach. So it will give him a deadline to do his homework and someone to answer his questions for anything that is too hard.

Answer 5

Which of you wanted him to take college courses? That's the person that should be deciding.

Answer 6

A poor teacher can be the problem and your input to the teacher could be helpful.

Answer 7

Ask him what he feels comfortable doing. Support him and help him in every way you can.

Answer 8

Let him tough it out. He might be grateful he struggled with this later.

Answer 9

You should on insisting him to continue and to get what ever he can from it.

Answer 10

he needs to focus on one thing only.. so that he can apply his full attention to it.. talk to him and ask him what he wants.. its also advisable to consult ur son's academic counselor.. so that u can plans things out..


gud luck...


-a