Does It Get Easier?

So, here we are, in 2012. It's been a long time since I posted anything. I was going to shut this blog down, actually, until I noticed how many page views it has had. It's not a lot by any means, but to me, it is. So, maybe it is worth it to keep it going. To keep updating how things are going with Will.

I worry a bit though, as he gets older, that I am putting this information out there. God forbid a friend or someone stumbles upon this blog. Will would be horrified. He is pushing 12 years old and it is only a matter of time before he might find something like this. So, not sure what to do with that in mind. Maybe I remove all of his pictures? Change his name... I'll have to figure out what to do.

In the mean time, we are now, ALMOST, half way through his 6th grade year. What a big difference 6th grade is. He has 4 teachers, instead of 2. That is a huge change. After talking to Dr. T, before school began, we decided NOT to talk to his teachers about his vision issues. Dr. T, who is a retired teacher, told me that she hated hearing about student's problems beforehand. She preferred to figure them out on her own. She felt like some students were pigeon-holed by their "diagnoses". I agreed with her, mostly, though I do believe in some situations it might be beneficial for a teacher to know about a student's limitations.

But, I must say it was a good decision. He has struggled here and there, but no really big issues. But, here is where the "Does it get easier" title comes in to play. I still have to remind Will to check his planner, I have to remind him to start his homework, to finish his homework. I pretty much have to be sitting at the table while he does his homework. I have to remind him when he has a test coming up, when a project is due, etc, etc, etc...

It gets old, it really does. And part of me wants to just back off completely and see what happens. Actually, I need to do that. I am sure he has become totally dependent on me when it comes to schoolwork. I worry, though, that if I back off, his grades will plummet... Quite the conundrum. So, 2nd quarter comes to an end in the next couple of weeks. I think we will make a goal for the 2nd half of the year, of me not helping him so much. It is time for him to take responsibility for himself. I am sure it is well past time for him to take responsibility for himself, but this is how we have rolled. It has gotten him by. Time to change, though.

I'll have to do some thinking on exactly how to make those changes, but I am going to do it.

Early on this year, Will was tested in math, to see if he qualified for intervention. Students were chosen based on their OAA scores at the end of the 5th grade year. If they were in a low enough range, they were pulled out for further testing. Frustratingly, I only knew about this because Will told me. Of course, he didn't know why they were testing him, just that they were. I emailed the school psychologist and he told me why they were doing it. You would think that would be something parents would be notified about. So, weeks went by and I never heard anything about the outcome of the testing. I emailed the school psychologist again. Oops, they forgot to tell me, he didn't qualify for the intervention. He scored in the 44th percentile. :( That is considered average by the school, so he didn't qualify. Hmpf!

So, we have been working hard on math at home. He seems to be getting a pretty good grasp on what he has been learning. His biggest problem is, and always has been, transferring what he has learned to a test situation. He has never done really great on tests. Sitting at home, working on homework with someone, he gets it. Almost always. Give him a problem, with nobody to talk it through with, or worded a little differently, and he struggles.

Okay, this post has kind of been all over the place. I am going to try to keep this blog more up to date and address some specific things we have continued to deal with. I am toying with the idea of adding Ben into the mix. While he doesn't struggle with school, he has his own host of idiosyncrasies that go along with his "giftedness" we are trying to figure out.