School is Dylan’s Albatross.
After a glorious weekend of stardom, Dylan’s life has returned to normal today.
The end of the quarter is upon us and – just last week, during all of those dress rehearsals – three of his grades have dropped to C’s. To make matters worse, I inadvertently had him re-do an assignment that, I thought, would help him bring his grade up – but his teacher and I had some miscommunication about that. Dylan wasted an hour re-doing something that can’t get a new grade.
I’ve emailed his teachers and his case manager about homework assignments that, for whatever reason, simply never surfaced. I’ve had to explain the purpose of the signature sheet, which Dylan has been using quite regularly and has gotten signatures galore. But the teachers have only been focused on what’s due the next day – not on what’s due when he’s standing right in front of them. (Silly teachers; they think he knows what’s due, since it’s written down on the sheet he’s holding!)
I can’t tell you the number of times that, this weekend particularly, I thought about Dylan’s future. Most people who major in music end up as music teachers. I know this. But listening to Dylan sing, and knowing that he would be a pretty non-traditional teacher (to put it mildly), I can’t help but think that maybe he’s actually going to end up doing what he loves.
I don’t necessarily believe that Dylan will be a performer, although I wouldn’t rule it out. But I believe he can work in the music industry, in some capacity, and be incredibly happy with his job.
And I think he can be happy with his life.
School is Dylan’s albatross. Since first grade, he’s had to shoulder this great burden, just because it’s the law. He may have been happier if he’d been homeschooled. He may have been more fulfilled in a Montessori program. But I didn’t think I could provide him with the education he’s getting now, and we couldn’t afford the Montessori schools around here – so here he is, in public school, chugging along with his ADHD and all that comes with teen life.
And in spite of it all, in two days, he may end up on the honor roll again.
We shall see.