Report Cards and Sports

Cameron has a "C" in Social Studies. This would not be much of an issue for most families but it brought Cameron to tears when he had to tell me.

John and I have set a policy with our sons that they have to have "A's and B's" in school or THEY ARE NOT ALLOWED TO PLAY SPORTS!

Sound harsh? I suppose on the surface, but by way of explanation you have to understand what we're dealing with.

Cameron has been identified as gifted in every area except Math (the irony is that math is his favorite subject!) - his IQ is 143! Now I expect that is an exaggerated number but I do know he read the Dune series of books in 5th grade, so that must make him pretty smart.

When the school called me a few years ago to share Cameron's gifted designation, I said - "I think you have the wrong son"! Jackson has ALWAYS been an exceptional learner. He could take a blank map of the U.S. and tell you all the States and their captitals - in 1st GRADE! Then, of course, his spelling ability. His memory retention is astounding - I thank Aspergers for this - who would think we would ever be thankful for Aspergers?!? Of course, none of this classifies him as gifted but he's pretty damn brilliant in my eyes!

So - because of these traits, Cameron and Jackson are expected to do well in school. If they aren't, it is simply a matter of effort. Caeden, my dear sweet baby, puts in more effort in school than both of his brothers - combined - but he usually gets B's and C's. So we placed a caveat on our 'C' rule - if you've shown your best effort, we can negotiate.

Cameron did not show his best effort in Social Studies - missing assignments and not studying for tests. But here's the rub - he knew he screwed up big time. He took full responsibility. He promised he would get high honors in ALL subjects the next nine weeks (straight A's). He was in tears...

As this was the first time we had to enforce our rule, we had to step back and re-evaluate. If we told him he couldn't wrestle now - with two weeks left in the season - it would hurt his team tremendously. If we told him he couldn't play baseball, it could jeopardize his whole season on this select team. There was one sport left...Track and Field.

So here's the plan - he needs to get at least 90% in Social Studies (a high B) and all other subjects this next period, or he cannot go out for Track. He still says he's going for High Honors to prove to himself what he can do! (I'm smiling inside at this one...)

By the way - Jackson has High Honors...and Caeden? His first report card without a C! You go baby...