The Letter

Yesterday, I received a letter in the mail from my son's high school. I have to tell you, he has a history of getting letters from the high school. It is never good news. Progress reports, notices of absences, you name it, I've gotten it. So, everytime I see a letter address To The Parents Of...my stomach does a little flip-flop. So what is it now? It's a big envelope. Perhaps it's from the guidance counselors, inquiring about his college plans. College plans...hmmm...is that even in the works? Let's see -- he has a "C" average at best. I don't understand this either. In grade school, he had A's & B's. As he got older, his hormones hit, a social life came into play, and school work went straight out the window. So, no, I don't think it's the counselors writing for his college plans.

I slowly lift the seal, take a deep breath, and pull out the contents. I read quickly, so as to get the pain over with as fast as possible. Hmmmm, no mention of progress reports. That's good. No absence reports. WHAT IS THIS?! I read on. "Your son has received an award" -- my eyes go back. "Award?" Now, THAT'S something new! I re-read -- "Your son has received an AWARD for having a high score on the MAP tests that were taken last spring." He is a "MAP SCHOLAR". Oh my God! A scholar, no less!! I have no clue what all this means other than he's not in trouble and perhaps he is taking school more seriously. Oh, and he gets an I.D. card that gets him free Homecoming Dance tickets and free admission to all sporting events. Yeah, let's make sure he NEVER gets a good grade again!

THEN, a voice whispers in my ear..."How come a kid who has such BAD grades has such HIGH test scores?" "Hmmmm, this voice has a point. What the heck is going on? So, I question the boy. And I find myself actually scolding him for getting a good test score. This doesn't bode well for me. I think I'm going at this from the wrong angle.

I have to admit, he had not one, but two tough acts to follow. His older sisters consistently got good grades. He has one sister who studied her butt off to get good grades, and the other never even picked up a book throughout school, other than for Pre-Calc, and managed to graduate with a 3.9 GPA. And it didn't help that in middle school, he had the EXACT same teachers as his sisters. Boy, were they ever surprised when they got him!

By his own confession, the boy gets lousy grades because he's lazy and doesn't like to do his work, much less turn it in. However, this test also confirms what I've known for years. The boy's a flippin' genius. He just doesn't like to apply himself.

If only I can get him to turn in his college application! As I told my husband the other day -- "Wouldn't it be funny if he was the one who actually got the college scholarships?"