Wednesday, August 26, 2009

the butterfly effect

I could not have been more wrong about how this school year would go. DD has both shocked and amazed me with her glorious choices at school. Her teacher knows what to look for and still she is passing all tests with flying colors. She gets to attend a sleepover this weekend and participate in choir at school (something she's been looking forward to for 2 years) and it's all due to her wonderful actions at school. At home, she still struggles...she may always struggle at home. But, homework hasn't been a big deal and I find that dealing with her behaviors is much easier for me right now - maybe just because there is such a golden lining on the school front.
OTOH, DS2 is bombing in most arenas. His behavior at school is not atrocious...but it's just lacking on all fronts. He's turning in work that is sub-par - actually illegible...the bright spot there is that his teacher is calling him on it and I believe she'll be giving him the grade he's honestly earning - which probably isn't good right now. We found that he tested high on the state tests. I know that isn't a great predictor of ability - but by school standards it means that I have little leeway in claiming that he needs more services. We are looking into options for next year...we wrote up a 'contract' with him outlining the behavior guides he needed to reach. They are very basic...nothing that should be hard for even a child half his age. He's not reaching those goals. He has lost privileges dealing with school (he's not going on the 6th grade trip in a few weeks) and I'm sad. Mostly sad for him...but sad for us too...we want him to succeed so badly. I'm finding dealing with him excessively difficult.
So, it's a complete turnaround from my expectations - yet, sadly - still correct in one way. One is succeeding and one isn't!

No comments:

Post a Comment