My friends can't even let their kids pick their own classes!

[Anonymous]

I helped both my older kids pick their freshman classes. I explained a lot about prerequisites and requirements for graduation. then I basically said "Got it? Okay, call with any questions" for their second years. They ran with it from there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My friends husband would drive 2 hours each way to help his son with his economics homework. Unbelievable. He did this drive many times specifically to do/help with the economics homework.

I think that is really sweet and helpful. He got to spend time with his son and they probably had dinner as well. Plus, if dad knew it and son needed help, why is this that different than paying for a tutor or going to tutoring center? Plus if you are paying all that money for tuition, why not help kid understand the material. Maybe his kid had a LD that you don't know about?

No sorry. I am NOT one to chime in calling others helicopter parents. And I like to talk my daughter's classes over before she registers (since I am a professor and sometimes see problems with the mix for a given semester, but I tell her that in the end it will be her choice)...

BUT a parent driving for hours to help with homework is not a "sweet" move. His son has to learn to trouble shoot himself. Get up the courage to go to office hours, meet with the TA, visit the writing center, whatever. He has to wean himself from having his parents solve his life issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My friends husband would drive 2 hours each way to help his son with his economics homework. Unbelievable. He did this drive many times specifically to do/help with the economics homework.

I think that is really sweet and helpful. He got to spend time with his son and they probably had dinner as well. Plus, if dad knew it and son needed help, why is this that different than paying for a tutor or going to tutoring center? Plus if you are paying all that money for tuition, why not help kid understand the material. Maybe his kid had a LD that you don't know about?

No sorry. I am NOT one to chime in calling others helicopter parents. And I like to talk my daughter's classes over before she registers (since I am a professor and sometimes see problems with the mix for a given semester, but I tell her that in the end it will be her choice)...

BUT a parent driving for hours to help with homework is not a "sweet" move. His son has to learn to trouble shoot himself. Get up the courage to go to office hours, meet with the TA, visit the writing center, whatever. He has to wean himself from having his parents solve his life issues.

My dd's sophomore year hs English teacher told the class that she wrote all of her son's college papers. He graduated from a top engineering program.

[Anonymous]

What school? Horrible teacher, modeling plagiarism( turning someone else's work in as your own.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What school? Horrible teacher, modeling plagiarism( turning someone else's work in as your own.)

Maybe the PP DD misinterpreted what the teacher said. Or the PP misinterpreted what DD said the teacher said. I'd take with a grain of salt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I helped both my older kids pick their freshman classes. I explained a lot about prerequisites and requirements for graduation. then I basically said "Got it? Okay, call with any questions" for their second years. They ran with it from there.

I wish that I had had some help when I was choosing my classes registering as a freshman, but I had a mother who had barely graduated HS and an absent father, so I was on my own. I had no clue what I was doing (first to attend college in my family) and boy that first semester could have been a lot better scheduled.

But today it's also a LOT of money parents are putting on the line, so I get that they are more involved. When I went to college in 1985, my tuition was $2400. Not so much anymore, so there's more at stake for parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My friends husband would drive 2 hours each way to help his son with his economics homework. Unbelievable. He did this drive many times specifically to do/help with the economics homework.

I think that is really sweet and helpful. He got to spend time with his son and they probably had dinner as well. Plus, if dad knew it and son needed help, why is this that different than paying for a tutor or going to tutoring center? Plus if you are paying all that money for tuition, why not help kid understand the material. Maybe his kid had a LD that you don't know about?

No sorry. I am NOT one to chime in calling others helicopter parents. And I like to talk my daughter's classes over before she registers (since I am a professor and sometimes see problems with the mix for a given semester, but I tell her that in the end it will be her choice)...

BUT a parent driving for hours to help with homework is not a "sweet" move. His son has to learn to trouble shoot himself. Get up the courage to go to office hours, meet with the TA, visit the writing center, whatever. He has to wean himself from having his parents solve his life issues.

My dd's sophomore year hs English teacher told the class that she wrote all of her son's college papers. He graduated from a top engineering program.

My brother-in-law got various female students to write many of his college papers. He was an engineering major as well. He still can't write worth sh**, but seems to be a freakin' good engineer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I helped both my older kids pick their freshman classes. I explained a lot about prerequisites and requirements for graduation. then I basically said "Got it? Okay, call with any questions" for their second years. They ran with it from there.

I wish that I had had some help when I was choosing my classes registering as a freshman, but I had a mother who had barely graduated HS and an absent father, so I was on my own. I had no clue what I was doing (first to attend college in my family) and boy that first semester could have been a lot better scheduled.

But today it's also a LOT of money parents are putting on the line, so I get that they are more involved. When I went to college in 1985, my tuition was $2400. Not so much anymore, so there's more at stake for parents.

Agree. It's too much money these days to cost a semester from lack of a general plan and some guidance on how to balance a schedule and meet some requirements. Don't count on advising this year in particular.

[Anonymous]

I was shocked when my kid said I got my schedule. It was done by the kid and their advisor. It is amazing how that system can work without parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Before my son picked his freshman classes, I did make sure he had the four-year plan for his major and a list of gen ed. classes handy. For both kids, I check in once in a while to make sure they have been able to get the classes they need to stick to the four-year graduation plan, although one of them feels this is too much intervention.


That’s too much intervention. That’s what their academic advisors are for.

In my son's case, he had to register for his first semester classes during beach week and almost 6 weeks before his advisor appointment at summer orientation (by which point all the classes and waitlists are full). I didn't think it was too helicopter-y to send him off to the hotel with easy access to a list of first year requirements. I have no idea if he looked at it or if he registered during his appointed time. As a 17 year old with ADHD he was the one who thought this was "too much."

Oh no! Not during beach week!!1!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I helped both my older kids pick their freshman classes. I explained a lot about prerequisites and requirements for graduation. then I basically said "Got it? Okay, call with any questions" for their second years. They ran with it from there.

I wish that I had had some help when I was choosing my classes registering as a freshman, but I had a mother who had barely graduated HS and an absent father, so I was on my own. I had no clue what I was doing (first to attend college in my family) and boy that first semester could have been a lot better scheduled.

But today it's also a LOT of money parents are putting on the line, so I get that they are more involved. When I went to college in 1985, my tuition was $2400. Not so much anymore, so there's more at stake for parents.

Agree. It's too much money these days to cost a semester from lack of a general plan and some guidance on how to balance a schedule and meet some requirements. Don't count on advising this year in particular.

It's also more complicated now--with people optimizing with digital tools--some kids will sit there with 3 computers open a spread sheet of 1st, 2nd and 3rd choices--based on their reading of the reviews of professors etc. and pounce immediately to get the best schedule. And there are merit programs that offer early registration to others. A kid who has just done the basics--gone over reqs with their advisor, knows their registration date is not going to get most of what they want and then the schedule won't fit together etc and they will be hard-pressed to graduate on-time. I think a lot of respondents are out of touch with the hell that course registration has become at many schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My child’s college doesn’t really have class selection. You rank your choices out of three options for each subject. They assign you

Wow, love it. What college.

Its a small lac. It'd be called a clown college on here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My friends husband would drive 2 hours each way to help his son with his economics homework. Unbelievable. He did this drive many times specifically to do/help with the economics homework.

LOL someone should have taught him how to use Zoom so he could save on gas and time!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My friends husband would drive 2 hours each way to help his son with his economics homework. Unbelievable. He did this drive many times specifically to do/help with the economics homework.

LOL someone should have taught him how to use Zoom so he could save on gas and time!

That's why the post is ridiculous. Clearly dad wanted to go spend time with his son and used the economics help as an excuse so stepmom wouldn't object to the visits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My friends husband would drive 2 hours each way to help his son with his economics homework. Unbelievable. He did this drive many times specifically to do/help with the economics homework.

I think that is really sweet and helpful. He got to spend time with his son and they probably had dinner as well. Plus, if dad knew it and son needed help, why is this that different than paying for a tutor or going to tutoring center? Plus if you are paying all that money for tuition, why not help kid understand the material. Maybe his kid had a LD that you don't know about?

It was a 2 hour drive each way on multiple occasions. His wife (the step Mom) thought it was crazy but did not say anything to her husband.

Well of course step mom thought it was crazy. It sounds it was on a a few occasions not every other day. I used to drive to DS's games in college. So did many other parents of kids' on a team. I think your argument here is weak as dad most likely loved going there and probably offered. I have two kids in college, rising senior and rising sophomore, I did not help with any enrollment or do I know what is going on apart from them telling me when they want to. I agree that many parents are nuts and are doing their kids no favors, but dad probably liked going to see his son. 4 hour drive is nothing in the DMV.

Did you skip your reading comprehension classes? "The dad" drove 2 hours each way to do his --legally adult --son's homework. HOMEWORK.
There's nothing 'sweet' about it.