It’s the end of October, and for college freshmen, it’s a time of reckoning. Midterms are nearly over, and either students have figured out what they need to do in their courses, or they’re floundering — hoping for a lifeline.
I remember my own freshman year in New York City. It seemed as if I had so much time: time to make friends, time to go standing at Broadway shows, time to plumb the mysteries of the universe in late-night talk sessions. The books on my syllabi had distant deadlines, and I only had a few midterms. In the subject far outside my comfort zone, my midterm grade was a rude awakening.
Students in 2010 are different from the ones in the late 1960s; they are generally older, with part-time (or even full-time) jobs, and even families to support. Those with life experiences beyond classroom walls are no doubt thriving in their first semester. They know that midterms require advance planning and that learning the secrets of the universe in a late-night jam session can always wait.
Those who are away from home for the first time and have never had long-range deadlines may be about to receive a comeuppance. Ditto for the freshmen party animals. Keep in mind that more than 40 percent of students who begin college drop out during their first two years.
(This statistic is not as grim as it first appears; many of those dropouts return to college or transfer to another institution after some time off.)
That underlines the importance of freshmen midterms as make-or-break events. Will students who are unused to college expectations and freedoms settle into a routine for success? Or will they continue to allow deadlines to blindside them?
George Mason University, like many schools, attracts older, more experienced students (average age 24), who generally know their way around a deadline. My students never seem very surprised by the work required at this point in the semester. “But why do all the professors assign deadlines during the same week?” is their only complaint. Yet, even so, one or two students always disappear in October or November, never to return to class. I guess they opt for tricks rather than treats.
It’s easier in spring because just when students are feeling the heat from midterms, they have a week off for spring break. Fall suffers by being the first semester, one with no extended holidays, and what might seem like a long, wintry tunnel ahead. Freshmen have to be disciplined to survive that first semester and come back in spring stronger (and wiser) than ever.
To help freshmen through this difficult time, many universities — including GMU — send interim grades halfway through a student’s first and second semesters so they know where they stand and can take corrective action. I don’t know if this policy, relatively new in most schools, has resulted in a lower dropout rate, but a reality check has to be a good thing, helping students avoid any unexpected tricks that might otherwise spook them at the end of October.
Erica Jacobs, whose column appears Wednesday, teaches at George Mason University. E-mail her at [email protected]
What kids are reading
This weekly column looks at lists of books kids are reading in various categories. Information on the books below came from Amazon.com’s list of children’s best-sellers; they are listed in order of popularity.
Books on Halloween
1. The Night Before Halloween by Natasha Wing (ages 4 to 8)
2. Scary, Scary Halloween by Eve Bunting and Jan Brett (ages 4 to 8)
3. The Berenstain Bears Trick or Treat by Stan Berenstain and Jan Berenstain (ages 4 to 8)
4. In the Haunted House by Eve Bunting and Susan Meddaugh (ages 4 to 8)
5. Extreme Halloween: The Ultimate Guide to Making Halloween Scary Again by Tom Nardone (kids of all ages)
6. And Then Comes Halloween by Tom Brenner and Holly Meade (ages 4 to 8)
7. Hungry Halloween: featuring Movie Monster Munchies, Bewitched Buffet, and Dead Man’s Diner by Beth Klosterboer, Cheri Burns, and Ekaterina Selivanova (kids of all ages)
8. Corduroy’s Best Halloween Ever! by Don Freeman and Lisa McCue (baby to preschool)
