Suspicious side eye

[nwhiker]

I know I've talked about Perry's ability to see patterns before (for example). He's got that type of spatial intelligence.

He's talking OChem this summer.

AC had to take it twice to get a good enough grade. I know more people barred from their majors at both UW and WWU by a C in OChem than I care to think about it. It's used, deliberately, by the schools as a gateway class: get through with an A or B or your career in several majors is dead in its tracks.

My gripe about that, btw, is that OChem... well, if you make, say, getting in to med school/getting in a position to get into med school (pharmacy, high end research majors...)/get into the really good majors contingent on how someone does in OChem you are going to get people who have a certain way of thinking, and miss others who are just as bright and just as capable, but just don't "get" OChem.

Full disclosure: I took OChem as part of my Physics degree in France, hated it, passed the class. I took it again before getting into the lab tech program. I aced it, but I did every single freaking homework problem assigned, and had to work at it. So I know I can do OChem, I also know it takes me A LOT of work.

I was watching Perry do his homework the first few days of classes and I started getting suspicious. He was griping, yes, but for a very intense class, he wasn't wailing like AC or I would have been. He seemed to be... enjoying the puzzle of it. I told dh that I wondered if Perry would be one of those people.

He also falls asleep during class time and dh or I have to poke him before he falls out of his chair.

But. He had his first exam last week. Scored a 96, the little rotter. Is now determined to get an A in the class. Yes, that could all go bad fast but he's doing well above class average, and doesn't appear to be sweating it in the slightest.

I think he might be one of those people. I hope so for him.

Comments

[camelsamba]

Good for Perry!

Those "weed out classes" *are* a serious problem. There was a prof at UMich who worked really hard to restructure the intro chem sequence so it worked better for more people - part of it was swapping the typical first & second year so that they started with organic, but also radically restructuring how organic was taught. It was quite effective in terms of outcomes, but I don't know if they are still doing it that way.

[nwhiker]

Huh, that's interesting, about the re-structuring, and that it was effective. I hope they're still doing it, it's so ridiculous to see kids' plans shunted aside because of one class. Especially one like organic chem, which I don't think it indicative of native intelligence, or ability to get on in a STEM based career, just of if you "get" OChem.