Wash Post:"I went to some of D.C.’s better schools. I was still unprepared for college."

[renaissance]

The initiative to actually learn the material, instead of just getting the A has to come from inside. If you enjoy the subject material, you'll likely go beyond the bare minimum and actually make the effort to learn. But I agree, and I think you are right in saying that being a first gen college kid left him unprepared more than others.

I still wonder how he passed AP classes by not independently studying. My high school had IB instead of AP, and I remember how tough and time consuming some of those classes were (especially IB English).

In my experience, AP classes aren't really any more difficult than regular or honors classes unless you were preparing to take the AP test. It's pretty easy to coast through an AP class and get a B without doing much independent learning.

Edit: I think IB is a lot different than AP in terms of workload because from what I understand IB is more of an comprehensive curriculum and way of learning as opposed to AP which basically teaches to the AP tests. I think IB is much better at preparing you for actual college-level learning.

[Major Harris]

Don't forget the "7 slackers, 4 average people, 2 smart people, and 1 very smart person." Are you saying that there aren't any stoners and jocks on the WVU faculty?

And lighten the **** up, Francis.

oh, i'm sure. stoners and jocks are everywhere, except in corcaigh's world.

and i'm light, hence the lol, i'm lazy with the smileys. <---better?

[No Excuses]

Edit: I think IB is a lot different than AP in terms of workload because from what I understand IB is more of an comprehensive curriculum and way of learning as opposed to AP which basically teaches to the AP tests. I think IB is much better at preparing you for actual college-level learning.

That might be true, although I believe colleges consider both on equal footing when it comes to accepting them as college credits. I could be wrong but I thought that was the case.

[renaissance]

That might be true, although I believe colleges consider both on equal footing when it comes to accepting them as college credits. I could be wrong but I thought that was the case.

In terms of credits, colleges probably do look at them the same. But I took AP classes and had friends graduate the IB program and the stuff they had to do to graduate the IB program was much more college-like than anything I had to do for AP classes.

[No Excuses]

In terms of credits, colleges probably do look at them the same. But I took AP classes and had friends graduate the IB program and the stuff they had to do to graduate the IB program was much more college-like than anything I had to do for AP classes.

Didn't know that. Always thought that perhaps both are interchangeable.

[renaissance]

Didn't know that. Always thought that perhaps both are interchangeable.

Maybe if you're just taking 1-2 IB classes it's different, but I thought that to take IB classes you had to be in the IB program.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Baccalaureate

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Placement

[Forehead]

My biggest transition in college wasn't the level of the work; I went to a very good high school and college didn't seem that much tougher. For me, it was adjusting to being away from home for the first time, and coping with the availability of large amounts of alcohol. I know I've posted this before, but Greek life at my undergrad institution was slightly different...the off campus Greek housing wasn't officially recognized, but every fraternity/sorority had their own floor on a residence hall on campus. My freshman year, one fraternity didn't have enough brothers to fill their hall as many of them chose to live off campus. Guess where I come in to this story? Yes, at 19, I was sent away to live with a fraternity I wasn't actually in, and to top it off, my roommate was an exchange student who was 22 years old, could but alcohol legally, and was able to legally drink since he could walk. Bad combination. I think I finished my first semester with a 1.8, and I might be generous in that estimation.

That's the brakes, kid.

Hell, I went to college and grad. school...and was still unprepared for LIFE.

Certainly

[TheLongshot]

BTW, if you live in much of the south, you'd better be prepared to send your kids to private school. Our niece goes to a charter school here and she's really a very bright kid and gets excellent grades. However the kids she's around at school are knuckleheads and the instruction is such that she struggles with some basic concepts in english, math, etc. We went to her talent show a few months ago and the teachers/administrators running the show could barely put together complete sentences. I expect that our niece may have a similar experience to that of the Georgetown kid.

Depends on where in the south. For example, I lived in Cobb County, GA (suburb of Atlanta) when I started going to high school, and their schools were pretty solid. Course, when you get outside into the rural areas, you find a lot more schools with VoTech departments. The expectations for their students go way down.

Here's the thing, tho: not everyone who graduates high school is destined to go to college. While I think HSs should do a better job preparing students for college, it shouldn't be just that. No matter how much preparation you do, there is always an adjustment period to college. Not everyone is going to be able to make that adjustment.

[No Excuses]

Maybe if you're just taking 1-2 IB classes it's different, but I thought that to take IB classes you had to be in the IB program.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Baccalaureate

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Placement

You didn't have to be enrolled in the IB program to take IB classes. I took IB for everything except foreign language*. As a result, I didn't graduate with an IB diploma.

*Maybe I was enrolled in the IB program? I honestly don't remember. I chickened out of IB French.

[mjah]

ok, so in other words you were taking a stereotype and a few stories you've heard from some kids and making the completely logical conclusion that the faculty at wvu are a bunch of drug using bums and ex jocks.

or you were being sarcastic, or an *******, or both...lol....i never can tell.

Hot-button much? I think Corcaigh was half-joking.

I think your reaction might be most of the fun, actually, when it comes to this kind of thing... reading Corcaigh's joke, my Major Harris Alert went off. :pfft:

Posting as an ex-West-Virginian, you have to have a thick skin. The jokes aren't a call to arms. They're just jokes. Given what WVU does for WV vs. what it could do in pursuit of being a "better" national university at WV's expense, perhaps there is a greater kernel of truth in there for WVU jokes than for your average national university. But that's a decent tradeoff, isn't it? Better service to the state in return for an elevated level of teasing? I'm not suggesting to just take it, but rather to expect it (barring an act of Congress) and to give it no more heed than it deserves.

(I'll admit it though: I laughed.)

[Forehead]

Depends on where in the south. For example, I lived in Cobb County, GA (suburb of Atlanta) when I started going to high school, and their schools were pretty solid.

This has nothing to do with the topic at hand, but I love the Big Boss Man's theme song, which this reminded me of. If you don't know the joke, then nevermind, but I'll be humming it the rest of the day.

[renaissance]

You didn't have to be enrolled in the IB program to take IB classes. I took IB for everything except foreign language*. As a result, I didn't graduate with an IB diploma.

*Maybe I was enrolled in the IB program? I honestly don't remember. I chickened out of IB French.

If you were working towards the full IB diploma you would have known because you'd have to do a comprehensive final paper, community service, etc. You also would have had to take 4 years of a foreign language

[Corcaigh]

Hot-button much? I think Corcaigh was half-joking.

There was an element of this: :evilg:

[No Excuses]

If you were working towards the full IB diploma you would have known because you'd have to do a comprehensive final paper, community service, etc. You also would have had to take 4 years of a foreign language

That was probably it. I remember being enrolled in IB French my junior year and dropping it after a month. My guidance counselor said something similar to what you said but I ignored it, largely because I couldn't wait to be out of French. I still went off to do IB in every other subject, but I didn't have the other things on top of it (not a bad choice in the end).

[CrypticVillain]

It's also where I think a lot of first-generation college students are at a severe disadvantage. I think everyone agrees that high school and college can be quite different in terms of the amount of individual effort you have to put in if you really want to be successful. Unless someone tells you about this and helps you prepare beforehand, you're going to be somewhat at a loss while you figure it out on your own.

I never thought about it like that...

Oh about Charter Schools:

In the beginning they worked. Believe me, I went to three of them from 4th-9th grade. What those teachers taught me, I still use today.

Charter Schools now = glorified public schools. :2cents:

[Major Harris]

Hot-button much? I think Corcaigh was half-joking.

I think your reaction might be most of the fun, actually, when it comes to this kind of thing... reading Corcaigh's joke, my Major Harris Alert went off. :pfft:

Posting as an ex-West-Virginian, you have to have a thick skin. The jokes aren't a call to arms. They're just jokes. Given what WVU does for WV vs. what it could do in pursuit of being a "better" national university at WV's expense, perhaps there is a greater kernel of truth in there for WVU jokes than for your average national university. But that's a decent tradeoff, isn't it? Better service to the state in return for an elevated level of teasing? I'm not suggesting to just take it, but rather to expect it (barring an act of Congress) and to give it no more heed than it deserves.

(I'll admit it though: I laughed.)

i really was just playing along. i just can't do grumpy old fart like corky can.

[The Sisko]

Depends on where in the south. For example, I lived in Cobb County, GA (suburb of Atlanta) when I started going to high school, and their schools were pretty solid. Course, when you get outside into the rural areas, you find a lot more schools with VoTech departments. The expectations for their students go way down.

Here's the thing, tho: not everyone who graduates high school is destined to go to college. While I think HSs should do a better job preparing students for college, it shouldn't be just that. No matter how much preparation you do, there is always an adjustment period to college. Not everyone is going to be able to make that adjustment.

You're right. We used to live in East Snobb County, 'er East Cobb County and the schools there were great. In other parts of Cobb I think they're pretty average though and the real drop off comes in the City of Atlanta and in a lot of the rural school districts.

I realize that not everyone is destined for college. Hell, plenty of the VoTech types probably make more $$$ than I do. However I was referring to the steering of kids based on assumptions and the overall lack of resources and teacher quality.

[Corcaigh]

i really was just playing along. i just can't do grumpy old fart like corky can.

It's not an act. I'm a miserable ******* in real life.

[mjah]

i really was just playing along. i just can't do grumpy old fart like corky can.

Ah, got it.

[KDawg]

Problem is, like the article stated, in college you have to do a lot of self research and can't just rely on lectures and materials the teachers give you... In education in the US, you simply can't ask a kid to do that. Because, well, they won't. And then your fail rates are up and the schools wind up holding the teachers accountable because the District holds the school accountable and the State holds the District accountable.

Ugh.

I actually find grad school to be easier than high school and I did half way decent in HS. Reason being? I'm an independent learner, I'd rather learn on my own than be force fed everything. Force feeding = boring.

[TheLongshot]

You're right. We used to live in East Snobb County, 'er East Cobb County and the schools there were great. In other parts of Cobb I think they're pretty average though and the real drop off comes in the City of Atlanta and in a lot of the rural school districts.

Ah, so you HAVE been there. I spent my first two years of HS there. (First year at Lassiter, then transferred to Pope after it was built.)

[Elessar78]

Big adjustment for me was the level of work needed for college-level than high school. I went to Fairfax Co. PS and cruised. Didn't really study at night and got good grades. Tried to pull the same at college and no-dice—I was in the "C"s. It wasn't until I truly learned how to study that I started crushing it. By studying smart, staying organized, and attacking it with the volume of the studying-jumped from a C average to nearly straight As (damn you C in Econ) over the summer.

Most kids coming out of a majority of high schools will have the problem the author did. It's just the nature of education these days, 90% of kids are trained to take tests, not exactly process information. Kids aren't as much getting educated as they learn how to game the system.

And many studies coming out now are showing that there is very little improvement in cognitive skills and critical thinking between incoming freshmen and when they graduate from 4-year institutions. Now that's scary.

[RVAbrendan]

And many studies coming out now are showing that there is very little improvement in cognitive skills and critical thinking between incoming freshmen and when they graduate from 4-year institutions. Now that's scary.

I can attest to this. I went to a good highschool, transferred into college with a number of AP courses under my belt. I was always bright, but lacked good study habits. I "coasted through" highschool.

By the time I reached my senior year of college, I noticed not much had changed, habit-wise. It was only until my final year that I really buckled down and changed. Now, working in my current position in a professional setting, I've learned to prioritize/organize my time and workload properly. (I write this as I'm loafing on ES at work...)