Emily's Report Card

Four B's, one A- and one D+. So all in all, not too shabby. The D+ was in Math, and came as no surprise really.

I had spoken with her teacher a few weeks back and she had indicated that Emily was having trouble multiplying and dividing decimals. She also told me that Emily had done poorly on her last two quizzes, and had missed a few homework assignments. The teacher had been offering Emily all kinds of extra help but Emily was not taking the initiative and taking her up on it.

I asked Emily today why she thought she got a D+ n Math. Her answer was that she was stupid and hated math. I explained to her that she wasn't stupid and told her that everyone had things they were good at and things that they struggled with. I explained to her (which I sort of new I would have to) that her not doing her homework (or doing it and forgetting to turn it in) probably had a direct effect. I also explained that this is the one class, as is indicative on her report card that she needs to be on her game. My thought was that it's not like she is more organized in one area than another, or more disorganized in one area than another. Obviously, with her other classes, she can be a disorganized "mess" and still achieve a higher grade. With math, she has a bit more difficulty, so her organization needs to be right on target in that class. I explained that her grade may have been a C- or a C if she had turned in those assignments.

Grades are annoying and way too much of a focus to begin with, but she showed some concern herself with the D+ so I thought it would help her to point out some of the areas that may have lead to that grade.

Emily's Middle School Experience So Far

Mostly? It's been good. I mean, she seems happy (most of the time at least), likes switching classes and seems to like her teachers. Really the only thing that has been too much for her? The absurd amount of organization that they expect out of an 11 year old, let alone one who has more trouble with this sort of thing than the everyday 11 year old.

For lack of a better way of wording this, I am going to list the "problems" we have had with organizational type things so far this year:

-lost her agenda that she needs everyday.
-missed two math assignments (although they weren't technically missing, she had them in her folder and just forgot to turn them in when the teacher asked).
-forgot a rough draft of a paper she needed in order to write the final draft.
-forgot to bring home a modified study guide her social studies teacher gave her ( but YAY for her social studies teacher actually following her 504 plan)
-has been late to math class once
-is late to homeroom frequently( although in all fairness her bus is one of the last ones to arrive thanks to us living on the other side of town, but I am fairly certain it arrives in plenty of time for her to get to class).
-forgot to write a rough draft of a paper, or even tell me about the final draft being due...found out when I called the homework hot line.

To me? This seems like a lot...considering we are only ending the 2nd full week of school. There are some people who are going to argue that this is just a "kid being a kid." while I agree on some level, the truth is? This is by no means some thing we can let go, nor is it something that I think most kids go through. If that were true, that all kids in her age group were this disorganized, I sincerely doubt the expectations of those in charge would be the same. In other words, if it was the norm for kids her age to forget their things, lose their things and be late to things, it would be unlikely that those in charge would expect that of them, or at least not to the degree that they do. It's not like I am saying that makes it so there is something wrong with Emily...just that she's a little more unique than one might think, and perhaps her way of doing things (or even not doing them) is a little different then what would be considered "average" for her age. The bottom line is, while I don't think it's ok to insist on doing anything to inherently change her, if she is to "survive" in this crazy little world called "middle school"she is going to have to make some changes in the way she does things.

I spoke with her guidance counselor the other day. She in turn met with Emily yesterday. I also know that the guidance counselor has been going to all of the classrooms during SSR time (Silent Sustained Reading) and speaking with all of the 6th grade classes about middle school, organization, "talk aloud strategies" and various other things. Both the guidance counselor and Emily's math teacher who I met briefly at Open House have said Emily has a wonderful attitude, is willing to accept help, and that she is a "good kid." So that will certainly help her in the long run.

Next Up: Organizing ideas...both mental and physical that may help.

If I have come to one realization since having school-age children...

...it's this:

Math sucks. Math will always suck.

Can someone please tell me how I will survive high school math if fricking 5th grade math makes my brain hurt?

If someone else can tell me why it has suddenly become necessary for a 5th grader to know square roots, algebra and geometry, that would be great too.

Can we all say federal mandates? Sure we can.

Ugh.