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THERE ARE WORSE THING THEN A BAD REPORT CARD
Recently I received an email from a very upset mother concerned with the welfare of her sixteen year old son Adam. She was cleaning his bedroom and was astonished to see that the bed was made and everything was neat and tidy. Then she saw a note attached to his pillow. With the worst premonition she opened the envelope.
"Dear mom and dad,"
"It is with great regret and sorrow that I am writing to you because I wanted to try and avoid an argument. I have run away with my new girlfriend Dolly, I have developed a real love for her. She is oh so nice. I am afraid that you will not approve of her because she is 36 years old."
"Please try to understand that it is not all about sex. She is pregnant with my twins and we are expecting in six months."
"Folks, please don’t worry. I know that I am only sixteen but I am confident that I can take care of myself. I hope that real soon we can get back home to visit so you can get to know Dolly and your grandchildren?."
"Love always,
Your loving son,
Adam"
"P.S. None of the above is true".
" I am over at grandmas . I just wanted you to know that there are worst things then my bad report card which you can find on top of my desk." Please call me when it is ok to come home."
Folks your son/daughter’s poor report card is not the end. There still is hope-Summer school.
By the time you read this column your high school age children will have written their final exams. Does your son/daughter have acceptable grades? If in doubt call the school and speak to the teacher/guidance counsellor asap.
The vast majority of youngsters I have counselled have thoroughly enjoyed their time at summer school. The atmosphere is on the whole relaxed with teachers and students working in unison to earn/upgrade a credit.
Poor attendance has never been a problem at summer school. Students are allowed to miss a maximum of three classes and then you are out. Often times habitual skippers in the regular school year do very well at summer school.
Students can concentrate on one course and as a result they do very well. Last year the retention rate was 90% and the successful completion of courses was an amazing 80%.
The Thames/Catholic District School Boards offer New & Improvement Credit courses. Please take a moment and check out their web sites: Thames Valley www.tvdsb.on.ca, Catholic www.cfll.on.ca
Last year hundreds of high school students attended summer school and the majority did quite well No line ups in the Fall outside of Student Services to try and fix timetables.
Parents should talk to their children and contact the teachers to see if summer school is a good option for their children.
Eight weeks away from school for most young people can be very boring and counter productive to learning. We are no longer an agrarian society where our young people are needed to till the fields. Sleeping in past noon or spending countless hours in front of the computer screen or television set doesn’t lead to creativity. In my opinion summer school is a very viable alternative.
http://www.tvdsb.on.ca
http://www.dfll.on.ca
http://www.cfll.on.ca
Len Lesser