I know things have been pretty slow around here for the past few days.
All of our children are homeschooled except our oldest son, Andrew. He attends a local Christian School and is in his Senior year. He has not been envolved in many extra-curricular activities, but has loved drama. He was in a play a couple of years ago and did a fantastic job. This year he tried out and was given the lead.
Andrew has Aspergers Syndrome. He is doing fantastic and is an amazing, brilliant, blessing in our lives. He has struggled mightily socially, but in recent years he has experienced some great successes. Trying out and earning the lead part in the play was a huge success for him. It was thrilling to both himself and his parents.
I wish I had a picture of his face when he came home from school and told me he had the lead.
Andrew has an ILP (independent learning plan), but for some reason, the paperwork is not sent out to the teachers until late in October. This year, his grades were calculated wrongly, and at mid marking period, he was wrongly withheld from rehearsals, was told by the director of the play that he could not be counted on, and another child was chosen to practice his part.
We had been in China and only home for a short time when all of this transpired. I did what I could to right the situation. His grades were recalculated, but the damage had been done. The director continually took him out of practice to further groom the other boy for the part. She was negative and punitive, and to make a long story short, has destroyed his confidence and ability to perform.
The school leaders have never taken responsibility for what they have done. They have chosen to support their positions and defend themselves. They have never apologized to Andrew or made any effort to correct the wrong that was done. I have written before about the choices the school has made and chosen to defend in a post called, Angry, and a follow up post, An Addendum.
I share this to say that the struggles are not new, but we have chosen to continue our oldest son’s education at this school because of the relationships he has there.
We all fall short, but I have never seen a school where the parent’s concerns and requests are less honored and considered.
This weekend, Andrew made the decision to take himself out of the play. It was a heartbreaking decision for him and for us, but I know God will use this painful, unfair experience for good in Andrew’s life.
So much of life is not fair, but learning to press through those situations grows our faith and our relationship to God. We are praying that Andrew will give this disappointment to God, and trust Him to make it good in his life.
Needless to say, though, we’ve all been rather bummed around here, and the words just haven’t rolled off my tongue like they usually do.
I’ll be updating about the girls soon, as there is always so much to say!
Blessings!
Oh, Diane! I’m so sorry! I can only imagine how sad and frustrated your momma’s heart is for Andrew. We want SO much to shelter them from hurt. 🙁
I will be praying for your Andrew.
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So frustrating. Our son is ADD and we have struggled for years. Prejudices against his learning processes in the local christian Academy. Robert has slow processing speed. Even with “discovery” classes (special ed) and me tutoring him in the evenings, he struggled. He repeated 3rd grade, and continued to struggle. His test scores are too high for an IEP in public schools. So we had an IEP while in the “discovery” classes at LCA, but he accomplished all his goals there. so no “discovery” no modifications, until we agreed to not enroll him there this year.
As you can imagine, frustration, aggrivation, and anger. My husband is still angry. What I have had to remember, is that God has a purpose for everything.
This year, Robert is enrolled at KORE academy. Kids Obtaining Real Education. They meet the kids where they are, and work up from there. Robert’s retesting proved that he is smart. Word recognition = freshman college level, Reading = 8th grade level. Math = 5th-6th grade level. this quarter, he had 4 A’s and 4 B’s. It is so good to see him happy/smiling/making friends/ and not struggling.
God has a purpose for Andrew’s decision, just like God has a purpose for Robert’s slow processing. I just wanted you to know I understand.
I am so sorry, Diane. How heart-breaking for Andrew! Will be praying for you all.
What the enemy has meant for harm, God will turn for the good of Andrew. Yet, I know your heart aches. Praying for you…
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