Deferring Chemistry until 12th grade

[Anonymous]

Our DC struggles in math and science due to mild LDs. He's in 10th grade at the moment and planning his schedule for 11th grade, and is considering waiting to take Chemistry until Sr. year and taking something less rigorous in 11th, maybe Astronomy?

Honestly, if he were a stronger student I'd advise against this plan as colleges want to see a rigorous courseload junior year. At this point, though, I think it would benefit him to concentrate on his strengths, which are in the humanities, especially since he'll still need to struggle through Algebra II next year. The goal is to help him get his GPA up over a 3.0 so that college will be a realistic possibility. He's not aiming for a top school given his academic struggles, so my thinking is maybe his plan for next year makes some sense.

Anybody have thoughts about this? I'd especially be interested in hearing from parents of children with profiles similar to my DC (i.e., not the strongest students but college-bound). Thanks.

[Anonymous]

If you know he will struggle taking Chem due to his LDs, you have your answer already. Encouraging kids to do push themselves is one thing. Setting them up for a failure is another. I think you are doing the right thing. Good luck to your son.

[Anonymous]

Is he in public school, does he have an IEP? Have you discussed specifically what kind of supports he would need to succeed in Chemistry based on his LD. Chemistry is really a lot of math, memorization and being able to understand some abstract concepts. All of these can be accommodated. For example, for the math/calculation part he might have access to a calculator, or specialized instruction to teach him ways to organize his calculations, or extra big work space on test problems. If memory is a problem, he might have an accommodation which allows him to look at a list of formulas or ion valences or the periodic table while taking the test. If understanding the abstract concepts (like how an atom looks or how it bonds with other atoms) is a problem then the teacher should be using more multi-sensory manipulatives.

Use the data in the assessments and the specific difficulties in other classes.

IMO, it's not appropriate for an LD kid to decide to put something off because it's too hard without putting the onus on the IEP team to provide accommodations and specialized instruction.

LD kids have a right to access all the same classes and opportunities as other kids.

That said, LD kids only have so much time in the day. If you are already looking at a limited range of schools that support LD's and thus would understand delaying chemistry, then OK, maybe this is a good strategy.

[Anonymous]

Chemistry is a hard but required course. taking astronomy instead of Chemistry will look worse than making a c in chem. also, it will make for a very difficult senior year. Do it now and get it over with.

[Anonymous]

If your kid has a bad GPA it is better that you take easier courses and fix the Math. Now, it also depends what career your child wants to get into. Take that info and confer with the school counselor.

[Anonymous]

This is OP. Thank you all. I've got an appointment to talk to his counselor about this. While I think my son would be entitled to some accommodations (he has a 504, not an IEP) I worry they might not be enough to make up for the stress of Chemistry during the demands of junior year. I do think Chemistry will be hard whenever he takes it, but in 12th grade he may not have a math course to contend with (which might make things easier). This is so different than our experience with his older brother, a very strong student who took 5 APS in 11th grade and ended up at a very competitive college. Different kid, different needs. I'm trying to adjust my expectations and do the right thing for this kid. I will discuss with his counselor and see what he says. Thanks again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is OP. Thank you all. I've got an appointment to talk to his counselor about this. While I think my son would be entitled to some accommodations (he has a 504, not an IEP) I worry they might not be enough to make up for the stress of Chemistry during the demands of junior year. I do think Chemistry will be hard whenever he takes it, but in 12th grade he may not have a math course to contend with (which might make things easier). This is so different than our experience with his older brother, a very strong student who took 5 APS in 11th grade and ended up at a very competitive college. Different kid, different needs. I'm trying to adjust my expectations and do the right thing for this kid. I will discuss with his counselor and see what he says. Thanks again.

He needs to take a math his senior year, more than he needs to take chemistry his senior year. 4 years of math is a graduation requirement, and even if he has a 4th year due to Algebra in 8th, Maryland schools won't take a student who didn't have math their senior year.

In contrast, you can substitute Astronomy, Matter and Energy or Physical Science (or Physics, but that won't help your non-math kid) for Chemistry and go on to college.

We're delaying my son's physical science until senior year, for a variety of reasons. One of which is that I want him to have Algebra 2 under his belt before he attempts Chemistry.

[Anonymous]

Did he take physics already, or is not required?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is OP. Thank you all. I've got an appointment to talk to his counselor about this. While I think my son would be entitled to some accommodations (he has a 504, not an IEP) I worry they might not be enough to make up for the stress of Chemistry during the demands of junior year. I do think Chemistry will be hard whenever he takes it, but in 12th grade he may not have a math course to contend with (which might make things easier). This is so different than our experience with his older brother, a very strong student who took 5 APS in 11th grade and ended up at a very competitive college. Different kid, different needs. I'm trying to adjust my expectations and do the right thing for this kid. I will discuss with his counselor and see what he says. Thanks again.

He needs to take a math his senior year, more than he needs to take chemistry his senior year. 4 years of math is a graduation requirement, and even if he has a 4th year due to Algebra in 8th, Maryland schools won't take a student who didn't have math their senior year.

In contrast, you can substitute Astronomy, Matter and Energy or Physical Science (or Physics, but that won't help your non-math kid) for Chemistry and go on to college.

We're delaying my son's physical science until senior year, for a variety of reasons. One of which is that I want him to have Algebra 2 under his belt before he attempts Chemistry.

Op again. He took Matter and Energy in 9th (got a B) and is taking Bio this year (averaging a C so far). He'll be in on level Algebra 2 next year. I didn't realize he needs another math class for 12th. Does he need to have either Physical Science or Physics to graduate? I was under the impression Matter and Energy suffices? I need to look up the requirements I guess.

[Anonymous]

What does he want to do in college? I struggled with science, went to a state school and got a liberal arts degree which allowed me to take applied science courses like archaeology and nutrition. I know that makes me a total loser by DC standards FWIW, my state only required 3 years of science and I deferred chemistry to my senior year, since junior year had more difficult courses.

[Anonymous]

My son also has learning disabilities and struggled with math. He did not take chemistry at all. He was still able to get into a nice supportive college and graduate from it.
Not everyone has to be a STEM person or act like they are. The humanities are what makes life beautiful. If that's his strength, go for it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is OP. Thank you all. I've got an appointment to talk to his counselor about this. While I think my son would be entitled to some accommodations (he has a 504, not an IEP) I worry they might not be enough to make up for the stress of Chemistry during the demands of junior year. I do think Chemistry will be hard whenever he takes it, but in 12th grade he may not have a math course to contend with (which might make things easier). This is so different than our experience with his older brother, a very strong student who took 5 APS in 11th grade and ended up at a very competitive college. Different kid, different needs. I'm trying to adjust my expectations and do the right thing for this kid. I will discuss with his counselor and see what he says. Thanks again.

He needs to take a math his senior year, more than he needs to take chemistry his senior year. 4 years of math is a graduation requirement, and even if he has a 4th year due to Algebra in 8th, Maryland schools won't take a student who didn't have math their senior year.

In contrast, you can substitute Astronomy, Matter and Energy or Physical Science (or Physics, but that won't help your non-math kid) for Chemistry and go on to college.

We're delaying my son's physical science until senior year, for a variety of reasons. One of which is that I want him to have Algebra 2 under his belt before he attempts Chemistry.

Op again. He took Matter and Energy in 9th (got a B) and is taking Bio this year (averaging a C so far). He'll be in on level Algebra 2 next year. I didn't realize he needs another math class for 12th. Does he need to have either Physical Science or Physics to graduate? I was under the impression Matter and Energy suffices? I need to look up the requirements I guess.

He needs 1 Physical Science, which he already has in Matter and Energy, and Biology, and one science elective. He can take Chemistry, or Astronomy, or Anatomy and Physiology, or Physics or anything else his school offers for that last credit.

Chemistry or Physics looks best on the transcript, and the kids applying to the top schools will want both, but for a kid who doesn't plan on going on to the sciences he could stop after Matter and Energy, Bio, and Astronomy.

On the other hand, he can't stop after Algebra 2, unless he took Algebra 1 in 8th and Bridge in 10th. Even then, if he doesn't take math his senior year he's ruling out all 4 year in state schools, including places like Frostburg which can be a good fit for a kid who has struggled.

The easiest math pathways to get to 4 years, would be:

Bridge to Algebra 2, Algebra 2

Algebra 2, Quantitative Literacy

Algebra 2, Statistics

[Anonymous]

Thanks so much for all of the help! I feel like I have a somewhat better understanding of the path my DC can take from here through graduation. It is such a help to talk to other parents. Sometimes I feel isolated and not sure if anyone else has a child not zooming ahead and aiming for Ivies. Thanks for the perspective.

OP

[Anonymous]

Is he getting a C in on level bio? If so I would recommend skipping chem entirely. Also, the PPs who said he will want math all 4 years are correct. We might be talking about quant lit, but he will still need to so something.
What school are you at? I'm a science teacher at a W school so I know the ropes

[Anonymous]

OP, I'm glad to hear you're expecting him to be college-bound. It can happen even with <3.0