The mind is a terrible thing to waste

Jon has always had to work at school. It's always been a fight for all of us. I think we started him in kindergarten too early. His first grade teacher was one of those ADHD teachers, you know, the ones that diagnose the kids themselves and refuse to accept any other option. She told me in October that Jon needed drugs in order to learn. I tried to tell her that I have never seen Jon unable to focus, but he does test the bounderies often and if she would assert herself with him, he would cooperate. I remember she was indignant that I would know my kid better than her, after all, she had been observing him and 20 other kids for 6 weeks. I told her I raised him from a cub... This is how it went for Jon during first grade, every failure and problem was documented with phrases like "trouble organizing" and "impulsive behavior". The "teacher" eventually wore me down and we had Jon tested. The results echoed my assessment- Jon can focus but often chooses not to. Looking back, I should have had him repeat first grade with a teacher that can teach, but the school advised us not to. So Jon went to second grade. Every fall, I meet with his teachers to explain how to reach Jon and let them know I am available to help in any way needed. For the next three years Jon learned the material he was given and I got to know his teachers very well, I was on the phone or getting email regularly. Every time Jon started to slide, we were there to keep him moving.

Last year I didn't hear from his teachers in the first marking period, Jon reported that school was going well, he was getting pretty good grades. I thought he had finally found his stride and settled in to the role of student. I've spent hours with him doing homework and know he is very smart but lacks motivation and will often take the easiest path instead of the most fulfilling. I went to the first parent teacher conference expecting rave reviews but instead found that Jon was all but failing every class. I asked the "professional educator" why she hadn't let me know my son was struggling. She told me that he is in 5th grade and should know how to behave by now, besides, she had 30 kids in her class and didn't have time to focus on one with problems, perhaps if we got him some drugs, he would be able to learn. Grrrrr Here we go again, Jon spent 5th grade with two teachers who (in my opinion) didn't want to put any effort into their job. The principal at that school is even worse, I went to him with my concerns but had a hard time getting him to return my phone calls. At the end of the year, Jon only passed so they could get him (and probably me) out of their hair. I wanted him to repeat 5th grade but I also think another year with those bozos would make matters worse.

We decided to give Jon 6 weeks at another school (Jr. High) if that wasn't working, then we were going to homeschool him. We found that the new school has a great tool for parents, it's called Pinnacle Viewer and it allows us to have access to updated grade, homework and attendance data. Between that and several emails from teachers, we know that not only has Jon done all his homework but he is getting three A's one B and steadily gaining ground on material he missed because he spent time with his little brother. No Ritalin needed. We are happy, Jon is becoming (unwillingly) a student. We have to stay on top of it to keep him on the path but we have all the tools to help and teachers that are willing to communicate. Annie starts school on Tuesday.