Scott is struggling so much at school at the moment. My heart feels so heavy with worry. He has always wanted to go to university and because DH and myself never went we of course always wanted him to go too. I am beginning to realise that this may never happen - college yes, but not university here. He just won't cut it. He works so hard, harder than I thought he was capable. He is so frustrated that his peers pick up a book a couple of days before an exam and they get way better marks. Of course you may be thinking that this could be due to the interruption in his schooling - mmmm maybe, although he has stuck with the same subjects. Last year school was a lot easier for him and the transition from SA left him fairly idle. I am not entirely sure if the system here gets all the kids to what they 'call' school leaving age 16, then gets rid of the non-academics and then take out the big guns for A levels, it sure feels like that to Scott.
Poor soul has his work stuck up on his ceiling so that he can read it in bed - I knew there had to be a good reason for making the ceilings so low here?
A (or in our case AS levels) are a whole lot harder. We are facing much the same situation. Where -you know who- got an A for maths IGCSE and now is getting marks in the single digits. - yes that's right lower than Julius indeed.
ReplyDeleteI see BCom accounting disappearing fast and wonder if Varsity is on the table in our house for next year either.
There's always the Open University! If not, well then gap year, some work experience, and then reapply. I'm sure I would have done better at varsity if I'd wasn't 17 when I went!
ReplyDeletePoor Scott, I do feel for him. The entire education system in this country is so screwed up. We have a friend from SA who is a teacher in the high school up the road from us, and she despairs of the whole system. If we could persuade her to start a home schooling system, we would go that route without thinking about it. Sarah shows talent towards Journalism, but there's no way on God's Green Earth we can afford to send her to Varsity unless that rich relative pops their clogs and leaves us some mony... It's heartbreaking because there are some kids who work damned hard, like your Scott. All we can do is not let them see what could be the futility in it all. He's obviously a worker, which is more than can be said for most of the kids here. Bless him. xxxxx
ReplyDeleteI was 26 when I started at University. Not a doubt in my mind that if I had done it any sooner it would have been a complete waste of everybody's time. Some of us need a few years to realize our potential. Just because he's not ready now doesn't mean he won't make it happen.
ReplyDeleteI'm very sorry to hear that Scott's having such a tough time at school, and that he's feeling so frustrated about it. My heart goes out to him. High school wasn't a great time for me (oh those many years ago!); I did okay in English and history but really struggled in math and science. We all have our strengths and weaknesses, eh? If it's any comfort, I graduated from uni (at age 36!) with a degree in speech and communication and have pretty much nothing to show for it except a line on my CV. College isn't the only path to a good future.
ReplyDeleteOh shame Jo! The only advice I can offer is to see if he can get into any study/ tutorial groups. The kids get quite a lot done, believe it or not, when they meet up to study. And sometimes things just "click" when you see how somebody else explains it/understands it.
ReplyDeleteA levels are done over 2 yrs for a reason... he has 2 yrs to get the grades, he'll be ok.
And - @ Mistys Mum - theres always bursaries and student loan to fund Uni fees, so don't let that put you off