Academic Questions

The better the hs grades, the more rigorous the courses, the greater the number of college options which are open to your son. Likewise, the better the baseball player, the greater the number of college baseball options which are open to your son. (But you already know that.) If the two act in concert, you have a very powerful combination.

It is not unusual for kids to wonder what is the application of all the theories to actual stuff a person will use in the “real world.” A very simple answer is most kids have no idea what knowledge now learned will be useful in his future – how could they –they lack the experience and depth which only time brings.

But, your son is already displaying a certain skill set – working with his hands and tools. The two (theory and hands on) are not at all inconsistent. Working with his hands and creating things when combined with his brains screams ENGINEERING!

When we visited Dartmouth during my son’s junior year, we took a tour of their undergraduate engineering department. We (and he) were blown away! From band saws to computerized molding to electron microscopes (for use by anyone to look at anything!) – every tool, every idea, every project was “in play” for a motivated undergraduate. (They were building a full sized electric race car when we visited.) It was a tinkerer’s paradise! There are many other schools with similar programs (e.g., the service academies, Rose-Hulman, Purdue, GTech, and the list goes on. [But remember, high end D1 baseball and a difficult science based major (like engineering) are very difficult to pull off.]).

HS, in my opinion, is way too early to focus on any specific areas of study. Kids develop at different rates with different interests. My son had no interest in putting a pen to paper in ninth grade (and loved science and math), he now revels in writing for his speech and debate class as a hs senior. So, while AP history or AP Economics may bore a kid in ninth grade, he may embrace those subjects in 12th grade. (Actually, and again in my opinion, it’s not so much the subjects as the teachers which turn on the learning switch.)

IB or AP. No real difference to the college admission process – they’re both equally acceptable. And your son, if not overwhelmed by the work load, should challenge himself mentally and not cruise through hs. (If regular courses challenge him then he should take regular courses; if he needs AP/IB to challenge him, he should take AP/IB.)

Time commitments for AP/IB courses are difficult to quantify. Some students take hours to just sharpen their pencils. Others, can blast through a book in hours. It truly boils down to a case by case basis, time management and how the kids prioritize (e.g., facebook first and schoolwork second; or vice versa?). There is no doubt that AP/IB courses take more work and cover more ground quicker. If your son can do that, take those courses; if not, don’t. I would ask those who you trust (teachers, parents) about the teachers who are teaching the AP/IB’s. You are not looking for easy; you are looking for teachers who motivate the kids. If your son finds that teacher, he should sign up for the course. Your son sounds like he would thrive in such a course! (S had completed 6 APs by the end of jr year. All he really wants to do is play baseball. The two were not mutually exclusive.)

Great post!

Here's another possibility that might work for your Son?

My older Son had quite a few honors classes and also took some college-level classes that were offered at his school.
Not sure how it is in your area, but with his test scores and college-level classes, he had 19 hours before he started his Freshman year. It allowed him to graduate in 3 1/2 years.

He did not pursue athletics in college as he was a D3 prospect and really wanted to attend the big state university.

But, how cool would it be for a college athlete to have that many hours going in?
They would still need to take 12 hours to be eligible, but it would give them great flexibility, especially during the season when it's tough to handle a full load!

I'm kind of sitting on the fence. My son is a smart kid, but like WAG, did not like to learn the "traditional" way. He got good grades, studied to keep those grades, and had a great deal of "street smarts". However, he did not go out of his way to gain academic high honors, or did we push that. He knew what had to be done and we understood that he was going to go about it his way and until he failed, his way was THE WAY.

Maybe because of his athletic ability he was not shunned by any top Academic schools, but, I'm sure there may have been some bumps in the road had he chosen that direction.

We talk about helicopter athletic parents, I am of the opinion the helicopter academic parents are as or more dangerous to a teenagers make-up.

My son is a HS Jr and is taking predominantly AP classes. He has a 4.5 GPA and has played two sports. The top universities want to see the AP track classes. Keep him focused on his academics as it is going to open lots of baseball doors for him. He is a very big and projectable player and he is getting as much attention due to his grades as his baseball skills.

It has been my experience that some of the best and happiest engineers are those with a preference for hands on type of work.

Now y'all are makin' this baseball dad VERY nervous talking about Engineering! I've read on here (and Goosegg mentioned) it's tough to play college baseball and pursue an Engineering degree.

Seriously, thanks for the replys and PMs. Thanks for sharing your experiences. Please continue to post other experiences; this is what makes HSBBW so valuable in my opinion.

WAG!

quote:

Now y'all are makin' this baseball dad VERY nervous talking about Engineering! I've read on here (and Goosegg mentioned) it's tough to play college baseball and pursue an Engineering degree.

A colleague of mine played both football and baseball for a Big 12 school in Texas while earning a degree in Mechanical Engineering. So it can be done. However, he did give up football after his soph year, and we all know ME is the easiest engineering degree....