Taking Physics through Central Summer school - good idea or not?

[Anonymous]

DS is an athlete who will likely have a very busy fall (like many others of course).
He will be a senior and really has to focus on his sport because he had an injury this year that he has to prove he has recovered from. College visits, maybe another SAT and applications seem like a lot to get through.
My husband thought DS should get ahead and take Physics over the summer to get one class out of the way. His other classes are AP so he can't take them over the summer.
I figured that having one semester of Physics done would lighten his load quite a bit. Yes he will take 2nd semester in the last half of senior year but presumably college stuff is done or at least submitted and getting a B isn't the end of the world at that point.

I'm curious how hard it is to complete an entire semester of Physics in three weeks with a limited number of online classes? He's not naturally good at science/math but his father can help him as much as he needs.

Of course he can always drop it if it doesn't go well and he can use his experience to take another shot at it in the Fall or find a different class. The $350 is fine with us even if we lose it.

Thoughts?

[Anonymous]

I have no idea why a school would even offer this. He might be able to complete the course and check the box, but he certainly won’t learn much in the way of physics (if that matters to you).

[Anonymous]

Why is he taking physics as a senior if he doesn’t want the actual experience of physics labs, etc? What science did he take this year? He should already have the three credits he needs to graduate after junior year, so a science course in 12th grade is an elective. If he still need another science credit but is concerned about workload and math, I would suggest Astronomy with physics instead.

I don’t see that taking half a course during summer school to lighten the fall load is really helpful. I assume he’d take a PE class to fill the schedule slot? Just take a more appropriate balance of courses instead.

[Anonymous]

OP here. He finished AP Env Science and isn’t interested in any other AP sciences.

I assume that the SLACs he’s looking at will insist on 4 years of science.

I guess my concern is whether he really can take semester one online and learn enough to take 2nd semester Physics in person. The summer class is really abbreviated. (Perhaps better suited as a retake than for original credit.)

He could also just take it to make the in person class 1st semester easier.

[Anonymous]

My kid tried to take Calc in MCPS summer school and wound up withdrawing because he as going to fail. It wasn't a good fit for him.

I don't see why he would do this unless there is a one semester class he really needs to take fall semester.

[Anonymous]

I agree with PP - just have him sign up for astronomy with physics next year.

[Anonymous]

Honors or regular?

[Anonymous]

Let’s stop the madness. The answer is no. Taking Physics in the summer is a bad idea. I can’t even believe it’s offered for anyone who isn’t trying to improve a grade and even then it would need to be 6wks.

[Anonymous]

Keep in mind that by the time he started the second half of the class in January of his senior year, he wouldn't have been thinking about physics since the previous summer when he wrapped up the first semester summer course. If he didn't retain much, the second semester could be really difficult, and even as a second semester senior, you don't want to run the risk of a C/D/F in a class that you'll still have to report to the colleges that have accepted you and you're planning to attend.

[Anonymous]

No, not a good idea to take Physics in the summer.

[Anonymous]

This is a crazy idea, OP, and you know it.

[Anonymous]

I have known 2 kids to take science classes in summer school. One took Physics, the other Chemistry. It is not at all the same experience, but it does check the box for science credit. Chemistry went on to a "light" science course as her 4th credit and is not taking science in Sr year because she hates it.

[Anonymous]

Taking a 3 week summer "semester" class is for classes where you don't want to learn anything but have to check a box. Not for a prereq for a hard class.

[Anonymous]

Hadn’t thought of this but technically you can get an entire year done over the summer and I assume it looks the same in the transcript?

Likely a bad idea for a class that builds on it such as a foreign language or math but if you want to get it over with and don’t plan to ever use it again, why not?

I would share OPs concern that only doing one semester over the summer might not prepare a student for second semester in person.

[Anonymous]

Physics compressed into 3 weeks is ridiculous. It takes time for the brain to learn and process complex and abstract concepts. Why is MCPS offering this option?