He’s going to disrupt the vending machine industry with his new Nachitos delivery service, Chypp. For a mere $20 per month you have access to an app that lets you summon a”contractor” to deliver you a bag of Nachitos, wherever you are, whenever you want. You can also sign up as a delivery courier “contractor” and get paid to simply deliver bags of chips! Who cares about the logistics of distributing the wholesale goods, that’s the Old Way of thinking about business. $50mil in venture capital, please!
As someone who A. failed out of college (for the third year, after multiple appeals) in April and B. is planning on starting a webcomic, this hits a little closer to home than I was expecting today.
^ Man, same. I have my own house and mortgage to pay, and then I look over at my parents who are still paying off theirs after putting three kids through college.
I dream of being rich some day so I can pay all their shit off for them, because literally the only way they would accept it would be if I had more money that I knew what to do with. And even then…
LARPing, Magic, a club of magicians that want to be taken seriously, a girlfriend that doesn’t look like Dorothy and Brunette Dorothy, following tumblr pages of Dexter and Monkey Master, proving to Joyce that he isn’t stupid, attend Indiana’s equivalent of comic con, join antifa, get kicked out of antifa, buy a Bible and throw it at Billie, join a Hamilton fan play, prank Joyce and make her believe God made evolution through the crappy Noah movie of 2013, etc.
But at the same time – put in a bit of work, figure out how to study, don’t fail out.
Other hobbies are great. Not tying all your self-esteem up in getting good grades without effort is great. Not failing out of school is also a good thing.
Oh yes. It’s almost a cliche where the Favored Child doesn’t turn out like Mom & Dad’s expectations predicted. Walky’s just gotten that he’s a grown man now, and his parents are too busy deluding themselves over Linda’s plans and how they’re all that matters (guaranteed not to suffer from a lack of actual parenting!) to be of any real help with this.
I’m still wondering where Charles fits into this. He’s complicit to some degree, but Walky definitely fears his mom more, while Sal seems to put equal blame on both of their parents.
A) More subtle. His digs are the kind of thing you’d either need to have experience with or think about for a second to notice.
B) Charles will keep talking to you through disappointment while Linda either gets really mad or stops talking to you.
C) Less focused on specific kinds of success. Linda has a lot riding on Walky being a doctor or lawyer or something. Charles insults Sal to her face but doesn’t seem to have any particular career plans. So yes, Linda is going to flip her lid. Charles probably won’t. He might make a few digs to Walky’s face but it’ll be with a smile and concerned tone and it’ll take a minute or two for Walky to even notice ‘That’s…really not a compliment’.
Plus, Walky’s seen how they handle being mad or disappointed in Sal, even if he spent a long time not knowing why. Now that that shoe’s on the other foot, he thinks that’s going to be him.
Mr D
Huh. that sounds a lot like my dad. MY mum is the opposite, she is all love and concern and protection to teh point it may have been a bit harmful to my development.
I’m betting Linda is the one who puts the academic pressure/discipline/scorn of failure combo on for the most part, while Charles is more hands-off but was still going along with all of Sal’s punishments. Plus we know he makes rather backhanded, super racially-loaded comments about Sal’s hair, wouldn’t be surprised if there were other moments of him ‘encouraging’ her to do things like that.
BBCC
Yeah, Linda seems more ‘blatant/undeniable’ when she’s mad but Charles is more subtle and says his shitty things with a smile and a nice tone.
Mr D
Hrmm. Okay, so, back when this conversation last happened I was not a regular commenter or even a “Comment-reader” but I kinda sorta maybe remember that there was this problem in the comment section a few years ago about Walky’s parents and racism? Anyone mind linking me to that or explaining it?
BBCC
Linda and Charles are racist, specifically in the way of treating traits like kinky hair badly and probably associating it with being disobedient, difficult, etc. So they treated Sal like that which, obviously, led her to push back against them, so they cracked down more and we can see a vicious cycle here. This also leads to things like reacting more angrily to Sal when Walky does the same thing (see the strip with them auditioning for the Joyce strip – Linda yells at Sal while she calls Walky) and giving Walky opportunities they don’t give Sal (see: Linda picking Walky to audition) as well as generally favouring him while insulting traits Sal has that he lacks (see: Charles insulting her hair to her face). Sal also identifies more as black while Walky calls himself ‘beige’ (not uncommon among infants where one is lighter or fits better with mainstream Western – i.e. predominantly white – culture. The lighter one tends to call themselves mixed or beige or something along those lines while the darker one tends to call themselves black).
Kinoko
Don’t know about comment thread, but the supporting evidence in the comic itself started about here:
Well, that’s when she first straight out says it. The first time it’s suggested, it’s when Walky says Sal ids as black while he’s ‘generically beige’ and the second time it’s when Charles insults Sal’s hair.
Kinoko
Anyway, point being: you can be mixed-race and still subconsciously say/do negative things that are racially charged, due to your own biases.
In Charles’ case, I really doubt he’s fully conscious of the implication of the comment about Sal’s hair. He doesn’t seem motivated to make her feel badly, but he *is* being shittily unaware of the impact on her.
Kinoko
(Was wording that last before you wrote your reply.)
There are levels of shitty here, for sure. Humanity’s overall shittiness is a spectrum. The Walkertons, in this case, have failed to provide adequate support for one of their children and given the other some complexes, but TBH, I feel like no parents IRL are perfect and we all have to undo baggage like this sooner or later.
BBCC
I would argue that they’ve crossed the line from merely ‘imperfect’ and into abusive. At the very least, they’re guilty of emotional neglect with Sal.
Jason
Linda I would absolutely categorise as abusive. Charles, we don’t have enough information.
BBCC
I tend to categorize him as such too because almost everything Sal says is her parentS plural. And we know he did things like not speak to her while she was at school (so like…5 years of not talking to her?) That’s still definitely emotional neglect.
BBCC
I can see him not understanding the racially specific issues with what he said, but I find it hard to believe he couldn’t see how saying ‘Too bad’ to his daughter’s new hairstyle could be hurtful.
Regalli
Especially since she makes it clear straightening requires an appointment and I’m pretty sure she implies it’s a long one. (Plus, money, college student.) Since she was at boarding school for so long I can see him being oblivious to the commitment it is (even though, if I’m remembering right, Walky isn’t), but straightening that much hair is pretty obviously more intensive than just, like, a simple ponytail versus down. (And it would still be shitty to say ‘oh I don’t like ponytails’.)
BBCC
Doubly especially since he didn’t actually know whether she likes her hair that way now or not. He just said he noticed it was curly, she said ‘It just kinda happened’ and he said ‘Too bad.’ Like, on what level is that not a crappy reaction? And yeah, Walky said she murders the curls out of her hair – and even if Charles doesn’t know what a commitment it is initially, Sal straight up tells him ‘It’s gonna take hours’. It was why she couldn’t stay with her family.
Kinoko
Yeah, all fair points. It’s not like I’m giving him a pass or anything. I’m only saying it’s relatably human in that it’s a thing humans do until we can identify what we’re doing wrong and learn to be better. Which, at his age, he really should have already.
Kinoko
Walky and Sal’s relationship to their parents reminds me eerily of IRL ones I’ve seen, and that’s the reason I feel complexly.
BBCC
I get that, I just have a lot of thoughts on the Walkertons and all the ways they suck in regards to their kids.
CJ
Well, I think she scheduled the hair appointment for that time on purpose so as to avoid spending time with her family. It must be hard not to hate Walky after a day of being put down while his ass is polished to a golden sheen.
thejeff
Though given the effort she was making, I suspect she would have dropped the appointment in a flash if they hadn’t treated her like she knew they were going to.
CJ
It went on several times. You’ll find it in the parents’ day arc and where Walky gets a care packet, the one for Billie was smaller and the one for Sal minute.
Okay, I’ve worked out what my feelings and thoughts were when I was “defending” Charles compared to Linda. (Note that I never said he was a good parent.)
The thing is, ignoring a child is awful. It does more damage than many might think. I’m sure most people heard of some kid acting up for attention- that is a very real thing that children do, because if they don’t get positive attention they will absolutely seek negative attention because it’s better- especially from parents- than nothing. (Note that a child needs more than superficial attention too- just acknowledging their existence won’t fulfil their needs.)
Charles immediately gave Sal attention. It seemed to be well-meaning attention too- he seemed happy to see her, and yes his comments on her hair were problematic but he didn’t seem to see them that way. (That can matter.)
But we have never seen Linda pay Sal more than the most superficial attention, and then it was to scold her. And that is devastating to a child. Believe me when I say- based partly on my own experiences- that if the Walkerton’s interactions with Sal that we’ve seen are indicative of their behaviour throughout her life (and we can reasonably assume they are), Linda has done far, FAR more damage to Sal’s wellbeing than Charles. (And to follow up on Charles specifically, we don’t have enough knowledge to know what their early relationship was like- and I feel like that could vary hugely.)
BBCC
I can understand but I still don’t agree. Charles giving her attention and insulting her to her face during it still doesn’t seem better to me.
Like I said above, I can understand him not seeing the racial implications but I don’t see how he can’t see saying things like ‘too bad’ about her hair can be hurtful. Sal having to give herself a pep talk before she goes to see them (again about her parentS plural) and her nervous freaking out smile at her dad don’t give me any hope for him.
I have separate hours for Carol, Toedad, Billingsworth Sr, Blaine, “Sir”, Naomi, and the Wilcoxen. Keeps a nice, organized schedule for my yelling at shitty parental figures. (Ryan gets a day devoted to him. It’s June 4th 😉 )
It’s one F, Walky. Do well in the others and it’ll ride. Trust me I’ve played the math sucks rodeo a few times. Better yet, find a degree that doesn’t require it.
I think Indiana University in Bloomington requires certain core courses. It seems the degree maps on the website are now password protected but when they weren’t, I recall that you always had to pick a math. It didn’t have to be intro to calculus though so maybe try an easier math, like Sarah did?
Walky’s problem isn’t that he’s bad at math. It’s that he doesn’t pay attention in class and doesn’t study. He’s never needed to, so he’s never developed the skills and habits.
Even putting the self-esteem issues aside, this isn’t a “math is hard” story. That’s just where it first cropped up. If he doesn’t deal with it, he’ll run into the same wall elsewhere later on. At some point, he actually has to learn to do the work.
True. My sister skated all through high school, so college was a rude awakening. I on the other hand haved sucked at math since they introduced multiplcation and was in special ed classes for pretty much ever, so studying was natural by the time college rolled round. I was genuinely surprised when people went into shock over studying when I was in TA hours eevery week. Didn’t pass math, but I did well in the others and my academic advisor helped me find a major where math need not apply. Tho I have a disability so that’s probably why she helped.
thejeff
I often wish it wasn’t math he was struggling with, since it’s often perceived as the hard class and it’s easy to just assume the answer for him would be to not take the class.
Regalli
He definitely needs to develop the study skills, but I feel like his going to the more advanced course right off my he bat (no problem he’s the Smart One) didn’t help. Probably missed out on things that could help him build on it. And if he’s responding by avoidance, that just doesn’t end well ever. He should be getting a sympathetic tutor, preferably one who can teach him basic study skills as well as the math, and possibly looking into learning disabilities if he makes an earnest effort there and still struggles, but if this keeps up? Drop the class, it’s not worth the downward spiral, and keep the tutoring. Buuuut that would be Walky making good life and academic choices. (Also worth noting: this particular section wasn’t worth it because neither the teacher nor the TA was anywhere near effective and the TA didn’t have basic student handling skills. But that would’ve been a ‘wish I realized this in the first week’ thing.)
Inahc
eh, I first ran into this with english and social studies, and the perception (mine and my parents’) was that those were stupid classes that I wouldn’t have to bother with after high school, so just drag me up to a pass and everything will be fiiine 😛 (it wasn’t fine, but I was still smart enough to pass the uni math courses without studying, so I didn’t crash until I was working)
…then again, it wasn’t a studying problem, it was an output problem. the studying problem only became visible in my last year of uni, so it never got acknowledged at all.
160 thoughts on “Hellmouth”
Wack'd
“or worse yet, a webcomic”
Desai
Too old school. These days it’s “he has a start up”, no?
Needfuldoer
He’s going to disrupt the vending machine industry with his new Nachitos delivery service, Chypp. For a mere $20 per month you have access to an app that lets you summon a”contractor” to deliver you a bag of Nachitos, wherever you are, whenever you want. You can also sign up as a delivery courier “contractor” and get paid to simply deliver bags of chips! Who cares about the logistics of distributing the wholesale goods, that’s the Old Way of thinking about business. $50mil in venture capital, please!
Ana Chronistic
No cryptocurrency? Walkoins?
Aeron
NachitoCoin
autogatos
A youtube channel where he makes slime.
Charlie
As someone who A. failed out of college (for the third year, after multiple appeals) in April and B. is planning on starting a webcomic, this hits a little closer to home than I was expecting today.
Ana Chronistic
I feel this lately, and I own my own house and shit
then again, if I can’t pay the mortgage anymore and have to move back in with my parents, at least there’s a cat there
Spriteless Girl
Man, I worry that they won’t be able to pay the mortgages.
Kinoko
^ Man, same. I have my own house and mortgage to pay, and then I look over at my parents who are still paying off theirs after putting three kids through college.
I dream of being rich some day so I can pay all their shit off for them, because literally the only way they would accept it would be if I had more money that I knew what to do with. And even then…
King Daniel
I swear, when I first loaded this page your comment was first (and the only one at all, no less). Now it’s second?
…there are some time shenanigans going on here.
David M Willis
This website hates Wack’d and so I have to manually approve all his posts.
King Daniel
I guess you could say that for him, the website is…whacked?
…I’ll show myself out.
HeySo
You whacked that one right outta the park!
..and then it bounced off a tree, flew back in, and hit you right in the face.
..I’m so glad to finally have someone to commiserate with.
AnvilPro
Walky needs to get out more. Get a job, find some personal successes outside of grades
abysswatcher1993
LARPing, Magic, a club of magicians that want to be taken seriously, a girlfriend that doesn’t look like Dorothy and Brunette Dorothy, following tumblr pages of Dexter and Monkey Master, proving to Joyce that he isn’t stupid, attend Indiana’s equivalent of comic con, join antifa, get kicked out of antifa, buy a Bible and throw it at Billie, join a Hamilton fan play, prank Joyce and make her believe God made evolution through the crappy Noah movie of 2013, etc.
thejeff
But at the same time – put in a bit of work, figure out how to study, don’t fail out.
Other hobbies are great. Not tying all your self-esteem up in getting good grades without effort is great. Not failing out of school is also a good thing.
DudeMyDadOwnsADealership
Oh yes. It’s almost a cliche where the Favored Child doesn’t turn out like Mom & Dad’s expectations predicted. Walky’s just gotten that he’s a grown man now, and his parents are too busy deluding themselves over Linda’s plans and how they’re all that matters (guaranteed not to suffer from a lack of actual parenting!) to be of any real help with this.
BBCC
Oh, huh, is it Fuck You Linda Walkerton O’Clock already?
It’s a trick question. In my world it is ALWAYS Fuck You Linda Walkerton O’Clock.
Nono
I’m still wondering where Charles fits into this. He’s complicit to some degree, but Walky definitely fears his mom more, while Sal seems to put equal blame on both of their parents.
BBCC
Charles strikes me as
A) More subtle. His digs are the kind of thing you’d either need to have experience with or think about for a second to notice.
B) Charles will keep talking to you through disappointment while Linda either gets really mad or stops talking to you.
C) Less focused on specific kinds of success. Linda has a lot riding on Walky being a doctor or lawyer or something. Charles insults Sal to her face but doesn’t seem to have any particular career plans. So yes, Linda is going to flip her lid. Charles probably won’t. He might make a few digs to Walky’s face but it’ll be with a smile and concerned tone and it’ll take a minute or two for Walky to even notice ‘That’s…really not a compliment’.
Plus, Walky’s seen how they handle being mad or disappointed in Sal, even if he spent a long time not knowing why. Now that that shoe’s on the other foot, he thinks that’s going to be him.
Mr D
Huh. that sounds a lot like my dad. MY mum is the opposite, she is all love and concern and protection to teh point it may have been a bit harmful to my development.
BBCC
Yeah, the Walkertons are a piece of work.
Regalli
I’m betting Linda is the one who puts the academic pressure/discipline/scorn of failure combo on for the most part, while Charles is more hands-off but was still going along with all of Sal’s punishments. Plus we know he makes rather backhanded, super racially-loaded comments about Sal’s hair, wouldn’t be surprised if there were other moments of him ‘encouraging’ her to do things like that.
BBCC
Yeah, Linda seems more ‘blatant/undeniable’ when she’s mad but Charles is more subtle and says his shitty things with a smile and a nice tone.
Mr D
Hrmm. Okay, so, back when this conversation last happened I was not a regular commenter or even a “Comment-reader” but I kinda sorta maybe remember that there was this problem in the comment section a few years ago about Walky’s parents and racism? Anyone mind linking me to that or explaining it?
BBCC
Linda and Charles are racist, specifically in the way of treating traits like kinky hair badly and probably associating it with being disobedient, difficult, etc. So they treated Sal like that which, obviously, led her to push back against them, so they cracked down more and we can see a vicious cycle here. This also leads to things like reacting more angrily to Sal when Walky does the same thing (see the strip with them auditioning for the Joyce strip – Linda yells at Sal while she calls Walky) and giving Walky opportunities they don’t give Sal (see: Linda picking Walky to audition) as well as generally favouring him while insulting traits Sal has that he lacks (see: Charles insulting her hair to her face). Sal also identifies more as black while Walky calls himself ‘beige’ (not uncommon among infants where one is lighter or fits better with mainstream Western – i.e. predominantly white – culture. The lighter one tends to call themselves mixed or beige or something along those lines while the darker one tends to call themselves black).
Kinoko
Don’t know about comment thread, but the supporting evidence in the comic itself started about here:
http://www.dumbingofage.com/2013/comic/book-3/04-just-hangin-out-with-my-family/princess/
BBCC
Well, that’s when she first straight out says it. The first time it’s suggested, it’s when Walky says Sal ids as black while he’s ‘generically beige’ and the second time it’s when Charles insults Sal’s hair.
Kinoko
Anyway, point being: you can be mixed-race and still subconsciously say/do negative things that are racially charged, due to your own biases.
In Charles’ case, I really doubt he’s fully conscious of the implication of the comment about Sal’s hair. He doesn’t seem motivated to make her feel badly, but he *is* being shittily unaware of the impact on her.
Kinoko
(Was wording that last before you wrote your reply.)
There are levels of shitty here, for sure. Humanity’s overall shittiness is a spectrum. The Walkertons, in this case, have failed to provide adequate support for one of their children and given the other some complexes, but TBH, I feel like no parents IRL are perfect and we all have to undo baggage like this sooner or later.
BBCC
I would argue that they’ve crossed the line from merely ‘imperfect’ and into abusive. At the very least, they’re guilty of emotional neglect with Sal.
Jason
Linda I would absolutely categorise as abusive. Charles, we don’t have enough information.
BBCC
I tend to categorize him as such too because almost everything Sal says is her parentS plural. And we know he did things like not speak to her while she was at school (so like…5 years of not talking to her?) That’s still definitely emotional neglect.
BBCC
I can see him not understanding the racially specific issues with what he said, but I find it hard to believe he couldn’t see how saying ‘Too bad’ to his daughter’s new hairstyle could be hurtful.
Regalli
Especially since she makes it clear straightening requires an appointment and I’m pretty sure she implies it’s a long one. (Plus, money, college student.) Since she was at boarding school for so long I can see him being oblivious to the commitment it is (even though, if I’m remembering right, Walky isn’t), but straightening that much hair is pretty obviously more intensive than just, like, a simple ponytail versus down. (And it would still be shitty to say ‘oh I don’t like ponytails’.)
BBCC
Doubly especially since he didn’t actually know whether she likes her hair that way now or not. He just said he noticed it was curly, she said ‘It just kinda happened’ and he said ‘Too bad.’ Like, on what level is that not a crappy reaction? And yeah, Walky said she murders the curls out of her hair – and even if Charles doesn’t know what a commitment it is initially, Sal straight up tells him ‘It’s gonna take hours’. It was why she couldn’t stay with her family.
Kinoko
Yeah, all fair points. It’s not like I’m giving him a pass or anything. I’m only saying it’s relatably human in that it’s a thing humans do until we can identify what we’re doing wrong and learn to be better. Which, at his age, he really should have already.
Kinoko
Walky and Sal’s relationship to their parents reminds me eerily of IRL ones I’ve seen, and that’s the reason I feel complexly.
BBCC
I get that, I just have a lot of thoughts on the Walkertons and all the ways they suck in regards to their kids.
CJ
Well, I think she scheduled the hair appointment for that time on purpose so as to avoid spending time with her family. It must be hard not to hate Walky after a day of being put down while his ass is polished to a golden sheen.
thejeff
Though given the effort she was making, I suspect she would have dropped the appointment in a flash if they hadn’t treated her like she knew they were going to.
CJ
It went on several times. You’ll find it in the parents’ day arc and where Walky gets a care packet, the one for Billie was smaller and the one for Sal minute.
No Name
And the one for Dorothy existed.
Jason
Okay, I’ve worked out what my feelings and thoughts were when I was “defending” Charles compared to Linda. (Note that I never said he was a good parent.)
The thing is, ignoring a child is awful. It does more damage than many might think. I’m sure most people heard of some kid acting up for attention- that is a very real thing that children do, because if they don’t get positive attention they will absolutely seek negative attention because it’s better- especially from parents- than nothing. (Note that a child needs more than superficial attention too- just acknowledging their existence won’t fulfil their needs.)
Charles immediately gave Sal attention. It seemed to be well-meaning attention too- he seemed happy to see her, and yes his comments on her hair were problematic but he didn’t seem to see them that way. (That can matter.)
But we have never seen Linda pay Sal more than the most superficial attention, and then it was to scold her. And that is devastating to a child. Believe me when I say- based partly on my own experiences- that if the Walkerton’s interactions with Sal that we’ve seen are indicative of their behaviour throughout her life (and we can reasonably assume they are), Linda has done far, FAR more damage to Sal’s wellbeing than Charles. (And to follow up on Charles specifically, we don’t have enough knowledge to know what their early relationship was like- and I feel like that could vary hugely.)
BBCC
I can understand but I still don’t agree. Charles giving her attention and insulting her to her face during it still doesn’t seem better to me.
Like I said above, I can understand him not seeing the racial implications but I don’t see how he can’t see saying things like ‘too bad’ about her hair can be hurtful. Sal having to give herself a pep talk before she goes to see them (again about her parentS plural) and her nervous freaking out smile at her dad don’t give me any hope for him.
Regalli
I have separate hours for Carol, Toedad, Billingsworth Sr, Blaine, “Sir”, Naomi, and the Wilcoxen. Keeps a nice, organized schedule for my yelling at shitty parental figures. (Ryan gets a day devoted to him. It’s June 4th 😉 )
BBCC
Reasonable! I’ve always got room to say ‘fuck those guys’ too.
Regalli
Can we just have the Ruttens adopt everyone? They can afford it, apparently.
BBCC
Or at least be their ‘friend’s cool parents’ who provide the team parent role?
DailyBrad
I think some of us, myself included at times, may have been overestimating Walky’s ignorance. He’s very aware of his situation, painfully so.
ColdFury
Not sure if you read original Walkyverse, but that’s basically his character to the letter.
It’s amazing how Willis grows these characters while keeping to their core truths.
Danni
feeling like a huge disappointment. im still kinda there.
Aggrax
He’s finally admitting everything I ever wanted to hear… I hate it. Damn you Willis and your monkeys paw of writing.
Doctor_Who
The world needs more Dexter and Monkey Master podcasts anyway. I checked podbean, and couldn’t find a single one.
OOF
I feel personally attacked by this strip
miis
Do you even go here?
adjudicus
Meredith is still off to the corner smoking weed like “Pfft. Bad grades? Failing classes? Parental disappointment? Been there done that.”
Sporky
Hey, maybe she’s got straight A’s, you don’t know her story.
Dean
Smoking weed on the roof is a daring and innovative performance art piece.
Reltzik
…. how is it innovative, again?
CJ
Stuff that’s forbidden seems innovative at that age.
Some people never grow out of it.
Marisa Mockery
It’s one F, Walky. Do well in the others and it’ll ride. Trust me I’ve played the math sucks rodeo a few times. Better yet, find a degree that doesn’t require it.
BBCC
I think Indiana University in Bloomington requires certain core courses. It seems the degree maps on the website are now password protected but when they weren’t, I recall that you always had to pick a math. It didn’t have to be intro to calculus though so maybe try an easier math, like Sarah did?
Marisa Mockery
And they’re in calculus? My school didn’t let you skip, you HAD to pass intermediate algebra first. Guess thisvis why.
thejeff
Walky’s problem isn’t that he’s bad at math. It’s that he doesn’t pay attention in class and doesn’t study. He’s never needed to, so he’s never developed the skills and habits.
Even putting the self-esteem issues aside, this isn’t a “math is hard” story. That’s just where it first cropped up. If he doesn’t deal with it, he’ll run into the same wall elsewhere later on. At some point, he actually has to learn to do the work.
Marisa Mockery
True. My sister skated all through high school, so college was a rude awakening. I on the other hand haved sucked at math since they introduced multiplcation and was in special ed classes for pretty much ever, so studying was natural by the time college rolled round. I was genuinely surprised when people went into shock over studying when I was in TA hours eevery week. Didn’t pass math, but I did well in the others and my academic advisor helped me find a major where math need not apply. Tho I have a disability so that’s probably why she helped.
thejeff
I often wish it wasn’t math he was struggling with, since it’s often perceived as the hard class and it’s easy to just assume the answer for him would be to not take the class.
Regalli
He definitely needs to develop the study skills, but I feel like his going to the more advanced course right off my he bat (no problem he’s the Smart One) didn’t help. Probably missed out on things that could help him build on it. And if he’s responding by avoidance, that just doesn’t end well ever. He should be getting a sympathetic tutor, preferably one who can teach him basic study skills as well as the math, and possibly looking into learning disabilities if he makes an earnest effort there and still struggles, but if this keeps up? Drop the class, it’s not worth the downward spiral, and keep the tutoring. Buuuut that would be Walky making good life and academic choices. (Also worth noting: this particular section wasn’t worth it because neither the teacher nor the TA was anywhere near effective and the TA didn’t have basic student handling skills. But that would’ve been a ‘wish I realized this in the first week’ thing.)
Inahc
eh, I first ran into this with english and social studies, and the perception (mine and my parents’) was that those were stupid classes that I wouldn’t have to bother with after high school, so just drag me up to a pass and everything will be fiiine 😛 (it wasn’t fine, but I was still smart enough to pass the uni math courses without studying, so I didn’t crash until I was working)
…then again, it wasn’t a studying problem, it was an output problem. the studying problem only became visible in my last year of uni, so it never got acknowledged at all.
Nono
I’ll sympathize with Walky, but it doesn’t mean I have to like him. Him and Joyce just have not been endearing themselves to me as of late.
Jason