HELP- Calling all Computer GURU'S!!!

[broberts]

For the vitual school, the child has to log 7.5 hours per day. If they don't log those hours they will have ALOT of trouble trying to catch up..

 

Forgetting the expense, 7.5 hours a day logged in aboard a ship is going to be very difficult to physically achieve. Even if there were no technical problems, and that I think is very unlikely, it's likely going to mean some very close supervision.

 

I wonder if you have given any thought to how you would feel if, after all your work and the extra expense, the 7.5 hours per day is not achieved?

[kendon]

In the end, the best thing is to probably cancel the cruise. As I've stated earlier in this thread, we had to cancel our vacation plans (not a cruise) because my son has to make up online classes in order to be readmitted in the fall. Super disappointing, but part of parenting. I just can't see her spending 7 hours a day while the family is out "enjoying" themselves...they will always be worrying how she is. No one will have fun that week.

I feel for the OP...I get it.

[caribill]

I would lose a lot of respect for the institution/school if they were willing to help find a work around because a student was going on a cruise.

 

The problem is not that the student is going on a cruise, it is that the entire family is. The work around is so as not to punish the rest of the family.

 

As for the student, spending the entire cruise studying will not be a vacation.

[pal4404]

Hi Everyone! Well, my DD gave me a special gift this morning ~ she failed 4 subjects in school!!! Yes, needless to say I am over the crying and now trying to drum up a game plan. She will be doing online summer school and needs to log in 7 hours aday, YES, 7 hours every day while we are on the cruise. I called princess and to buy a plan with that many minutes will cost 1075.00.. The CSR told me to check on a wireless card that would go into my computer and I would be allowed access thru my laptop without paying any charges to Princess??? Is that true? Will it work out in Bermuda, Grand Turks, Puerto Rico and St. Thomas? Can anyone please le me know if this can be done? I am at the end of my rope. I cannot afford to pay for summer school and the minutes and go on vacation. I thought about canceling but I would lose my money. I have ins, but think that the insurance would only refund me if there is a sickness.

 

Please if anyone can give me information on what company to use and if it will work with my own laptop and if I need to purchase internet minutes. Comcast already told me it will not work internationally thru comcast.

I am literally sick over this..

 

ANYONE???Please....

 

I can understand your disappointment, in the fact your vacation plans are skewed and empathize. However the big issue here is one of accountabilty and responsiblity. Surely one would think parents would be aware of the poor performance before the end result. If not something is vastly amiss much greater than a missed vacation. Should he dgt have to stay home, it is a fair price to pay for her decisions. Unfortunately today individuals try to circumvent the repercussions of the results of their decisions. Just as you are trying resulting in generations of individuals without accountability. For me and mine, 40 plus years ago my child would not have surprised me with a failed report and I would have found a way for he/she to remain at home while the rest of us traveled. If as parents we have taught them they are responsible for their actions then should the time come to hold them accountable we must do so otherwise we fail in parenting. Parenting is not easy and requires Tough Love.

[kenexx]

As a "computer person" I'd like to expand on what other have alluded to, specifically, what kind of content is involved with your daughter's online school? That makes a huge difference I honestly would *seriously* look into the details of what is required to successfully participate in online classes. If the requirements say "broadband connection" or cable/DSL, the Internet access on the ship will *not* work.

 

As an FYI, I am speaking from direct experience as a user of ships based Internet access since it was first offered on any passenger ships and a professional manager/engineer for the #1 networking company in the work for over 12 years, the name rhymes with Crisco :)

 

I wish you the best of luck in finding an appropriate solution for your difficult problem.

 

Ahhhh - The Cisco Kid! :D

 

Sorry just had to say it...

[scranger]

Ahhhh - The Cisco Kid! :D

 

Sorry just had to say it...

 

Ah, Pancho! ;)

[Bowie MeMe]

I like the idea of the tutor. One on one and the discipline of doing lessons THEN having fun on the cruise is a natural result. I also agree that perhaps having a year that is just washed out and starting over is a really viable decision. If she failed 4 subjects! then something is wrong and needs to be corrected before any plan will work-- just being on the computer for 7 hours a day this summer is NOT going to solve those learning problems. I am a special educator and IMHO doing the work over during a summer often will get credit for the subject but the real object for life is to learn what is needed to go on with your education. One class (especially math, science, history, etc) builds on the next. Perhaps this is not a failure but an opportunity to address those issues that need to be addressed and to start over. Love your child tenderly and great lessons can be learned from this wake up call. Best of luck to both you and your child.

[bridge&golf]

Someone mentioned using a tutor. Talk to your DD's school. Find out if this would work?

Let them say who will be the tutor. I definely understand your problem. We had 4 sons.

Thank goodness none of them failed classes. Except for our youngest who failed 3 out of

5 classes in Community College. Thankfully, his grades for the lst semester were decent.

Halfway thru his 2nd semester, when he hadn't gotten an acceptance, I had him (not me)

call once a week. His final grades came thru a week after he had been accepted.

William Paterson, in NJ, if it matters) He graduated from there 4 years (!) later with a

B average. He is doing well in life. I definely am on the side of the person who said

"use a tutor". It's not fair to your other daughter to miss the cruise. On the other hand,

it's not fair to your other DD that her sister is getting all this money spent for her.

 

good luck whatever you decide, (I'm glad mine are all grown-up! They can worry about

our grandchildren.)

 

joann

[grod19]

I realized I as well as everyone else is making a huge assumption:

 

Is your daughter failing these classes because they are "over her head" and she needs extra help with the material, or is she failing because she couldn't care less about school and just isn't doing the necessary work?

[jessegirl88]

Ok Everyone this is what is happenning:

 

First, let me say THANK YOU to MOST of the people that gave me ideas and sympathized with me. I truly appreciate it! Really!!

 

My DD didn't fail because she has a learning disability she failed because she fooled around during the 1st thru 3rd marking periods and then realized that she had to buckle down. Now, weather it was immature or what I do not know. She passed everything in the 4th and even her finals but needed 90's on her finals to pass for the year. All the subjects failed only failed by 2 -3 points for the year. But, she failed and needs to realize that she put herself here and is not going to enjoy her summer working on making up her subjects. Why should WE as a family cancel our trip when my other children got an EXCELLENT report card. My DH works like a dog to make a good life for us and we have not been on vacation in years. WE are all going. I as a mother cannot leave my child home and enjoy myself. Its not like I can pick up the phone 4-5 times a day or more to check in.

 

Anyways, I tried the suite ---WOW, it was over 3K per person. Atleast thats what the TA told us. She said they are having a special in internet minutes of 580 minutes for 178.00...DD WILL pay for the minutes out of her car money that she was saving...Spoke to teachers and she will only be missing 8 days. They will give her the work and base the hours on the amount of work. She will only need to log 1-2 hours aday.

 

I am sorry if some people think its wrong that we are going or that my DD is going, BUT, I do not believe is failing my daughter. She is a child and deserves a second chance. She realized that when it was alittle to late. I am very lucky that she is a good kid. Never disrespectful, always home with her family, not into drinking or drugs. I am blessed and if my only problem is failing grades I can deal and work with my child. Mothers love is unconditional and I forgive my child and will bend over backwards to help me kid. SHE WILL pay it by spending 75% of her summer doing school work.

 

As for the person that said its not fair that my DD slows the internet down, I spoke to the IT department and they laughed at that. They said that there are people that spend all day on the computer and it doesn't slow it down.

 

 

Thanks again for all for your help everyone. ((((((HUGS TO ALL))))):)

[TracieABD]

Thank you so much for returning to update us!

I am glad that you have found a solution that will work for your family.

 

There is a huge difference between 7.5 hours on the internet and 1 or 2 hours. It will still be slow, but at least it won't be all day. (Excellent idea that she should have to pay for the internet).

 

I really hope that your daughter learns from this, and that your family has a wonderful cruise.

 

Keep us posted, and<<<<Breathe>>>>>

:)

[canadiansnowbird]

She said they are having a special in internet minutes of 580 minutes for 178.00...

 

Just a general question on this rate:

 

Is this Princess's regular rate?

Would this "special" be on all ships

 

Just asking as I'm not sure if I want to take the laptop, or in my case the IPad on a 30 day cruise yet.

 

Snowbird

[2theship]

Jessegirl88, it's obvious that many of us have been down a least a bit of this road before you and we remember the stress that you have been feeling over the past few days. Hopefully your DD has learned from this and that she understands what the whole family has been put through as a result of her choices.

 

I just want to share two things with you. First, my daughters attended one of the finest high schools around, a suburban public school that most would envy. However, they simply did not connect. One daughter had good but not outstanding grades; her sister could range from outstanding to disastrous in the same course. Thankfully, both graduated and were accepted at the college of their choice. They are flourishing! No one is there to watch over them and it doesn't matter. They are studying what interests them and they love it. They both also found that some of the courses they complained about in high school have served them well to prepare them for their college work.

 

Second, my daughter who created the most stress for us gave me an unusual Mother's Day gift: a card that apologized for her choices in high school. She understands why her decisions impacted others and is grateful for the love and support we showed through that time.

 

It's tough right now but there is an end to it.

[morriscats]

To OP. I am glad you found a way to make it work. I know several had opinions on what should be done. Myself included (although I didn't post them here). Easy for us to say "let her stay home" or "let her fail". Your last post brings us all back to our own ways of raising our kids and your post touched me. No matter what they do they are our kids and they make mistakes. Looking deep into my heart I know I could not leave my kid home - I would be looking for solutions to the problem just like you did. Sounds as if daughter learned a valuable lesson here and that is what is most important.

[dutchess43]

To the OP glad that everything worked out. Sounds like your dd is learning from her mistakes. Good for her! My greatest acheivment was when dd was 19 & said I want to thank you & dad for putting in the effort & bringing me up correctly. That was worth everything.

[Northender]

jessegirl. I am so happy everything is working out.:) Enjoy your cruise, you sound like a great Mom. And making her pay for the minutes is a good thing. I am sure she will learn from this experience.

 

I hope you and your family have a wonderful cruise. I would love to hear how everything went when you get back.

 

Ya, I too, thought that also about DD about slowing everything down. :D Even if she did, who cares, it is going to cost her some big bucks and time away from the pool anyway.;)

[mtaylor04]

I am glad you found a solution, and I love that your making her pay for the internet. A hard lesson to learn, but in the long run, I think she will be glad there were consequences for her choices.

 

My eldest barely made it through high school, and then made it through college and graduated with honors with a 4.0.

[paul929207]

Just a general question on this rate:

 

Is this Princess's regular rate?

Would this "special" be on all ships

 

Just asking as I'm not sure if I want to take the laptop, or in my case the IPad on a 30 day cruise yet.

 

Snowbird

Yes, you can get 500 minutes for $175 plus a $3.95 signup fee. In you buy it on the ship the first day, you get 40 minutes extra. If you pre-purchase it, you get 580 minutes.

[ibfern]

Ok Everyone this is what is happenning:

 

As for the person that said its not fair that my DD slows the internet down, I spoke to the IT department and they laughed at that. They said that there are people that spend all day on the computer and it doesn't slow it down.

 

 

Thanks again for all for your help everyone. ((((((HUGS TO ALL))))):)

 

Good job Mom! There is no one size fits all solution here and you as the mom know what is best for your child, who sounds like a good kid doing what she is supposed to do at her age; explore her boundaries so she learns the hard lessons now instead of later. Have a good time...

[Coral]

I am glad to hear that there is a reasonable solution to this and that your family will be able to go on a much needed vacation!

[broberts]

Thanks OP for providing the update. I know we are not entitled to it and this nosy person appreciates it. It sounds like you've managed to work out a solution that will work for you. Certainly 1 - 2 hours is technically much more likely to work.

 

I would caution you that 1 - 2 hours of high speed work at home will likely translate to 3 - 4 hours of work aboard ship. This estimate is very rough as it will depend a great deal on the nature of the material being transmitted and the actual connection quality during the voyage.

 

One thing you might consider is setting aside a significant amount of time on port days for internet work. In most ports true high speed internet is readily available at very reasonable rates ($6 - $8 an hour).

 

Good luck. I hope you all have a wonderful vacation. And by the way, I admire your love and devotion to family.

[katisdale]

I am so glad this is working out for your family!

[cdngrl]

i am so happy for your family. it doesn't sound like your daughter is still slacking, she figured it out, she just figured it out a little too late. she knows she messed up and she is making it right. kudos to you for figuring out a way to make it work for your family.

 

as to the texting and messaging to friends back home: my kids don't think of it too much on a cruise. hopefully your kids will be the same.

 

i do hope you have a wonderful time together with your family on your cruise.

[Toto2Kansas]

Happy for you that this all worked out and won't end up costing you a small fortune to make it happen. Enjoy your cruise!

[Feelin' Nauti']

.DD WILL pay for the minutes out of her car money that she was saving...Spoke to teachers and she will only be missing 8 days. They will give her the work and base the hours on the amount of work. She will only need to log 1-2 hours aday.

Case solved

now go and enjoy your cruise.