Quote:
Originally Posted by Butter
Thoughts?
|
Going to college is precisely the right thing to do in this case, IMO. I agree with Jon re: the tradeoffs. I wouldn't necessarily be *too* strict about the grades in particular - his first year, he's going to be taking GenEd classes, which can range the gamut from Most Failed Class/Instructor to Cakewalk City. And a lot of times, students experience significant grade drops their first semester of college, simply because it's a completely different playing field from high school. It's part of the adjustment process, and like Jon said, he *will* screw up at least once - with a good shot of even more than once. Doesn't mean college will be a waste or that he'll flame out - just that he's had learning experiences that are part of the whole university landscape.
The fact that he's already working on establishing a social network (incoming freshman class group and SAC with football team) is critical - oftentimes one of the biggest indicators on if a student will cut it in college, if not the biggest, hinges on what kind of support network he has.
As for some of the rest of it - since he's already used to the counseling routine, I'd have him go to CAPS or whatever acronym is used (Counseling and Psychological Services) to keep that routine going. It'll be a good way to make sure he stays on track re: medication and potentially catches pitfalls and traps before he falls into them. My own college career probably would have gone completely differently (kicked out of one school after year for grades, kicked out of a second school two or three times for grades, etc. that culminated in my being in my late 20s before I got my undergrad degree) if there had been much earlier intervention.
Re: him wanting to go and you and your wife being relieved to have him out of the house for a while - that's pretty much par for the course when it comes to graduated high school seniors, or hell, even just seniors in general by about oh, January or thereabouts. Totally normal and nothing to get flustered or upset about.
However things go, whether he soars or crashes, it'll work out. I'm living proof that even the biggest screwups can turn things around.