Transitions

Wednesday, October 1, 2008
I'm going to try not and get maudlin here, because, ew, but this year the Smart Boy is a senior. That means a year of firsts and lasts.

His senior pictures have been taken, and orders have been received of the various poses. I don't yet have permission to post one here (mostly because I haven't asked), but they turned out well.

We've ordered his graduation announcements, as well as his cap and gown for graduation.

This year my family has three youngsters graduating from high school, so I've asked for vacation days for the various graduation ceremonies.

And today I requested vacation days for his college visits here in a couple weeks. He wants to visit the University of Colorado at Boulder (1st choice) and the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley (2nd choice).

Like most people his age, he's still trying to figure out what he wants to do with his life. Lately his interests have been leaning towards a career in astrophysics at NASA, which is why CU is his first choice. Previously he was interested in teaching at the high school level, and UNC is one of the better teacher's colleges in our region. Either way, he's on his way to being a self-sufficient, contributing member of society.

::Cue motherly commentary on how big he's gotten, where did the time go, I'm so proud.::

The other transition here is the movement of my money from my bank account to the various businesses who support senior activities. The older they get, the more expensive they get. There's a reason the 40's and 50's are typically the highest earning years for most Americans - they need the money to support their teens.

6 comments:

John the Scientist said...

If I'm out of line tell me to butt out, but I do have a little advice from being a TA at a state school with an excellent graduate program.

Tell him to get in and stay in the Honors Program.

The Honors program that I taught was as good as the private school education I received - for the first 2 years.

Sure, nominally they study the same topics in a State U course and at a private school. The difference is how much the students are pushed by their peers, and how much time is wasted spoon-feeding kids in Gen Chem who don't know what a log is (and therefore should not be in college., let alone in a technical major).

Honors classes eliminate this. unfortunately, it looks as if UC only has freshman and sophomore classes in the science and math honors program, but having those classes will make him perform better in the junior level classes - my State U lost an awful lot of chem and physics majors because they were babied the first 2 years and got an inflated sense of their real abilities. Taking at least honors chem, bio, and astronomy will make him more likely to be at the top of his class- and remember NASA only takes the top, so all the kids who try and fail for NASA wind up designing seat cushion flotation devices for Boeing. Honors will give him the boost he needs to compete with the best.

Remember my "Letter from a TA"? That's who he'll be in with if he doesn't take Honors.

/ soapbox

Steve Buchheit said...

I second trying to get into the Honors Program if they offer one. I didn't end up graduating with Honors (my listless unfocused youth, although I did graduate U with a higher GPA than I graduated HS), but I was able to take advantage of the program's benefits (alternates to mandatory classes). It's a blast, and I had teachers for those honor program classes that I rank up there in the top ten of educators in my life.

Janiece said...

John, I appreciate the tip. The programs I've attended were adult education programs, and didn't have this option.

I've forwarded your comments to the Smart Boy, but it's really up to him. I'm trying to take a "hands-off" approach to his college application process.

John the Scientist said...

If you don't have it, I'll forward the "Letter from a TA", too.

If he's like me, he has no idea that people that dumb can matriculate.

Janiece said...

John, I'd rather not scare the crap out of him, thanks anyway.

He's quite excited about the experience of college, and looking forward to the intellectual stimulation. He told me the other day that the biggest thing he's looking forward to in college is increasing his experiences with the Socratic method, as opposed to straight regurgitation.

I'd rather he discovered the Dumbasses on his own.

John the Scientist said...

Heh. Sometimes a little fear is a good thing. ;-)