Oct

19

Parent - Teacher Conference

October 19, 2004 |

Today was our conference with Nick’s teacher. Conferences are so different now than they were with sd. God we used to dread those. They would make us feel like we were the children, as though we were failures and losers because of all of her problems. Jeff used to get so pissed because the root of sd’s problems were her mom choosing not to be in her life, but we were the ones taking the heat.

Now we look forward to going and we get to hear how great Nick is. Who wouldn’t love that? Today though, today was extra special. Nick has always been a very bright kid. He has also been blessed with what my Mom would call “Personality Plus”. So he’s not just some geeky kid :lol:

We enrolled Nicholas in school a year early because of how far reaching his aptitude was at the time. We have second-guessed that decision ever since for social and developmental issues, never intellectual ones. We were simply afraid that he would get very bored and then become a behavior problem, experiences both my husband and I had in school.

Today the two most poignant moments for me during that conference were when:

  1. Nick’s teacher described him as socially very well adjusted. “He’s everyone’s buddy. They all love him.”
  2. Nicks teacher referred to him as the most “cerebral child” she’s had in one of her classes in a long time. “Cerebral” wow!

Nick has some challenges too. There are issues with writing that have always been there, those need work. He has the mechanical writing skills of a 1st grader but the thoughts of a child much older than him. And this really frustrates him. He has a really hard time getting his thoughts on paper as his brain is moving infinitely faster than his hand and he eventually gives up and shuts down. His teacher has introduced him to this method of brainstorming called hurricane thinking. It’s simply about writing down one or two words for each thought you come up with randomly so that something is there to trigger the idea and it all can be better organized at a later time. I think this will work well with him.

He also has focus issues but it was funny how his teacher characterized them. “Some kids lose focus and just go nowhere, there’s nothing there (pointing to her head). But with Nick though its this whole world of thoughts and ideas and questions in his head that he goes to when I don’t challenge him enough. You don’t mind those kinds of focus issues.” He has a whole world in his head - huh.

So my child is “cerebral”. God I love that word. I always knew he was a chip off the old block :wink:


Comments

7 Comments so far

  1. Mrs. Diamond on October 19, 2004 10:38 pm

    Woohoo… way to go Nick…and mommy and daddy! :razz:

  2. Andrea on October 19, 2004 11:17 pm

    Go NICK! You smart cookie, you!

  3. Amy on October 19, 2004 11:57 pm

    Gosh your son is doing so well. Good for him!
    Awesome!
    :mrgreen:

  4. Autumn on October 20, 2004 12:48 am

    What a smart cookie you have Jules! Everything will come in time!
    Have a great night!:razz:

  5. turtlemama on October 20, 2004 11:10 am

    YAY for Nick!!!!!! It’s so nice when someone from the ‘outside’ tells you what a good job you’re doing, isn’t it? :-)

  6. Michele on October 20, 2004 11:57 am

    That’s awesome!! Good for Nick, and good for you mom and dad!:mrgreen:

  7. VJ on October 21, 2004 10:52 pm

    That’s so great to hear! Make sure you stay very involved with his schooling so that he will continue to be challenged. If only all teachers are as perceptive as Nick’s is. I hope that he never encounters a tired, burnt out teacher that doesn’t care.

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