It’s Monday morning and Billy wakes up complaining about a stomachache. Typical…this is how most Mondays start during the school year. His mom and dad have tried all the tricks to get Billy to school without a battle and tears. They’ve tried playing, teasing and tickling him. They have dangled rewards in front of him. But, as usual, the morning ends with demanding that Billy get up and get ready for school. He refuses to eat breakfast, and he’s dragged out the door crying, “I don’t want to go to school! I hate school! It’s too hard. Please, Mommy, I just want to stay home.”
Mom drops Billy off at school. It’s heartbreaking. As soon as he closes the car door, the tears start to flow. What is she going to do? Billy is a smart little boy and has always enjoyed school until this year. Third grade has been tough, and she thinks, “If third grade is this hard, what are we going to do when he gets to fifth, sixth or middle school?” As she drives away from school her thoughts continue, “We’ve tried everything…tutoring, expensive supplements, sitting near the front close to the teacher, more time spent on homework, and the school says he doesn’t qualify for help. We are almost halfway through the year. What’s going to happen to him?”
Monday mornings. It is the worst day of the week for kids who struggle with learning and Fridays are the best because “Whew! The week is over! No school for two days!” We hear this story over and over at Pathfinders and the truth is: That Billy is telling the truth and you need to listen. There IS a problem and school IS too hard. Tutoring or pushing Billy harder will not stop the problem. What will help is to FIX the learning skills or train the underlying processing skills. Until the weak skills are identified and trained, the pain and frustration will continue.
Brenda
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