Graduation, Maybe

Last week, middle child graduated high school.  Two weeks ago was the last week for Seniors.  And exactly three weeks ago, I got a call from the school asking if he was planning on graduating from high school this year?

A little background here.  Middle child has always considered homework and classwork to be more of a guideline than a hard and fast rule. 

Don't get me wrong.  The child is brilliant.  If he enjoys the class and finds it challenging, he will work, and he will work hard.  He has a scholarship to attend college in the fall. 

However, if he thinks the class is worthless, or he finds the work to be "busy work", "stupid", or "a waste of my time", he won't do any of it.  NADA. 

This has been a constant battle between us for years.  I know he can do so much better than he does.  He chooses only to put himself out in "worthwhile" classes.  As a result, he's carried a high B average through all of high school.  And by high B, I mean 3.49.

So, the call from the high school went something like this:

counselor: Graduation is a week away.  He is failing three of his classes.  He is required to pass English in order to graduate, and right now, he is failing English.

me:  Just what do his grades look like right now?

counselor: AP Calculus, 100%.  AP Physics, 100%.  Honors Painting, 100%.  AP Macro Economics, 98%.  English, 19%.  Pop Culture, 20%.  AP Spanish, 21%.

me:  How on earth did he get grades that low in those three classes?

counselor:  He hasn't turned any homework assignments in AT ALL in those classes this grading period.  I spoke to him about it at length, and he told me that he was too smart to spend time "doing busy work just so the teachers could have something to grade.  If they want something to grade, give me a paper to write.  Ask me to analyze a piece of literature.  Don't give me 20 multiple choice questions about the plot of a story."

me: (squelching urge to scream, because I kind of agree with him)  Is there any way he can turn in the back assignments and get enough credit to graduate?

counselor: Yes.  If he turns in all of his back work, he will get half credit on each assignment.  That will raise his average up to just above a 50%.   It's still failing, but he has major assignments and papers due in each of those three classes this week.

me: (resisting urge to bang head against the wall)  Thank you so much!  I appreciate the heads up!

So, when he got home, we had a discussion about his grades that consisted of me saying "How do you let your grades slip so far down?  What are you thinking?  (and even more to the point) YOU are going to lose your scholarships!  Your admission is dependent upon your final transcript!"

His response consisted of, "Don't worry Mom, I've got this".

That weekend consisted of him spending pretty much the entire weekend in the library, or at the dining room table.  He refused to talk with us, but he would occasionally smile, and then go back to work.

Monday morning arises, and I was once again harping on him about turning in his back work, as well as the projects that were due before Friday.

He just looked at me and said "Don't worry, Mom.  I've got this."

By 10 am, I get an e-mail from his English teacher.  Not only  had he turned in every back assignment from the quarter, he had written an analysis essay comparing the book they had just finished reading to the economic principles they had just covered in economics.  His final project on Drones was considered to be the best submission she had from any of her students in any of her English 12 classes.

By noon, I had an e-mail from his pop culture teacher.  He had turned in every back assignment, and turned in his final project early.

By 1, the Spanish teacher e-mailed me to let me know that he had turned in all of his back assignments.

On Tuesday, we got a call from the counselor at the high school letting us know that he would be graduating without any issues whatsoever.

I just received his electronic report card this morning.

AP Calculus - A
AP Economics- A
AP Physics- A
AP Spanish - C
Honors Painting- A
Pop Culture- B
Honors English 12- B

What the heck?

So, last week, we watched him march across the stage.  He hugged his English teacher instead of shaking her hand....

And the first words out of his mouth after he found us in the stands?

"College?  Don't worry, Mom, I've got this."

Herding Cats

A little bit about me:  I herd cats for a living!

Seriously!  I have three teenagers.  Well, actually I have 2 teenagers and a 20 year old.  Raising kids through their teenage years has been like herding cats.  With two boys and one girl, each going in very different directions, I never know from minute to minute where things are going or why things are or when the status quo is going to change.

I also substitute teach.  Before my kids were born, I was a classroom teacher.  But, I decided to stay home with my kids, so now, I substitute during the school year.  Talk about herding cats!  Every single day I walk into a classroom, I never know what is going to happen.  New class, different kids, new adventures.  I've had both the very funny and the very interesting happen in classrooms. 

Through everything, I've learned the importance of laughter.  I try not to take myself too seriously, and I try to laugh as much as I can.  I do search for the hilarious in the situations I find myself in, for only then can I find the strength to carry on through some of the tougher situations we all face.

My oldest child is a Physics/Math double major who just finished his second year of college.
Our middle child is heading off to college to major in Math, he will be attending the same school as his brother.
Our youngest child is still in high school.  She just finished her Sophomore year, and is still trying to find her passion in life.

This blog marks my journey- through my cat herding phases, my frustrations with life, my attempts at home-making, crafting, and thoughts about the world around me.

Thanks for spending some of your time with me!

Senior Week

This post originally appeared in my now defunct "Mom's View" blog.  I moved it to this blog at the request of my kids, who wanted to have all of the various posts that accompanied their high school years in one place.  I've matched the publication dates here to their original post date.  If you're reading these posts, I sincerely thank you for taking the time to go back through them all!

We never wanted to put our kids into a situation where they could find themselves pressured into decisions that they were just not ready to make.

So, middle child was given his choice of where to go for his graduation trip this year.

He settled on New York City.

He and I spent 3 wonderful days hopping around museums and visiting the 9-11 Memorial.

We hit up the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met), the Guggenheim, and the American Museum of Natural History.

It was a whirlwind 3 days.  I've now been to the major museums on the East Coast.  I can honestly say that the Met was my favorite museum.  It just goes on and on and on.  Every single room leads to another discovery, and then another discovery.  It was an amazing experience, and I don't feel that I have even scratched the surface.  I need to go back at least two more times to see it all and absorb everything that is there to be seen.

We just got back home a little while ago.  Both of us are exhausted beyond words.  He's asleep in his room, and I'm ready to fall asleep at the keyboard, but I'm too wound up from driving home. 

I keep forgetting that New York - and all of those amazing museums - are only 4 hours away from my house.  I need to head up that way and explore the museums a little more often!

Graduation Present

This post originally appeared in my now defunct "Mom's View" blog.  I moved it to this blog at the request of my kids, who wanted to have all of the various posts that accompanied their high school years in one place.  I've matched the publication dates here to their original post date.  If you're reading these posts, I sincerely thank you for taking the time to go back through them all!

I finally finished it.  Middle child's graduation present.

I made him a photo album.  Not just any photo album, I made this album into an A, B, C album that encapsulates his life thus far.  For example, "A" is for "Awesome", and I have his Senior Pictures. 
"Z" has been the hardest one so far, but we finally came up with an answer last night.  "Z" became "zzzzz" and I have pictures of him, falling asleep on his textbooks and the computer keyboard over the years. 

Putting this album together has been a challenge.  It's been fun.  Attempting to narrow down the boatloads of pictures that we have and find words to match the pictures has been more of a challenge than we expected.  But, I think we have  keepsake here that will last him a lifetime.  It's definitely a unique look back on his life to date!

A Kindergarten Story

I was subbing in a class of kindergartners yesterday.

We'd had a very interesting morning.  And I don't mean interesting in a good way. 

As we got ready for centers in the afternoon, the kids were all sitting angelically with their hands raised, ready to be chosen first to go to centers. 

I looked at them and said, "You guys know how this goes.  The first people I'm going to choose are those people who've been trying hard all day, doing their best job, and showing their pride."

I hear one little voice say "That's it, I'm screwed."

*This was originally published in my now defunct "Mom's View" blog on5/24/2013.*

AP Exams

 This post originally appeared in my now defunct "Mom's View" blog.  I moved it to this blog at the request of my kids, who wanted to have all of the various posts that accompanied their high school years in one place.  I've matched the publication dates here to their original post date.  If you're reading these posts, I sincerely thank you for taking the time to go back through them all!

If you've got high school students, you know that AP Exams occurred over the past two weeks.

My two youngest kids took their exams over the week.  DD only had one exam- in AP US History.
She studied like a crazy woman, watched videos, and was worried about how hard the exams were going to be.  When the day of the exam finally arrived, she told me after the fact:  "The exam was easier than I was expecting.  I thought it was going to be impossible.  It wasn't impossible, and I knew a lot of the information.  I guess I was prepared enough."

Younger son, who is a Senior in high school, took multiple AP Exams.  AP Calc BC, AP Physics, AP Microeconomics, AP Macroeconomics, AP Literature, AP Language, and AP Spanish.  Most of these classes he took this year, with the exception of AP Literature and AP Language.  His English teacher encouraged the seniors to take both the Literature and Language exams if they felt up to the challenge.  Younger son has taken other AP exams in the past.  He was not as concerned as his sister was about the tests.  While he was concerned, his strategy was to stay up to date on his homework throughout the year, and he attended every review session his teachers held throughout the year.  Taking this many exams, his biggest concern was getting enough sleep every night, and eating well each day to make certain that he was able to get through the tests.

While AP exams are time consuming, and they do cost money, they are cost effective.  Colleges and Universities will take AP scores and offer a corresponding amount of credit for the scores.  Whether the scores are counted in major, or as electives, or for how many credits, depends upon the college.  This is one of those crucial things you research in depth when you are looking at colleges.

We won't know the results of these exams until sometime in July. 

No matter what their scores, I am so proud of them for trying.

Blue Hair

 This post originally appeared in my now defunct "Mom's View" blog.  I moved it to this blog at the request of my kids, who wanted to have all of the various posts that accompanied their high school years in one place.  I've matched the publication dates here to their original post date.  If you're reading these posts, I sincerely thank you for taking the time to go back through them all!

My 16 year old daughter dyes her hair.  I'm not thrilled with it, but if this is her form of rebellion, I can live with it.  Dyeing her hair is so much better than many other ways she could choose to rebel.  (Drinking, drugs, sex, etc.)

Usually, she dyes that beautiful head of brown hair red.

I came home to a different experience Thursday night.

Her hair was blue.

She had bought a bottle of blue hair dye at the store, and attempted to dye the red/brown mass blue.

Do you remember the story in Anne of Green Gables, where Anne attempted to dye the mass of red hair black, and it turned green?  This story reminds me of Anne's attempt to dye her hair.

Not only is her hair this hideous color of blue-green, so is her scalp.  And her hands.  Her neck.  Her ears.  Her nose.  Her forehead.  Her fingers are really blue, and her cuticles are just freaky.

Of course, she chose to do this on a Thursday night.  Do you see the problem yet?  She still had to go to school yesterday.  The good news is that hand sanitizer does remove some of the dye.  The bad news is, she's still a ghastly shade of blue.

Fortunately, she has a good sense of humor.  She went to school with a scarf around her neck to hide the dye on her neck.  She left her hair down so it would cover her ears.  Her face and hands are still a ghastly shade of blue, though.

When questioned about the blue, (as any normal person would), she told people one of three things:

1) I've been feeling a little blue lately.

2) I'm releasing my inner smurf.

3) I decided to go Avatar.  Didn't  you get the memo?

I honestly can't imagine what her day was like.  I offered the option of staying home, but she decided to go to school.

I'm proud of her.  It's not everyone who can pull off the blue look and hold their head up in school for the entire day!