Freaking Out!

I didn't realize how smoothly our homeschool learning system was working...until Thursday.

When I got home from work, Z was freaking out. He was certain that he'd never be able to pass his Driver's Ed class. He was struggling with coming up with 4 questions, that weren't in the book's quiz, about the chapter he was reading. This required Z's brain to be in 3 places at once; reading the material, remembering the book's questions, and trying to find new questions about the chapter. Z's ADD kicked in, and he was totally frustrated.

We have spent the last 3 years of homeschooling getting Z to concentrate on ONE thing at a time. ADD requires this. He needs to home in on the single task at hand or his attention span flies out the window. This is a skill Z acquired in the past 6 months. It's a new skill that hasn't quite become 2nd nature to Z yet. Re-entering a classroom setting, where the class jumps all over in the material, does NOT work for Z. His brain NEEDS to complete an idea, before it jumps to the next. He can't return to the original idea and complete it later.

In addition, the teacher covers some of the chapters in class by having the kids read the chapters aloud. Z was appalled at how poorly a lot of the kids read. It was painful! While these kids are haltingly reading the material, Z's ADD brain focuses on their mistakes, not the content of the material.

I also have the feeling that Z is inhibiting his tics while in class. I realize that he has a natural desire to be like everybody else, and fears ridicule. BUT, inhibiting tics requires a lot of his attention. ADD doesn't give Z much attention to spare.

Z has always had a hard time picking out the important facts in his reading assignments. He needs to take in the assignment as a whole Only then can his brain process the information and arrive at a logical conclusion. This may be an OCD trait, rather than ADD, but it's still the only way he can function for now.

Z also has dysgraphia, a common TS/ADD trait. Handwriting is painfully slow for him. By the time a thought has traveled from his brain to his hand, another thought has popped into his overactive brain. At home, we have conquered this problem with keyboarding. Z's typing skills are amazing, and allow him to quickly get his thoughts on paper. Dysgraphia makes it almost impossible for Z to answer essay questions. Even single word answers are difficult for him. He has no problem with true/false or multiple choice questions. I don't foresee Z having ANY problem passing our state's written driver's exam, as the questions are all true/false and multiple choice. His Driver's Ed class is another story. The teacher uses ALL essay or written answer questions. Z got 8/10 correct on his last quiz. I think this is quite good for him. The teacher says this is a failing grade. WHAT?! Since when is 80% a failing grade?!

All of these minor problems, added together, tend to send Z into panic mode. When Z's stress level spikes, memory and attention span fly out the window! Z NEEDS to remain calm and focused, despite the distractions of a classroom setting.

Together, we have developed a plan. Z will work ahead of his class at home, where he can concentrate. His classroom instruction will only serve as a review of the material he has already learned. I told Z to remain calm and do his best on the quizzes. If he continues to score 80%, I WON'T let the teacher fail him. The law says that Z needs to complete 30 hours of classroom instruction and pass the state's written driver's exam in order to get his learner's permit. The law says NOTHING about passing classroom quizzes. Z is putting in his time and has learned the material in the book. If necessary, I will demand another quiz format for Z. I hope it doesn't come to this as Z says I tend to piss off teachers. It's not that I'm confrontational. It's that our teachers don't like to think outside the box, or admit that parents may know more about their kid's abilities than they do. It's a power trip thing, and I DON'T DO power trips!

Homeschooling has taught Z something that the other kids don't do...Z learns from his mistakes! When Z answers a question wrong on his quizzes, he goes back to the book and learns why he got the question wrong. He won't make the same mistake twice! Believe me, Z won't be getting behind the wheel until L and I are convinced that he understands the rules of the road and safe driving practices. WE are Z's final exam!

The one good thing that has come from this experience is Z's response: "This is the 2nd most important time that I've been soooo grateful to be homeschooled! Thanks for doing this for me Mom and Dad!"