Leanna C. Giancarlo is an Associate Professor of Chemistry. Dr. Giancarlo has a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Scranton and a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in Physical Chemistry. Since 1999, she has been teaching subjects like General Chemistry, Physical Chemistry, History of Science, Instrumental Analysis and Chemistry Seminar at the University of Mary Washington. She has been a pre-major and major advisor since 2000 and a first year advisor since 2005.
Dr. Leanna Giancarlo
Associate professor of Chemistry
Advice for Parents about Helping Students Transition from High School to College
The Merriam-Webster on-line dictionary defines college as “an independent institution of higher learning offering a course of general studies leading to a bachelor's degree.”1 This definition says a lot but, at the same time, says nothing at all regarding what your son or daughter is about to undertake.
College is a place for “learning,” but much of the learning will not come from lectures and textbooks. Learning to grow, as a person, a citizen, a leader—becoming an adult—is as much a part of college as preparation for a future career. While there are many opportunities for this learning, academically the first time your son or daughter will start on that road to adulthood and independence is with the return of the first graded assignment.
Presently, your son or daughter is entering Mary Washington with four years of outstanding grades and achievements behind him or her. College is very different from high school; here, there is more freedom, more time, more choices, and here many will see their first C or D or worse. This is very difficult to deal with. If all of the entering freshmen are A students, the A now becomes the average (a C). Support your son or daughter if or when this happens. Don’t defend him or her and don’t criticize either. Use the poor grade as a learning experience: How did you study? How well did you sleep and/or eat? How did you manage your time before and during the test? Do you really enjoy the subject? Help your child to make good choices.
My younger sister ended her first semester biology course (needed for the nursing major) with a D+. She had been a B student in high school, and this was quite a shock. The D+ would not permit her to pursue her degree. Were my parents pleased? Of course not. Did they involve themselves in rectifying the situation? Yes, to the extent that she was pointed toward other options besides nursing and told, if nursing really was her dream, keep it up. My sister made the decision to continue with her second semester coursework and repeat the course over the summer. Four years later, she was selected by her nursing peers to give the speech at their pinning ceremony during the graduation festivities. The C or D or F isn’t a mark of failure; it’s a chance to grow and learn.
1. http://www.m-w.com/ [accessed 7/17/06]