Labor Day marks the official end of summer and the start of a new school year. In my house, my husband and I go back to school along with my son. So, now we are starting the 11th grade. My husband and I had the talk regarding expectations, as we do every year at the beginning of school.
It's day 3 and why my son has decided to do it his way, instead of the right way. This year he is attending Connection Academy, which so far I am liking. Unfortunately, my son has decided to skip some of the important stuff. Well, last night we went through a subject, clicking on each and every to do. When I asked him if it was done, he said yes, of course. However, when I said, "Let me see it," he couldn't produce it. Therefore, he had to do everything again so that I could see it. He wasn't a happy camper, obviously. (Lord help me! I'm trying not to go Madea on this boy. I did good.)
I had to explain to him the importance of doing what you know is right to do. Re-state the rules and going over the consequences when the rules are broken. I had to explain my responsibilities as his learning coach and his responsibilities as the student. It seems that since 9th grade, we have had to really stay on him to get his school work done properly. He is very intelligent and very capable of doing the work. What I see is laziness. This has been a little difficult for me because I love to learn. I was a great student. My mother told me that when school was closed, I cried. My son surely does not take after me.
Lucky for him, I love him and because of that love, I will stay the course and do whatever it takes to ensure that he does his very best, even when it hurts. One day he will love me for it. Right now, I am not highly favored, but that's ok. My responsibility is to ensure that he is an asset to himself, the family he might have and society.
I believe that education is a partnership between the teacher, parent, and the student. There are so many parents that send there kids to school and expect the teacher to do all the work. In my house, we are a team. What's your thought on this? What advice can you give to parents that are going through a similar situation. I'm sure that I am not the only one.
Hm, I can't really speak from the parenting p.o.v. on this one, since my oldest is only 7, BUT I can say, as a teenager, I did watch my parents have to stay on my brother about homework, responsibilities, etc. It came down to my parents really leaning on those natural consequences Pastor Deb was talking about this morning. He knew his responsibilities (in this case, schoolwork) had to be done before anything fun happened, even if that activity had already been paid for, or he had already "rsvp'd". he had to call the person in charge, or his friend and let them know he could no longer go because he didn't take care of his responsibilities. It stunk, but he no longer "forgot" (his usual excuse) as often!
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