High School To College A Transition for everyone

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High School To CollegeA Transition for everyone

• Penn State
• Or
• State Pen

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What we will learn today ?

• The Academic transition for students.
• The Social transition for students and parents(
  or What is the worlds longest umbilical cord?)
• Why students are not doing homework in Scotland.

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Why this topic?
The first year of college is the most critical to
degree completion. The Education Trusts A Matter
of Degrees shows that many institutions lose one
out of every four students in the freshman year
alone. Data for the six-year graduation rates at
four-year colleges and universities shows that 63
percent of first-time, full-time degree-seeking
college freshmen graduate within six years. These
rates are particularly low for minority and
low-income students only 46 percent of African
American, 47 percent of Latino, and 54 percent of
low-income first-time, full-time freshmen are
graduating within six years.
Source A Matter of Degrees from the Lumina
Foundation http//www.luminafoundation.org/success
/academic.html
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Why ?
National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
data reveals that among students entering a
four-year institution, 87 percent of those who
had taken a rigorous curriculum in high school
especially in math were still on track to a
bachelors degree three years later, compared
with only 62 percent of those who had followed a
basic high school curriculum.   Math is often a
stumbling block for at-risk students. Research
indicates that students who withdraw from
beginning algebra classes tend to withdraw from
college
Source the Lumina Foundation Academic Success
http//www.luminafoundation.org/success/academic.h
tml
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Why ?
Often we tell students get to college but forget
to tell them what is next. Mr.Terry, I am afraid.
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From the Experts on Expectations
Source for the above information is given to
Altshuler Learning Enhancement Center at Southern
Methodist University. http//www.smu.edu/alec/
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Source for the above information is given to
Altshuler Learning Enhancement Center at Southern
Methodist University. http//www.smu.edu/alec/
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Source for the above information is given to
Altshuler Learning Enhancement Center at Southern
Methodist University. http//www.smu.edu/alec/
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Source for the above information is given to
Altshuler Learning Enhancement Center at Southern
Methodist University. http//www.smu.edu/alec/
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What they say
Personal responsibility "In college you have
freedom to do as you please...to go where you
wish...to do as you wish. Unfortunately, this
freedom is easily abused. The student carries 98
of the responsibility and control." Class
attendance "As a college student, you will decide
whether you want to go to class or not. Being
absent will hurt you in the long run." Teacher
attitudes "Your instructors will not hound you to
do your work. It's entirely up to you.""Get to
know your teachers. If your teachers know you, it
will be easier for them to look out for you and
help you if you're having trouble." Types of
assignments "In high school we were given a
homework assignment every day. Now we have a
large task assigned to be done at a certain time.
No one tells when to start or what to do each
day. Once you get an assignment, start working on
it right away. It takes a daily effort to keep
up."
Adjusting
From Wichita State University Advising office
survey of Freshman http//advising.wichita.edu/la
sac/pubs/aah/trans.htm
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What they say?
Importance of performance "Don't take your
courses or studies lightly. The decisions you
make in college will decide your future, in some
respects. Remember that you are here for an
education." Time management "The amount of free
time you have in college is much more than in
high school. Always have a weekly study schedule
to go by. Otherwise, time slips away and you will
not be able to account for it." Amount of study
"In high school I was a B student with out
studying. In college I was a C/D student without
studying. To succeed, you have to study!" Size
of institution/classes "Lecture classes are much
larger than high school classes. This can be
scary for a new student." Difficulty of college
work "College is probably going to be tougher
than high school. Don't let that stop you!"
Social life "Sometimes it seems harder to make
friends because of the size of the school. But
there are a variety of organizations and
activities. Get involved and meet the people!"
Adjusting
From Wichita State University Advising office
survey of Freshman http//advising.wichita.edu/la
sac/pubs/aah/trans.htm
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From the Expert on Expectations

• Raising a child is easy. Raising a child to be an
  adult is a challenge. (David Perry APL Associates
  in a lecture 2003)

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Judge, this Parent?
Shortly after psychologist Robert Epstein
announced to his university students that he
expected them to work hard and would hold them to
high standards, he heard from a parent--on
official judicial stationery--asking how he could
dare mistreat the young. Epstein, former editor
in chief of Psychology Today, eventually filed a
complaint with the California commission on
judicial misconduct, and the judge was censured
for abusing his office--but not before he created
havoc in the psychology department at the
University of California San Diego. Source Hara
Marano,Nation of Wimps,Psychology Today,
December 2004, p60
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No Homework?
The headmaster of a leading Scottish prep school
has banned his teachers from giving homework
because he thinks meddling parents are harming
their children's education. (sourceThe
Independent, Head bans homework because of
meddling parents, 24 April 2004.)
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Smart but Bad Parents?
According to a study by Public Agenda, one in
five parents admit to having done part of their
child's homework assignment. In the suburbs of
Maryland, many parents actually do their child's
science projects themselves, says Martha O'Lone,
who frequently judges science fairs.SOURCE Wall
Street Journal, "Schools Face Up to Reality Mom
Is Doing the Homework,29 October 2002 (p. D01)
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Not all Parents see 20/20

• At the University of Vermont, parents attend
  seminars aimed at limiting their involvement in
  their children's lives. They're sent home with
  refrigerator magnets, with instructions that
  reinforce the university's hands-off philosophy.
• "One of things we want to teach the students and
  to have students learn is to try and help solve
  issues and problem on their own," said a resident
  adviser at the school.
• "In(parents) taking over, they are sending a
  profound message You are not capable of handling
  your life," she explained.(Dr.Johnson)

Source ABC 20/20 October 21 2005
http//abcnews.go.com/2020/Health/story?id123786
8page1
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Too much Mom

• Over Parenting can create lifelong vulnerability
  to anxiety and depression.

(Source Hara Marano,Nation of Wimps,Psychology
Today, December 2004, p62)
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Ouch!!!!!

• At the University of Georgia, students who get
  frustrated or confused during registration have
  been known to interrupt their advisers to whip
  out a cellphone, speed-dial their parents and
  hand the phone to the adviser, saying, "Here,
  talk to my mom," says Richard Mullendore, a
  University of Georgia professor and former vice
  president, student affairs, at the universities
  of Georgia and Mississippi. The cellphone, he
  says, has become "the world's longest umbilical
  cord."
• The trick is to distinguish between when you're
  truly needed, and when you need to push a kid out
  of the nest. Campus officials say they're seeing
  a growing number of freshmen lacking basic skills
  -- negotiating for what they need, getting along
  with others in a shared space, using common sense
  to stay safe, and solving their own problems.

http//www.careerjournal.com/columnists/workfamily
/20050729-workfamily.html July 29 2005
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Struggling has a purpose

• Behold the wholly sanitized childhood, without
  skinned knees or the occasional C in history.
  "Kids need to feel badly sometimes," says child
  psychologist David Elkind, professor at Tufts
  University. "We learn through experience and we
  learn through bad experiences. Through failure we
  learn how to cope." (Source Hara Marano,Nation
  of Wimps,Psychology Today, December 2004, p61)

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Parent Transitions

• I miss my kids friends and coming to their games
  and talking with their parents.
• Parent of an 06 DHS graduate

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Parent Transitions

• Feeling a void
• Feelings of emptiness characterize this stage of
  separationthere is vacant time and cleaned-out
  rooms. Parents may feel unprepared or
  uncomfortable without their role as primary
  caretaker and protector. Parenting is a tough
  business and a double-edged sword successful
  parenting requires devoting one's life to a
  totally dependent being to ensure a safe,
  independent departure into the world leaving
  parents behind. Joy may be mixed with longing as
  the young adult takes flight from home base.
• Feeling left out
• Adjusting to being on the outside can be
  difficult when parents are no longer needed in
  the same ways. Even though students may have been
  somewhat independent while still under their
  care, supervision, and roof, once in college
  parents are less privy to every aspect of their
  child's life they no longer know the details of
  their son's or daughter's whereabouts and are not
  able to pass judgement on all their friends.
• Relinquishing control
• It is necessary to give up some parental control.
  Whether its giving advice about selecting
  courses or drinking parents have to come to
  realize that young adults must make their own
  decisions. Relationships grow and change as
  children grow and change.

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WORKING WITH STUDENTS AND PARENTS TO IMPROVE
THE FRESHMAN RETENTION Dan D. Budny1 and Cheryl
A. Paul 2 Abstract The transition from high
school to college can be very difficult for many
students. The authors believe that students can
advocate on their own behalf by educating
themselves on challenges they may potentially
face, as well as establishing realistic
educational and social goals. Concurrently,
parents can assist their children by becoming
more aware of the transition issues, and learning
how to help anticipate transitions. This paper
will acquaint the reader with three
key transitional challenges new college students
face, as well as offer an approach to productive
interactions with both students and their
parents. As evidenced in steadily improving
persistence rates, the University of Pittsburgh
has found by educating new students and parents
in realistically anticipating first year
challenges, students are able to productively
work through their freshman year university
experience.
From University of Pittsburgh
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For Studentsin a nutshell

• HOW TO MAKE THE TRANSITION TO COLLEGE
• Take control of your own education think of
  yourself as a scholar.
• Get to know your professors they are your single
  greatest resource.
• Be assertive. Create your own support systems,
  and seek help when you realize you may need it.
• Take control of your time. Plan ahead to satisfy
  academic obligations and make room for everything
  else.
• Stretch yourself enroll in at least one course
  that really challenges you.
• Make thoughtful decisions don't take a course
  just to satisfy a requirement, and don't drop any
  course too quickly.
• Think beyond the moment set goals for the
  semester, the year, your college career.

Source for the above information is given to
Altshuler Learning Enhancement Center at Southern
Methodist University. http//www.smu.edu/alec/
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For Parentsin a nutshell

• Expect ups and downs.
• One minute college students are the models of
  independence, the next they call in tears.
  Parents may also try too hard to advise from
  afar. This back and forth is natural and
  expected, as both students and parents become
  more comfortable and confident in the ability of
  students to handle situations on their own.
• Stay connected
• Little things do count. There can be some truth
  to "absence makes the heart grow fonder" but
  parents may worry that "out of sight means out of
  mind." So parents and students need to determine
  ways to stay involved in each other's lives and
  remember to say and do the little things that
  remind someone of their love. Cards sent, care
  packages sent to school, pictures of events that
  were missed, and e-mail do provide a way to stay
  connected and involved.

Source for the above information is given to
Altshuler Learning Enhancement Center at Southern
Methodist University. http//www.smu.edu/alec/
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University of MarylandChecklist

• WILL YOU BE ABLE TO
• ____analyze course demands and plan your study
  time accordingly?
• ____ take accurate and clear notes on a lecture
  in your own words?
• ____ read actively so that you remember what you
  read?
• ____ study on your own for at least 15-20 hours
  per week?
• ____ express yourself clearly on paper?
• ____ take a multiple-choice test successfully?
• ____think critically about a topic and express
  your opinions in writing?
• IF SO, YOURE READY FOR THE ACADEMIC DEMANDS OF
  COLLEGE.

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Final thoughts

• "The reflections that the boys/girls of this age
  are to be the men/women of the next that they
  should be prepared to receive the holy charge
  which we are cherishing to deliver over to them
  that in establishing an institution of wisdom for
  them, we secure it to all our future generations
  that in fulfilling this duty, we bring home to
  our own bosoms the sweet consolation of seeing
  our sons/daughters rising under a luminous
  tuition, to destinies of high promise these are
  considerations which will occur to all." --Thomas
  Jefferson to James Breckinridge, 1821.