Last night was frustrating
I went to tutor Enrique last night. I picked him up, and we went to two libraries that were closed before I figured out that it must be because of St. Pat's day. Fuckin' A, man, even BANKS are open! Do these idiots close for Cinco de Mayo, too? Arbor Day? Anyhow, no library was available, so we went to the food court at the mall.
We managed to get a little of his math done (fill in the chart blanks stuff), it was about fruit and how much it costs. I tried to get the concept of different coins being worth different amounts to sink into his head, but he only paid attention and tried to understand for a minute or two before making some SWAGs (silly, not scientific) at how many pennies a nickel is worth. I asked him if he wanted me to keep helping him or if he wanted to go home. He said "home", and off we went. I was kind of pissed by this time, but I made a point of not taking it out on him. He doesn't know any better, and it's not his fault that his understanding of money is at about the same level as my skill at transforming lead to gold. He was tired and I was frustrated, so we'd done enough for the night.
I talked with his mom when we got back. I asked her if his teacher was going to socially promote him, and she thinks so. GOD DAMN IT! I really don't think that should happen. It's become clear that he lags far behind where a 1st grader should be and he hasn't done much of his homework over the past school year. His life has been so unstable this school year that it would be a miracle if he were able to keep up. He's not gaining the skills he needs to do well in 2nd grade, and I fear that he will not catch up, will be branded the "dumb" kid, and will drop out of school before he graduates. He's not dumb. He just needs more than he's been getting. He's pretty hyper, and I also think he may be dyslexic. I don't have the skills or knowledge to make a diagnosis, but lots of the letters and numbers he writes are mirror images. Also, when writing a two digit number, 14, for example, he will start with the 4.
Well, fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck! All I can do is keep on working with him to the best of my ability. I'll have to lean on mom a little to get him evaluated at his school. Beyond that, I don't know what I can do. I want him to succeed, but I don't think he has the right tools at his disposal to do that.
Okay, okay, I know. Think happy thoughts. Poker, yeah, that's happy! I'm playing the monthly tonight. Should be fun.
Note to self: Be the 500 lb. gorilla, not the chimp in the corner throwing feces at the glass.
We managed to get a little of his math done (fill in the chart blanks stuff), it was about fruit and how much it costs. I tried to get the concept of different coins being worth different amounts to sink into his head, but he only paid attention and tried to understand for a minute or two before making some SWAGs (silly, not scientific) at how many pennies a nickel is worth. I asked him if he wanted me to keep helping him or if he wanted to go home. He said "home", and off we went. I was kind of pissed by this time, but I made a point of not taking it out on him. He doesn't know any better, and it's not his fault that his understanding of money is at about the same level as my skill at transforming lead to gold. He was tired and I was frustrated, so we'd done enough for the night.
I talked with his mom when we got back. I asked her if his teacher was going to socially promote him, and she thinks so. GOD DAMN IT! I really don't think that should happen. It's become clear that he lags far behind where a 1st grader should be and he hasn't done much of his homework over the past school year. His life has been so unstable this school year that it would be a miracle if he were able to keep up. He's not gaining the skills he needs to do well in 2nd grade, and I fear that he will not catch up, will be branded the "dumb" kid, and will drop out of school before he graduates. He's not dumb. He just needs more than he's been getting. He's pretty hyper, and I also think he may be dyslexic. I don't have the skills or knowledge to make a diagnosis, but lots of the letters and numbers he writes are mirror images. Also, when writing a two digit number, 14, for example, he will start with the 4.
Well, fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck! All I can do is keep on working with him to the best of my ability. I'll have to lean on mom a little to get him evaluated at his school. Beyond that, I don't know what I can do. I want him to succeed, but I don't think he has the right tools at his disposal to do that.
Okay, okay, I know. Think happy thoughts. Poker, yeah, that's happy! I'm playing the monthly tonight. Should be fun.
Note to self: Be the 500 lb. gorilla, not the chimp in the corner throwing feces at the glass.
posted by Cut Card 4 at 12:50 PM
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