Brilliant … But Bouncy

Dylan Has So Much Potential.

Many weeks after Dylan finished his year at private school, his report card arrived.

Dylan got 7 B’s, an A (in P.E.) and a C (in Spanish). For his high school transcript, which will eventually be sent to colleges, he has some hard-earned B’s in Algebra I and Physics.

When Dylan saw it, he could hardly contain his excitement or his disbelief: “I got a B average?!” In public school, this would have put him on the honor roll – again.

And he did it without the aid of any medication (except vitamins and amino acids). He pulled himself up – out of a deeply dug pit – with only two months to go, and brought up all of his grades – including what was a D in Physics and an F in Algebra I.

Not bad for a kid with raging ADHD who was, at one point, a major behavior problem!

The comments that come with Dylan’s report card are always interesting. We had two big surprises from the teachers this time.

First, and what kept me awake at night after we got the report card, was Dylan’s drama and music teacher. While he had all A’s and high B’s for three trimesters, she clubbed him in the knees and gave him a B for the year.

As usual, this comes from a teacher who has no patience for, or understanding of someone as bouncy as Dylan. By the end of the year, in spite of Dylan’s extreme talent in both music and drama, Dylan’s teacher simply couldn’t stand to be around him. (We know this because, during the last week of school, she sent Dylan to the office for beat-boxing only five minutes after someone else threw and smashed an apple against the wall and got only a minor warning.)

So when Dylan was paired with two other ADHD-diagnosed boys for the performance of one final Shakespearan scene, the teacher nearly lost her mind.

“Although he learned his lines, he would not rehearse the scene with his peers as needed. Unfortunately, that resulted in a lackluster final performance. He is very talented, but effective dramatic performances are developed through rehearsals.”

In other words, he knew what he was doing, but wouldn’t do it her way. Her seething came through loud and clear. She gave him a C on Shakespeare – and he thereby earned a B for the year.

But it was his 8th grade English teacher’s comments that shocked me most of all. Dylan had serious trouble turning in his work in English. It was last period – a deadly time for Dylan – and focusing was all but impossible. We’d had many meetings, and the teacher had not said a single nice word about Dylan all year.

So the English teacher’s final comments spoke volumes:

“Dylan has so much potential. His academic success is so dependent on his investment. He’s smart, talented and insightful.”

And that about sums it up.