Hellobee

Mr. Chocolate told me this past summer that second grade would be a tough year for Drake. I didn’t really think too much about it in truth because Drake did so well in 1st grade. He is a generally bright boy and my personal experience had second grade as one of my favorite years in elementary school. Schools, however, have changed a lot since I last was in one and as curriculum and testing have grown in complexity and frequency, second grade has become a big year of preparation for all the standardized testing that begins in grade 3. Still I had confidence second grade wouldn’t be much different than first grade in the end.

One month in now, I can understand what Mr. Chocolate was saying. We are having a bit of a rough start with second grade. Between a few notes from the teacher about incomplete class work, to seeing more S grades vs E grades which we had on everything last year, to small points taken off tests and grades for careless mistakes, it’s been a little overwhelming, disappointing, as well as eye opening in some ways. While I was a little naive in thinking Drake would coast through his school years, I also am wondering about the direction of help he might need as he gets older.

Most of the issues we are encountering now I feel are more related to Drake’s lack of focus and attention than his actual understanding of second grade material. One time he was sent home to complete some class work he didn’t finish as he missed an entire page when turning. Many of his mistakes in math I attribute more to rushing and carelessness rather than actual inability to answer the questions. Every ding he has been hit with on spelling and reading tests have to do with missed punctuation, forgotten capitalize letters, and poor penmanship. Sitting next to a seven year old and making them rewrite a word because of legibility is about as joyous as it sounds for both parent and child. Part of me absolutely hates it as much as Drake does.

My own personal view is that this kind of nitpicking kills the joy and expression of learning and creativity, especially in writing where I love seeing how Drake takes the topic and makes it his own. It’s something I have loved watchingexpand as he grows.  Now I find he almost shies away from trying to make longer more intricate passages because he knows he will inevitably have mistakes along the way. When you are seven, seeing five spelling and grammar mistakes you need to correct easily looks like an extra hour of work easy. It’s a struggle for me in wanting to allow him the freedom to tell the stories and worry less about the nitty gritty, while also acknowledging the fact that he does need to learn how to properly write as well. With math it’s the same struggles of trying to get him to write out his work and use his hands still instead of trying to plow ahead as fast as he can doing all the work in his mind.  

The biggest thing though I am contemplating these days is whether Drake’s attention is becoming a larger issue for him as the material and work mounts. So far since kindergarten Drake has had a 504 documenting his sensory issues as well as his ADHD and noted suggestions to help him if he needs it in the classroom. To date nothing has really been necessary as he has managed to work fine and do well without issue. His teacher and I have been in contact since I have been seeing the increased issues and she maintains the same view I have — most of Drake’s struggles come from his attention span rather than the content or his ability to understand the material. He will eventually start to become conscious of the things like capitalization. The larger issues of him skipping directions or daydreaming and running out of time to finish work though are a different story. So far his teacher said she works with him daily on focus and he might need a longer period of time to adjust back to being in school again.

For now I have decided to heed her advice and let it be and allow her to guide and help him in his school hours. I trust in her ability as a teacher to recognize his needs in her classroom and to help him do as best as he can when he is with her. Still I won’t say that the thought of medication for Drake hasn’t crossed my mind for the first time since his diagnosis. It might not be necessary this year, but seeing these struggles now that it may be likely that we will be crossing that path in the coming years. For now I’m hopeful and optimistic that Drake will bounce back soon after this rough beginning. He still has a zest for learning and is more conscious of the expectations his teacher and I both have for him and has been working harder to meet them. He is still as bright, inquisitive, and resourceful and I hope he really takes to second grade the same way I did. I’m content for now to see how things play out and open to the idea of larger changes if it does come to them.