He Does Better When Challenged.

Dylan’s report card arrived while he was out of town. Exam grades hadn’t come out online, and we couldn’t know his exam – or final – grades any other way, so we opened it while he was gone.

I carried it into the living room, along with my reading glasses. Then I sat down and opened his report card.

I almost fell off the couch.

Dylan got all A’s and B’s on his exams. He got a C on his computer science project, which was also an “exam” grade, because he didn’t do the second part as per instructed. But he kept his B in Computer Science.

His final grades for the year are astoundingly good: 3 A’s, only one C (in Biology) – and all the rest B’s. In the Honors courses, those B’s are weighted, too, so his weighted GPA will go up. Most importantly, he took challenging classes and got these grades, so the colleges will know that he is willing to challenge himself.

Sometimes I forget that he does better when he’s challenged. Dylan prefers to use his brain. Unfortunately, he finds studying to be incredibly boring. He likes quizzing himself on the computer. But re-reading something once it’s been read? That’s too dull. Boredom is Dylan’s worst enemy.

In fact, when we were looking at his schedule for tenth grade, I asked him if he wanted to make it easier on himself.

“Do you want to drop out of Honors Government and just take regular U.S. Government?” I asked.

“NO!” he adamantly exclaimed. “Why would I want to do that?”

He wants to be challenged. He wants to do well – but he also wants to stay intellectually engaged. So that’s what he’ll be doing in the IBCP program. Next year, his classes include two honors courses and a college-level (AP) class. So he will, indeed, be challenged.

I can’t help but imagine what he might accomplish if he were to – someday – turn in his work on time.

Absolute miracles could happen.

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