All-Star You Might Be A Crazy Cheer Mom If...... (confession Time)

[CheerBank]

Unless you do dual credits the way I did and then you're transferring in as a sophomore or junior (in my case, junior) and those things to make you stand out as a freshman no longer matter as much. That is when I don't see AP mattering nearly as much as some make it seem.

Like you, you have to be accepted into AP courses at our high school (you can not jump from a reg class to AP, for example) however, because the AP classes are exclusive-ish, the county pays for all the fees for testing.

I really like the idea of a dual diploma. If you have the ability to do the work at that level then why just not do it rather than making the College Board richer with their advanced placement classes. I do recall though you mentioning that pursuing the dual diploma perhaps did not allow you to have to full high school experience - am I remembering that correctly or was that another poster? My oldest was able to go in to college with 23 credits as a result of the IB program (although not all colleges/universities accept IB credits so that was definitely a consideration when she applied to and decided on where she was going to school). No credits from the one AP class she took which are more universally accepted.

 

[CheerBank]

That's why we aren't pushing the AP/IB/Honors course with our kids. If they want to, we'll talk about it with them, but we aren't pushing it.

It truly can be done, but you have to know your kid and what they can potentially handle both academically and stress wise. It takes a lot of self discipline and the student has to truly be self motivated. While my oldest no longer did sports after 9th grade post ankle surgery, she was a yearbook editor, volunteered at a hospital, worked, participated in a program that tutored middle school students, went to Hebrew high school once a week and was part of a youth organization AND still managed to lead quite an active social life. I cannot tell you enough how much this prepared her for the time management skills needed in college.

Cp is going to do the full IB diploma as well, plus wants to give up lunch next year so she can continue with ASL as a second language. While her school activities mainly focus on cheer, she does volunteer work during the year with a special needs cheer team through all-star (which she has done since 7th grade) and will either work over the summer or find a volunteer position somewhere.

 

[SL&AM]

I really like the idea of a dual diploma. If you have the ability to do the work at that level then why just not do it rather than making the College Board richer with their advanced placement classes. I do recall though you mentioning that pursuing the dual diploma perhaps did not allow you to have to full high school experience - am I remembering that correctly or was that another poster? My oldest was able to go in to college with 23 credits as a result of the IB program (although not all colleges/universities accept IB credits so that was definitely a consideration when she applied to and decided on where she was going to school). No credits from the one AP class she took which are more universally accepted.

In my case, I didn't care about the full high school experience so I didn't have it. It can be done, however, with the full HS experience in mind. For example, if you wanted to participate in after school sports or clubs, instead of leaving school early, you went late. For me, I left school at lunch while some didn't come until 10 AM. I focused away from summer classes and instead dedicated my entire senior year to college; if you did the opposite, you could achieve close to what I did in the same manner. Doing what I did doesn't mean you can't have a fun high school experience, I just didn't want one so it wasn't my priority. Our county paid for all tuition and books and you had the options of day classes, night classes, or online courses. I did about 75% day classes, 20% night classes, and 5% online courses. Most of my friends graduated a semester away from their 2 year degree; most got it done the summer after graduation and then went to UCF, UF, and FSU as junior's.

 

[SL&AM]

Sorta double posting,

I don't want it to seem like all I did was eat, sleep, breathe school---I wasn't that angelic. I still danced on an all-star team, I still had a boyfriend (now husband), I still was social outside of school and eventually had a job and whatnot. I didn't care about HS politics, I never desired to be in any clubs (though I did do band for 2 years in HS) and while I went to Homecoming and Prom I could have done without it. I was still a typical teenager, just doing different level academics.

Balance isn't that difficul to achieve if you can keep up with the work; what I found miserable about high school was the lack of connections with the majority of my peers and teachers. I walked into high school with the same friends I walked out of and that was by design. We all had the same schedule, we all had the same teacher's, and despite the freedom you're supposed to have in HS we didn't. The same circles of people were kept together; whether on purpose or not, who knows. I hated that. I loved my friends, no doubt, but I always knew M would debate about the politics of something while J would look at is scientifically, D was too busy worry about the girl he wanted to date, while K would grammar nazi us to death. Every class, day in and day out was the same every single year until senior year rolled around and I bailed to go to college full time.

At my CP's school, one of the Kindy teachers is my old 8th grade Algebra teacher. When we talked for the first time, there was a bomb scare going on at a school in town, and eventually she made the comment that if I were in 8th grade Algebra that meant I was grouped with the 'good kids'. There was nothing organic or thought provoking out of my time in HS; which is why I had no issues turning away from it. I'm envious of those who have a better experience than I did.

 

[Helen uk uni cheer]

Sorta double posting,

I don't want it to seem like all I did was eat, sleep, breathe school---I wasn't that angelic. I still danced on an all-star team, I still had a boyfriend (now husband), I still was social outside of school and eventually had a job and whatnot. I didn't care about HS politics, I never desired to be in any clubs (though I did do band for 2 years in HS) and while I went to Homecoming and Prom I could have done without it. I was still a typical teenager, just doing different level academics.

Balance isn't that difficul to achieve if you can keep up with the work; what I found miserable about high school was the lack of connections with the majority of my peers and teachers. I walked into high school with the same friends I walked out of and that was by design. We all had the same schedule, we all had the same teacher's, and despite the freedom you're supposed to have in HS we didn't. The same circles of people were kept together; whether on purpose or not, who knows. I hated that. I loved my friends, no doubt, but I always knew M would debate about the politics of something while J would look at is scientifically, D was too busy worry about the girl he wanted to date, while K would grammar nazi us to death. Every class, day in and day out was the same every single year until senior year rolled around and I bailed to go to college full time.

The last part is what im struggling with in the access course I'm doing Just 17 of us and I know so much about them and they are lovely but I like having different friendship groups. I have applied to nursing programmes which accept at least 50 one accepts 250 because if I went to one that accepts 12 I would throttle them all by the first week.

 

[SL&AM]

The last part is what im struggling with in the access course I'm doing Just 17 of us and I know so much about them and they are lovely but I like having different friendship groups. I have applied to nursing programmes which accept at least 50 one accepts 250 because if I went to one that accepts 12 I would throttle them all by the first week.

Exactly. And in my area, and I'm sure a lot of the country, who I went to HS with is who I started elementary school with. In middle school you're put into groups---reg classes, honors (which are invite only) and gifted. In HS it's reg classes or honors until 11th grade, and then AP is offered. By the time AP was even an option, I was already dual enrolling. I learned so much more socially in those college classes than I ever would have in my high school ones. Those people are great, but I knew them way too well to have any sort of real debate or discussion with them.

 

[cheerisloving]

That's so accurate. I got a 2 on the AP Enviornmental Science exam but I had an A in the class, while I got a 4 on the AP Psych Exam but had a B in the class.


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LOL I got a 2 on my APES Exam too!!! That's the class I was talking about. That class is easy content wise, but the test is actually really hard it's common to not do well on it.

ETA: I never took AP for the credit. First, I knew that academically, colleges pay attention to students that take harder courses. It's one thing to have straight A's in regular classes, but to take an AP can make a difference. I remember hearing of a student with straight As not getting into a school but someone with A/B AP grades got in. When counselors talked to admissions they said the other student didn't have a challenging course load.

Also credit doesn't transfer everywhere. I had friends not even get credit for certain classes even though they got 4 and 5s on the exam.

 

[CheerBank]

LOL I got a 2 on my APES Exam too!!! That's the class I was talking about. That class is easy content wise, but the test is actually really hard it's common to not do well on it.

ETA: I never took AP for the credit. First, I knew that academically, colleges pay attention to students that take harder courses. It's one thing to have straight A's in regular classes, but to take an AP can make a difference. I remember hearing of a student with straight As not getting into a school but someone with A/B AP grades got in. When counselors talked to admissions they said the other student didn't have a challenging course load.

Also credit doesn't transfer everywhere. I had friends not even get credit for certain classes even though they got 4 and 5s on the exam.

You can go on the websites of the colleges you are applying to and see what scores they accept, how many credits they award and what category the credits will fall into; very often they transfer as Gen Ed credits.

 

[cheerisloving]

You can go on the websites of the colleges you are applying to and see what scores they accept, how many credits they award and what category the credits will fall into; very often they transfer as Gen Ed credits.

I know, I'm saying that schools might not except a lot of AP credit, like Stanford for example only takes credit for science and math courses.

I do know that the two history classes I've taken (college sophmore) were painfully easy because I took AP US history. Got a 3 on the exam, B's in the class.

 

[5-6-7-8]

I messed up the AP thing! I am a math/science person but stupidly took AP US history. Ouch! That scared me off taking AP calc / physics. I did take AP art for fun and ended up getting a 5 on my portfolio, shocking my art teacher.

 

[ashscott41]

I did dual enrollment and my high school life was great. Went to a local community college in the morning, came to high school around 10, and then had a normal day from there. First in my class, honor society, student council, school cheer, all star worlds team an hour away, volunteered regularly, and had plenty of social opportunities.

The problem for me came when I got to college. Because I had all those credits I was immediately in junior level classes as a freshman and was not at all prepared for them. Learning to be a semi functioning adult is a big part of college and I wish I could have taken a normal freshman course load to make the life adjustment a bit easier. My college experience would have been much different had I been a "normal" student.

 

[rdavis4]

I would have struggled having to use a computer for everything. My sister has severe dyslexia and she has (I honestly have no idea why, not super well versed in dyslexia) a lot of trouble reading her textbooks on a computer screen. Fortunately she had her 504 plan adjusted and was one of few students given a set of actual textbooks to keep at home in addition to being permitted to take paper tests as well.
If she prints things out on a light yellow paper, that has helped my dyslexic kiddos before. My school psychologist also gave me some really cool reading trackers to use.....they have a yellow strip on top and look kind of like a bookmark. It really has made a difference for my kids! I bet the stark white on the computer screen is the problem.

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[omgitssydthekid]

That's really interesting!!! I'll have to pass that along to her. Thank you!


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[Pebbles49]

I did dual enrollment and my high school life was great. Went to a local community college in the morning, came to high school around 10, and then had a normal day from there. First in my class, honor society, student council, school cheer, all star worlds team an hour away, volunteered regularly, and had plenty of social opportunities.

The problem for me came when I got to college. Because I had all those credits I was immediately in junior level classes as a freshman and was not at all prepared for them. Learning to be a semi functioning adult is a big part of college and I wish I could have taken a normal freshman course load to make the life adjustment a bit easier. My college experience would have been much different had I been a "normal" student.

@ashscott41, That is exactly what I am most afraid of for my daughter. It is not that she is unable to handle the workload, but why must our children be in such a rush to do everything, just cramming so much in a short time. Okay, you finished college at age 19 or 20, but all your peers are still in school, going to parties, etc... What are you adding to your life, extra years to work, be responsible adult and pay bills...

 

[CheerBank]

@ashscott41, That is exactly what I am most afraid of for my daughter. It is not that she is unable to handle the workload, but why must our children be in such a rush to do everything, just cramming so much in a short time. Okay, you finished college at age 19 or 20, but all your peers are still in school, going to parties, etc... What are you adding to your life, extra years to work, be responsible adult and pay bills...

The nice thing about my daughter coming in with 23 credits is that she has some of her Gen Eds filled and she can take 1 less class during a high pressure semester. The bad thing is that tuition goes up for juniors at her school so she will have that midway through her second year rather than for the start of the third year.