My 15 yr. old hates High school!! (divorced, child, husband, learn)
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I did have time to check on the K12 Academy. They say there is no free classes here in TN. so it was gonna cost 7,000 yr. That may have been the private online one.
For God's sake, if he's into communism he needs that Algebra I class. Maybe some basic grounding in reality would wake him up. Besides which, most thinking adults use algebra at least some times. Maybe not calculating parabolas or solving more complex equations, but a basic knowledge of the principles of algebra is important (and I'm no big math whiz myself).
And the last thing this country needs is another unread, tunnel-visioned political science major-turned politician.
He just sounds like a typical immature teenager. Since he's not grown up yet, you'll have to be the adult and tell him to deal.
At any rate, in my experience very few people truly enjoy high school: it's a miserable fish bowl of insecurities and hormones at a weird, in-between time of one's life.
We are just talking about his options here. There are 4 Christian schools which are public, and one Baptist. That's our choicing for around here.
We looked into a K12 schooling on line, but its gonna cost 7,000 yearly.
What are we gonna do with this child. I am afraid that he is not going to fit in these private schools either!!!! He is into some really weird stuff...Communism, etc.. he would just get thrown out of them!!!
The thing is that the things he is complaining about will not be different in a different setting. Kids in private schools still need to take Algebra.
He says, its the fact that he cannot choose his classes. He feels that other subjects like Math and Physical Science are a waste of his effort, and time. He just told me, that he is not going to ever have to use Algebra 1 for what he wants to grow up and be..he feels like its all a waste.
He wants to take classes that he feels will be helpful to him in the future, like Social Studies, History, etc.
He wants a more flexible time schedule, which don`t we all!
He said he wants to go into Politics, and is very oriented around it...
He is sounding high I.Q. to me...
Einstein said he does not store anything in his head which can be written down on paper (waste of brain storage space). So I imagine he would have balked at having to memorize silly things.
And a smart person may refuse to have anything to do with a certain required high school class now, but could easily teach themselves the subject later and in a much shorter time period than the school class. Or take it in college and get an "A". (The difference being he suddenly needs algebra for something, THEN it becomes important!)
You may be able to get him interested if you can find something on political polling or political statistics.
I searched google.com for the words: book political statistics
And came up with these book titles (many more)...
Research Methods in Political Science
Political Statistics
Statistics In Society: The Arithmetic Of Politics
So what if you bought a copy of the book "Statistics In Society: The Arithmetic Of Politics" and plopped it on his bed?
I wonder if he would suddenly become interested in math and change his tune?
I thought that too, but he said he could tell by the 1rst semester that it was not for him!! He was failing then, and his Dad was still here...well..he had moved to Ill. but he was still alive.
I think we do need to set him up with a physcologist, so he can talk to someone.
Thank you for all the great leads, and advice, and ideas!!
This is helping me!! to help him.
Wow that's a big clue. Even more reason not to let him withdraw. You gotta work extra hard to keep in engaged on multiple levels: school, family and extra ciric. Simply tell him that on-line school is not an opition. Have you looked at private school? Most have generous financial packages.
I feel for you. This sucks on every front.
But school is his job. He has some hoops he has to jump through if he wants a wider variety of choices later in life. And who ever heard of a politician who failed Algebra 1?
Seriously, your kid needs a "come to Jesus" talk, where you tell him that school is his responsibility, not his fun day camp. If he wants more privileges, he needs to put the work in. If he wants to be able to pick his classes, he needs to put the work in. I did Algebra 1 when I was 13, for crying out loud. He's balking at baby stuff.
Look, I'm generally very empathetic to disaffected teens - my high school experience was not a good one for the most part, and I had severe undiagnosed ADD that made everything way more difficult. But he's being a snobby and lazy brat. I busted my ass in school because my parents made it clear it was my job. And when I excelled, I was rewarded. And as an adult, all that ass busting has been rewarded - I make a good living and I do whatever the hell I want, for the most part.
Get him screened for depression in order to rule that out, and then set about realigning his goals and responsibilities. The whole "I don't wanna" attitude needs to get kicked to the curb.
(Sorry if this is repeat advice - I haven't been able to read every page of the thread)
I thought that too, but he said he could tell by the 1rst semester that it was not for him!! He was failing then, and his Dad was still here...well..he had moved to Ill. but he was still alive.
I think we do need to set him up with a physcologist, so he can talk to someone.
Thank you for all the great leads, and advice, and ideas!!
This is helping me!! to help him.
Wait... his father DIED recently??? Why wasn't that mentioned in the first post?
YES, get him to a therapist. IMMEDIATELY. That should have been the very first thing that happened.
Now this is far more complicated than the typical bratty teen stuff. You're likely going to need a pro to walk you through something like this. He is likely severely depressed, wondering what the point is to anything and GRIEVING.
Maybe the academic difficulties started before his father actually died, but that sure as hell wasn't going to lead to an improvement. What could have just been a blip on the screen of his academic career is now a really big deal.
Very smart kids (high IQ) are typically bored with high school which goes too slow for them. Thus their mind wanders and they don't pay attention.
People are often MIS-DIAGNOSED with having A.D.D. when in reality THEY DONT LIKE SCHOOL!!!!! (Or whatever (Not many can do good at something THEY ARENT INTERESTED IN!!))
Really why is school forced on ppl?? IF SOMEONE DOESNT LIKE HISTORY,ETC..... BEING FORCED TO DO IT ISNT GONNA MAKE THEM LIKE IT!!
People are often MIS-DIAGNOSED with having A.D.D. when in reality THEY DONT LIKE SCHOOL!!!!! (Or whatever (Not many can do good at something THEY ARENT INTERESTED IN!!))
Really why is school forced on ppl?? IF SOMEONE DOESNT LIKE HISTORY,ETC..... BEING FORCED TO DO IT ISNT GONNA MAKE THEM LIKE IT!!
Right!
Actually in the 1980's, computer companies would look to hire people who did poorly in high school. Those same people were computer geniuses. They would excel at doing things they were interested in...
Wait... his father DIED recently??? Why wasn't that mentioned in the first post?
YES, get him to a therapist. IMMEDIATELY. That should have been the very first thing that happened.
Now this is far more complicated than the typical bratty teen stuff. You're likely going to need a pro to walk you through something like this. He is likely severely depressed, wondering what the point is to anything and GRIEVING.
Maybe the academic difficulties started before his father actually died, but that sure as hell wasn't going to lead to an improvement. What could have just been a blip on the screen of his academic career is now a really big deal.
Get him some help, please.
Get him some help? This woman lost her husband and her son is going down a dark path. Where's the rest of the family? Where's the help for her? Holy crap, she's turning to an anonymous internet website for help. OP you need help with your grieving just as much as your son. Good grief.
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That may have been the private online one.
