I should have written this post a very long time ago, it's been on my mind for months.
Justice is a really great student. He's never scored anything less than an A in any subject, and he works his skinny tail off for those grades. He consistently scores at the 12th grade level on his periodic tests at school, and does well on state testing. While he is very smart, the grades don't necessarily come easy to him because of his ADHD. He constantly struggles to stay organized and focused on studying in the evenings long after his ADHD medication wears off. There are lots of tears, and plenty of frustration. What he really has going for him is that he really enjoys school, and he likes to learn. His brain is a little sponge, and he loves to fill it up with random knowledge. He also likes to win, at any cost. He sees school as a contest, and since he likes to win he works really hard to do just that. And it has definitely paid off. He is a serious kid, attending all the parent/teacher conferences with us at his insistence, and asking most of the questions. His teachers love him to pieces, and he loves them in return.
Right around Christmas time, Justice was invited to participate in Duke Universities "Talent Identification Program" for academically gifted youth in grades 4-8 throughout the United States. He was selected based on his Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) score of 99. He was so happy and excited, and I was happy and excited for him. While he is in his elementary school's "Enrichment Program" aka "Saturday School", (or "Nerd Camp" as I affectionately call it), it hasn't been enough for him. And although he doesn't seem to mind, who really wants to spend every Saturday in school? Not I said the gal that never liked school.
Through this program, he is afforded the opportunity to take online classes that really stretch his imagination and his limits. They are wonderful classes and he has learned so much and enjoyed every minute of them. As an example, the first class he took was a math class about WWII "code-breakers" and it was so interesting that I pretty much took it with him. It was really involved and taught him how to encipher and decipher codes and create and use excel spreadsheets. When summer break begins, he will start a spanish class and also take a keyboarding class. He is very excited about both of those.
He also had the opportunity to take the EXPLORE-ACT test, which is basically an ACT "primer" for gifted 8th grade students. I was really looking forward to this test, because it was going to give him a nationally ranked academic score rather than just a score based on other students in the state of Tennessee. I wasn't convinced that just because he was scoring a 99 on our state testing that he could hold his own against some of the other states in the country. I was really disappointed in Shandi's high school education from this state. She consistently scored high on everything, and graduated with honors. Then she went to college, and was completely unprepared and couldn't hack it. She even acknowledges now that she pretty much bribed her way through high school with cupcakes and dry-erase markers. And it set her up for failure, big time. And I was blind-sided.
We studied for the test for about a month prior to taking it. He was as ready as he was going to get, and wow was he nervous. I explained to him that it really wasn't a big deal, but his competitive nature doesn't allow that sort of talk to get through his brain.
We had to drive an hour to a high school in Memphis that was sponsoring the test. When we walked in it was pretty clear he was one of the youngest test-takers in the building. I don't think he noticed. The people were very nice, and made him feel at ease and he eventually calmed down and was called back into the classroom for testing. That was my cue to leave, and I was told to be back in several hours to pick him up. When I did, he was a frazzled MESS. His little brain was FRIED to the tenth power. He was also very upset. One portion of the test he didn't finish in time and had to leave some questions blank. I explained to him once again that the test was designed for 8th graders, and he was only in 5th grade and it was OK that he didn't finish it.
I took him to lunch. He didn't eat very much, he was seriously spent.
He was pretty cute when we left the school.
Justice: "Mom, did you see all those nerds there"?
Me (laughing): "Yes, it was a pretty serious nerd-fest".
And THEN he said
"I think I was the only non-nerd in the building"!!!
Seriously? Hahahahaha! He's clearly a nerd in denial, poor little guy.
It took six weeks for his results to come back, and around the four week mark he started to stalk the mailman pretty hard. I was really nervous, it was obvious that he was going to have a meltdown if he didn't do well. Remember the post about the spelling bee, where he was a slobbering mess on the floor after school? This was far more important to him than that, so I had no idea how he was going to take any bad news.
But, he did just fine. What I didn't realize is that he would be ranked against the 8th graders taking the test, not fellow 5th graders. So, it didn't exactly give me the information I was looking for. But it was still a good benchmark for where he is at across the nation.
Ranked against 8th grade students in the country, he scored in the 75th percentile in math and science, and in the 53rd percentile in English and Reading. I personally thought that was awesome for a 5th grader. But he immediately freaked out and started to cry about the English and Reading scores, until I once again for the forty-fifth time explained to him that he was ranked against 8th graders and not 5th graders. I think he expected to do better, but he got over it.
I am very thankful that school and grades are so important to him. Sometimes I do wish he would enjoy life a little more and worry a little less, but I am very grateful he cares so much. I hope and pray once he gets in middle school next year that he continues to put a strong emphasis on his education. Until then though, he's really looking forward to learning spanish and how to type this summer.
It really bothers him when people of all ages say "It must be nice" about him being smart, as if he puts no effort into it at all. He has a pretty severe case of ADHD and really works hard to earn the grades he does and to keep himself organized at school. In addition to school, he plays several sports and is also a Boy Scout, so he is really active and busy. I've seen him struggle mightily with homework and studying for tests. There have been meltdowns, temper tantrums, and many happy times too. But using his ADHD as a crutch is something he has never done. He strives to not let it define him, and although he qualifies for it, he's never had to have an Individualized Education Program (IEP) at school. I am very proud of him for working so hard.
Great job little guy. Keep your chin up and keep up the good work. You set a wonderful example for your little brother (soon to be brothers).
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