Our academic desires for him move far beyond ability. It is really important to us that Michael reach his full potential. We are obviously bias, but this kid is sharp. He is inquisitive and creative. He also has so much energy! We have already had one or two teachers in his short academic career refer to him as "having trouble focusing," or say that it is very difficult for him to "sit still."
I have three fears for his academic progress:
1. When you are really bright and ahead of your peers, it is very easy for you to stop trying. If being good comes easy to you, why ever push yourself to be exceptional? Why work really hard for a B+ in Honors when I can get an A in the regular class? Why do the extra credit or the homework when I know I'll ace the test? I want to ensure that Myki doesn't become complacent.
2. I don't want anyone giving Myki a pass on performing academically. References to tons of energy are usually a gateway comment to, "maybe he has ADHD" or "boys mature later." While these things may be true, it's not ok to let a little boy get away with things a girl can't. Or to let someone with more energy bounce around the room while the other kids are learning. I don't want Myki to think anything less than focus is ok. He needs to learn to know that there is a time and place for all kinds of behavior.
3. He'll just get lost in the shuffle or fly under the radar. In one of Michael's classes, there was a little boy who just got in trouble everyday. He was putting his hands on other kids, not listening to the teacher, just out of control. His mom and I would arrive to pick the kids up around the same time and guess which of us was more engaged by the teacher? The troublemaker's mom. The teacher would have a 20 minute conversation with her. If I arrived first and tried to engage her on Myki's progress, she would cut me short when the other mom arrived; "Michael's doing really well. Have a great night!" Teachers have large classes and often, not enough resources. While I understand that, I want to be sure my son never falls through the cracks. Knowing him and challenging him are important to his development, both at home and at school.
I have three fears for his academic progress:
1. When you are really bright and ahead of your peers, it is very easy for you to stop trying. If being good comes easy to you, why ever push yourself to be exceptional? Why work really hard for a B+ in Honors when I can get an A in the regular class? Why do the extra credit or the homework when I know I'll ace the test? I want to ensure that Myki doesn't become complacent.
2. I don't want anyone giving Myki a pass on performing academically. References to tons of energy are usually a gateway comment to, "maybe he has ADHD" or "boys mature later." While these things may be true, it's not ok to let a little boy get away with things a girl can't. Or to let someone with more energy bounce around the room while the other kids are learning. I don't want Myki to think anything less than focus is ok. He needs to learn to know that there is a time and place for all kinds of behavior.
3. He'll just get lost in the shuffle or fly under the radar. In one of Michael's classes, there was a little boy who just got in trouble everyday. He was putting his hands on other kids, not listening to the teacher, just out of control. His mom and I would arrive to pick the kids up around the same time and guess which of us was more engaged by the teacher? The troublemaker's mom. The teacher would have a 20 minute conversation with her. If I arrived first and tried to engage her on Myki's progress, she would cut me short when the other mom arrived; "Michael's doing really well. Have a great night!" Teachers have large classes and often, not enough resources. While I understand that, I want to be sure my son never falls through the cracks. Knowing him and challenging him are important to his development, both at home and at school.
I know that academics are a priority to most parents. How do you impact your child(ren)'s learning? We are spending the summer focusing on fine motor skills and writing. We have daily goals in a workbook and are trying to get Myki used to the idea that each morning and afternoon, he needs to sit down and do a few pages in this workbook before he can do anything fun like TV or the pool. Sometimes I worry that we are pushing too hard, he is only four after all. But then I think of my worries above and feel reassured that focusing on his academics now will help him be as great as I know he can be.
