Planning and Preparation – Planet Numeracy

Although earning college credits during high school is a wonderful benefit for many, hard work isn't for all students. Many students want the trophy of the college credits, but they just don't see the blood, sweat, and tears that go into this. Through experience, I have come to recognize three reasons why students end up doing poorly in college-level courses (or in any course for that matter). They don't have the bandwidth for it (unusual except for maybe PreCalc/Calc), they are too lazy to do it (more likely), and/or they are just uncoachable (most likely). Lack of Bandwidth This is the polite 21st century way of saying that an individual just isn't smart enough to be taking college-level courses. The unfortunate truth is that some college-level courses (especially PreCalc/Calc) are not for people with an IQ in the left tail of the bell curve. But typically, this is also the least likely reason for someone to struggle academically. Because I'm not an expert in learning disabilities, I am knowingly avoiding that topic as a reason for struggling in college. So I'm talking in generalities that do not apply to every individual all the time. Lack of Motivation Although this is not necessarily mutually exclusive of having a low IQ, I know that lazy and dumb is a double whammy that will affect students for the rest of their natural lives. Make no mistake, rotten despicable children become rotten despicable adults. There is no God switch that fixes everything on a person's 18th birthday by shedding automatic enlightenment. However, the world is also full of smart people who do not apply themselves. It is often later in life when they finally decide to give a shit. Having said that, smart individuals have the unique advantage of being able to pull themselves out of their self-induced tailspin. Nothing provides an advantage like being born intelligent. In fact, Dr. Jordan Peterson says that you are better to have born intelligent than rich. Individuals know whether or not they are go-getters. If you know you're not, save yourself (and your instructors!) a lot of headaches by starting an ant farm. Don't take a college-level course. Uncoachable Being uncoachable is by far the most common reason to avoid dual enrollment classes. Some refer to being uncoachable as flat-out arrogance. You see, many students do well in arithmetic, because they have a higher IQ and a good memory. But once they try to learn math -- not arithmetic -- but math, they seem to focus on the good old days where they could rely on their intelligence and good memory. Because they remember these times, they believe they hit an all-time high in grade school. Parents issue ad hominems about how their little darlings did so well in math (i.e., arithmetic) until they had you as their teachers. So rather acknowledge there may be more to the mathematical iceberg, many opt to sit atop the peak of "Mount Stupid." Ideally, students will progress from Mount Stupid through the Valley of Despair to the Slope of Enlightenment. As they do, they begin to realize how much they didn't know... that is, they are climbing the Slope of Enlightenment. For example, as any teacher of calculus and statistics knows, we have only scratched the surface. I have only scratched the surface. I know how much I don't know. This awareness will help me on the road to constant and never-ending improvement. (Tony Robbins calls it CANI.) I enjoy the journey of acquiring new skills. Even when I have an no interest, I still have an awareness. Conclusion Don't take dual enrollment classes if you fall into any of these categories. Of course, if you're high atop Mount Stupid, you may think that you have all your ducks in a row. If at some time in the future it turns out to be hard, you may have made the wrong choice enrolling in a dual enrollment (math) class. Or you may just need to put in the hours and do the work. Almost any student can learn.