THIS is Plan B?!

I'm going to be as vague as possible here because (and this is where I drip with sarcasm) apparently I AGREED that this is to be kept quite. So, shhhh, this is "the exception and not the rule". The fact is, I agreed to NOTHING. I wasn't even consulted.

In an effort to keep Jeff in school, his schedule has been adjusted. There, was that vague enough? Don't worry. For those of you that are curious, keep reading.

I can only imagine that Jeff either completely manipulated the meeting by totally breaking down emotionally or he simply threatened to quit school right then and there. He's not above it and I've seen it before. But without even a phone call to me (by either Jeff OR the school), Plan B has been drafted and scheduled for implementation.

Let me stop right here to say that I wholeheartedly believe that the principal (maybe the whole administration) truly cares for Jeff and wants to do good by him. Really, I do. I just disagree with their way of going about it. And I don't appreciate being left out of the process. But truth be told, Jeff will be a legal adult in four months and four days. So, in no time at all, he'll be able to make this decision on his own. But this is not January 22, 2009.

To the best of my knowledge, and that's sketchy at best, Jeff hates it at LHS because some of the kids that used to be his friends are now picking on him, calling him names. My response to this is, "so what?!" Welcome to the world. Not everyone in the world is going to like you. You're going to have to learn to deal with it. Not everyone that USED to be your friend will ALWAYS be your friend.

So if the problem is that he's being picked on by other students, then how can THIS be the solution. Either correct those students' behavior or adjust Jeff's reaction to it. And since we don't know who the other students are because Jeff won't tell us, Jeff is the one that has to adjust.

If he was physically or emotionally unable to be at school for seven hours a day, I could understand shortening his day. If he was academically or intellectually unable to pass his classes, I could understand giving him a lighter load. But the way I see it, this shortening his day and letting him take easier classes, making his senior year practically cursory, is SO NOT the solution to this problem. This is doing NOTHING to prepare him for life after high school.

But hey, that's just me. I'm just the mom. And the kid is just a minor. (Ouch, the word 'just' in three sentences in a row. None of my writing teachers would be impressed.)

Okay, granted, it's better than him quitting school. But on a scale of 1-10, this still hits at about a 3 for me.

I wonder what would have happened if we'd simply called his bluff. If he was threatening to quit, make him go through the motions. Okay, that solution would have been really hard on me too.

I still wish Jeff would tell me what the problem really is. Usually he eventually comes around and tells me these things. But not this time. That makes me think it's not nearly as big of a deal as he's making it out to be. OR it's a heck of a lot worse than I've been imagining. But I lean towards the former.

Personally, I think he's struggling with his classes because he simply chooses not to do the work. And it's stressing him out, which makes him feel overwhelmed. Being the drama KING, Jeff goes BIG in trying to get out of this situation. And it works. Once again, he gets his way. He does less than what's expected of him and still gets exactly what he wants. What lesson does that teach?

The fact is, he's had kidney stone pain and strong pain medication for the last four weeks. That alone would diminish the average person's ability to make an intelligent decision, especially one that could potentially affect their future. So, imagine what it might do to a 17-year-old. Two weeks before his senior year started as well as the first week of classes, he was also enrolled in driver's ed...out of town. That's 2 1/2 hours of class in a neighboring city four nights a week for three weeks PLUS six hours of driving time, also out of town. AND he spent the entire first weekend after school started at a retreat. So, he started this school year with a crazy busy schedule and he's been trying to catch up ever since. Marry that to his disinterest in doing homework, his aversion to authority, and his desire to hang with his friends and talk (argue) on the phone with his girlfriend in KY for hours, and you have a kid that will struggle with his schedule. Oh, and I might add, this is Jeff's first year back at LHS after being away for two years. So, he's kind of the new kid again.

Those are the facts. To the best of my knowledge.

And I haven't even TOUCHED on how bad things were when Jeff was 12-15 years of age and HOW FAR we've come in the last couple of years with his attitude and behavior. Ask almost anyone! And now, without even TALKING to me, without even considering that I MIGHT have some thoughts on this subject, others (who DON'T even know what I'm talking about in this paragraph) can make a decision on my behalf that could possibly wipe all of that away.

Oh, geez, it just crossed my mind. WHO is going to tell Jeff's dad? Holy crap, here come the "I told you so's." I'M not telling him! Perhaps I'll just have him call the school. (That's the first time I've smiled in about 48 hours.)