3.6

My oldest son brought home his first report card of the year this week. His school breaks the year up into 4 week cycles, to give parents a better handle on their kid's progress, I guess.

So his GPA was a 3.6. "Hmm, look at that," I said.

"Is that good?" he asked, "I didn't do so good in writing."

He got a B in writing. Far be it from me to let him know I am thrilled with a B in writing, if he feels the need to get a better grade. "I'll do better next time since now I understand what he wants from us," he said.

"That'll be good," I said. I also told him that I thought a 3.6 GPA was fine. But really, given the fact that all they did in the first 4 weeks was PT(A), Health(B+), Writing(B), and Military Science(A) (which he was absent for most of due to hunting and was only "learning through life" and "construction math" --where they learned about converting fractions to decimals, and a few other VERY elementary math lessons), I can't get too excited yet.

This cycle they have added in History, Algebra II, and Chemistry/Physics. He is also teaching algebra I to his classmates. He seems to love it, which surprises me, given that he is so shy. In science he is one of 4 students (the rest are seniors) that are studying ballistics. He is going to do an experiment involving shooting off a rocket. I ordered his rocket a few days ago and he is very antsy for it to get here. His experiment will be distance traveled at different angles of trajectory. The inspiration for this project comes from watching the movie October Sky.

His dad and I tried to convince him to build a punkin chunkin cannon, but that was a no go. Probably best, since he has only a few weeks to finish the project.

I can't see this school lasting him much longer, and we will be looking into other options for next year. I want him to do well academically, but not at the expense of his learning. Doing well in an easy class is great for the ego, but I think if he keeps achieving without a struggle or challenge he will eventually get bored and stop working. Also, the school he is attending is full of screw ups and underachievers (sorry, but it is true) who think ALL schoolwork is dumb, boring, and a waste of time. How long can a good kid who is out to learn all he can be bombarded with that attitude before he picks it up himself?

When that happens, it will be time to move on.