Studying smart and hard pays off

Hello there, welcome to my ramblings. I'll be doing posts on High School Band, MMA, Middle School and High School issues. My first post is going to be a positive story about hard work.

We got the results for our Son's 5th grade CRCT tests today. For those who don't know, in order to graduate and move on to middle school you have to pass the Math and Reading portions of the CRCT with a score of 800 or better. Our son has Asperger Syndrome which makes taking these tests difficult for him.

This post isn't going to be me gushing about how great my son is, he is, but about how hard work pays off and the lessons it can teach our kids. About a month out from the tests we started a schedule of practice testing for 2-3 hours a night after the regular home-work was done and about 4-6 hours each Saturday and Sunday. This put a strain on everyone in the house. The 2-3 hours a night came after about an hour to hour a half of doing regular homework and eating dinner.

My son started out the process with a negative view that he wasn't going to be able to pass the tests. We took practice tests every night and initially he didn't do well. That wasn't unexpected, but as we kept at it his scores got better and better. At about the three week mark, there was no more complaining about having to do all the work. He saw his scores getting better and he had a better understanding of the material each time. He became guardedly optimistic that he would pass.

The two weeks of the tests came and after each test he told me he believed he did well. After he was told that he has passed all the tests, I started talking to him about how Middle School was going to be different and it would be tough at first but that we would work through it and get it done. His response to me is what inspired me to write this. After I finished my talk with on a positive note of "You will get through it and do fine" He said "Yes, that's what I always do, I'll work hard and figure it out"

That statement is BIG deal. Our work studying for the CRCT helped him recognize that in order to be successful it takes hard work. Our main goal in setting up the study schedule had been for him to pass the tests, what it also did was give him confidence and taught him the lesson that to be successful you have to work hard.  Alexander knows that his mind works differently from most of the other kids and it's harder for him to understand or express ideas, but he now knows that if he works hard enough he can overcome those disadvantages. That's something that Adults as well as children should take to heart.

Please respond in the comment section if you have a similar story. I know there are lots of parents out their struggling with kids who have a hard time in school or in life. Reading about people in similar situations being successful might help in some small way to let them know success is possible.