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

[Twinklestars]

None of my former-cp's dual credit courses are going to count at the college she is hoping to attend. But, her difficult course load helped to get her accepted there. I think it would have been about 18 credits, possibly a few more.

 

[SL&AM]

@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...

Think about the kids who don't have money for college and will have to take out a sizable amount of debt to go---if not for tuition, for room and board. If they can take that down even a semester or two, that's a sizable amount of money saved. If a kid knows what field they want to go into and can knock out their Gen Ed, financially it's a pretty big motivator.

 

[Eyes On The Prize]

Think about the kids who don't have money for college and will have to take out a sizable amount of debt to go---if not for tuition, for room and board. If they can take that down even a semester or two, that's a sizable amount of money saved. If a kid knows what field they want to go into and can knock out their Gen Ed, financially it's a pretty big motivator.

I'm in the beginning stages of paying off my student debt now, just starting to see results from paying off the interest. Knowing what i do now, i still wouldn't have given up 2 years of "childhood" for a few thousand dollars. Debt is a part of life - some of it avoidable, some of it unavoidable. Let kids be kids for 2 extra years in college before they are released into the real world. College is also a great time to test out the waters of the real world without actually being in the real world. You're allowed to fail with the sense of a safety net. Taking 2 years of that away also isn't worth a few thousand dollars less of debt. Jmo.

 

[luv2cheer92]

I'm in the beginning stages of paying off my student debt now, just starting to see results from paying off the interest. Knowing what i do now, i still wouldn't have given up 2 years of "childhood" for a few thousand dollars. Debt is a part of life - some of it avoidable, some of it unavoidable. Let kids be kids for 2 extra years in college before they are released into the real world. College is also a great time to test out the waters of the real world without actually being in the real world. You're allowed to fail with the sense of a safety net. Taking 2 years of that away also isn't worth a few thousand dollars less of debt. Jmo.

Yes! I could have very easily graduated college in 3 years, but I didn't want to. I decided that the money was worth that extra year. So I had several 12-13 credit semesters and took a few extra classes for no reason other than because they sounded interesting (coaching cheerleading for example). I'm still so glad I made that decision.

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[SL&AM]

I'm in the beginning stages of paying off my student debt now, just starting to see results from paying off the interest. Knowing what i do now, i still wouldn't have given up 2 years of "childhood" for a few thousand dollars. Debt is a part of life - some of it avoidable, some of it unavoidable. Let kids be kids for 2 extra years in college before they are released into the real world. College is also a great time to test out the waters of the real world without actually being in the real world. You're allowed to fail with the sense of a safety net. Taking 2 years of that away also isn't worth a few thousand dollars less of debt. Jmo.

I appreciate your perspective, even though I can't relate to it.

 

[Beans100]

Sorry for the double post--
But I feel like an awful parent for wanting my daughter to have options... These schools that are offering all these academics and hs/college simultaneously somewhat rob young people a chance to enjoy hs, play a sport and just breathe... I think our young people have more time to be grown/adults and be burdened with the bills and problems... I want my daughter to at least, have a balance and I am feeling so guilty for feeling this way...

Don't feel bad about it. My parents put a lot of pressure on me to perform well in school. And to be honest, it wasn't worth it. Obviously everyone is different, but I turned out a little messed up due to all the extra pressure and expectations. Let's just say, we had to do a lot of family therapy.

However, I am still an advocate for AP classes. I took 4 APs during high school and passed all the exams for college. My school was known for having a high pass rate for AP exams and the teachers were honest if they felt that a student wasn't going pass the test.

 

[kibago]

Don't feel bad about it. My parents put a lot of pressure on me to perform well in school. And to be honest, it wasn't worth it. Obviously everyone is different, but I turned out a little messed up due to all the extra pressure and expectations. Let's just say, we had to do a lot of family therapy.

However, I am still an advocate for AP classes. I took 4 APs during high school and passed all the exams for college. My school was known for having a high pass rate for AP exams and the teachers were honest if they felt that a student wasn't going pass the test.

Sometimes there can be so much pressure on a kid that they just don't care about classwork anymore, especially if the kid's at least somewhat intelligent. Heck, I feel bad for deciding to take 2 APs this year instead of 4 and focusing more on learning what I want outside of school, especially since my school is really pushing kids to take what I think is becoming too many APs. :confused:

 

[FlexyTumblerMom]

I think if a kid has the intelligence level to handle AP classes, then that is what they should take unless they are a complete slacker (and in that case thats a bigger issue). Like the kid has to take a math, science, etc. anyway - might as well take the most challenging version that they could handle or they are kind of wasting their time. To put it in cheer terms, a really smart kid taking regular science instead of AP science, would be like a kid w/ level 5 cheer skills doing a level 3 team. Almost like sandbagging school. AP classes prepare kids for college level work while they still are in the supportive and structured setting of home - getting your first taste of extremely challenging classes while you are away at college completely on your own w/ no parent there to monitor how things are going, etc., can be a disaster.

 

[Cheer0825]

As a junior in high school who currently is taking 5 AP classes ( 3 this semester 2 next semester). One of the main reason I decided to take more APs than I was really comfortable with was because I distinctly remember going to tour Duke and UNC and hearing them say that they expect prospective students to take the most rigorous courses available to them. So I signed up for the hardest classes I could and disregarded my lack of interest in many of the subjects. Now halfway through the school year I throughly regret doing so much.

The fact that so many students hate going to school should really be a red light, the first few things that pop up when you google "school makes me feel..." are all negative.
I also hate that a lot of the learning we do in class isn't done to further our intelligence but instead time is spent learning to pass a test and as soon as the test is over all of the information is forgotten.
I'm going to stop there because there are a lot of things wrong with our education system and I don't want to ramble lol.

 

[SL&AM]

I think if a kid has the intelligence level to handle AP classes, then that is what they should take unless they are a complete slacker (and in that case thats a bigger issue). Like the kid has to take a math, science, etc. anyway - might as well take the most challenging version that they could handle or they are kind of wasting their time. To put it in cheer terms, a really smart kid taking regular science instead of AP science, would be like a kid w/ level 5 cheer skills doing a level 3 team. Almost like sandbagging school. AP classes prepare kids for college level work while they still are in the supportive and structured setting of home - getting your first taste of extremely challenging classes while you are away at college completely on your own w/ no parent there to monitor how things are going, etc., can be a disaster.

But not every child is college bound or really, should be college bound. Under the assumption, why not wipe away high school completely and just send them to college sooner? Why on Earth should do kids have to sit through 4 years of English and 3 years of Math, Science, and History when they have to turn around and do it all again for 2 years of General Ed courses? Honestly, that makes zero sense to me.

 

[FlexyTumblerMom]

But not every child is college bound or really, should be college bound. Under the assumption, why not wipe away high school completely and just send them to college sooner? Why on Earth should do kids have to sit through 4 years of English and 3 years of Math, Science, and History when they have to turn around and do it all again for 2 years of General Ed courses? Honestly, that makes zero sense to me.

Yeah, I guess a kid who has no plans to go to college, or is just hoping to be able to get by at a lower-tiered college in a non-academic type of major, wouldn't need to bother w/ AP classes.

 

[cheermomforever]

I feel that in school they should have to take some "life" courses, or as a Sr. Let them take courses directed at the career choice they have decided in. I knew my daughter was not college bound. She is at a Paul Mitchell school and loves it! My son is a Sr in college and has always been worried about his grades ( unlike my CP). He will continue on for 2 more years towards his career of choice. Too many courses that kids r made to take are a waste of time and they will never use in the future.


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[Beans100]

I feel that in school they should have to take some "life" courses, or as a Sr. Let them take courses directed at the career choice they have decided in. I knew my daughter was not college bound. She is at a Paul Mitchell school and loves it! My son is a Sr in college and has always been worried about his grades ( unlike my CP). He will continue on for 2 more years towards his career of choice. Too many courses that kids r made to take are a waste of time and they will never use in the future.


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I agree. I wish that high schools offered a Life Skills course that covered basic "adulting" things. I know quite a few people who got to college and had life smack them in the face. There needs to be a class that will cover things like
how to open a savings account/ checking account
how to write a check
paying bills and the consequences of not paying
applying for loans
finding an apartment
budgeting
doing taxes

I would have gladly traded Health class for a course like this.

 

[omgitssydthekid]

I agree. I wish that high schools offered a Life Skills course that covered basic "adulting" things. I know quite a few people who got to college and had life smack them in the face. There needs to be a class that will cover things like
how to open a savings account/ checking account
how to write a check
paying bills and the consequences of not paying
applying for loans
finding an apartment
budgeting
doing taxes

I would have gladly traded Health class for a course like this.

We were required to take a personal finance class that covered this in high school and it had to be passed with a "B" to count or else you had to redo the class. My college offers a personal finance class, and it's not required but I took it this past semester anyway and I'm glad I did. It wasn't a difficult class by any means, I got a 97% with minimal effort (I'm a senior and it's a freshman level class so that may have played a part) and I honestly learned a lot. I wish it was required for everyone to take.


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[CheerBank]

I agree. I wish that high schools offered a Life Skills course that covered basic "adulting" things. I know quite a few people who got to college and had life smack them in the face. There needs to be a class that will cover things like
how to open a savings account/ checking account
how to write a check
paying bills and the consequences of not paying
applying for loans
finding an apartment
budgeting
doing taxes

I would have gladly traded Health class for a course like this.

We learned how to write a check in junior high school math class. I remember both my older kids learning something about bank accounts in middle school as well. I do agree the whole "consequences of overspending" and some financial life skills would be a valuable half year class junior or senior year of high school.