I know his mom had him tested in elementary school, and the only thing that came out was something having to do with needing more time to complete exams, probably associated with an attention deficit. But he has always dragged his feet about doing his classwork and homework, even as early as first and second grade. In elementary school, his teachers would simply let it slide, because they got tired of pushing him...and frankly, I think his white teachers were not all that concerned about spending so much time and attention on one of the few black kids in that school.
The thing is that when pushed, he will produce stellar work. He does not like to write, but when ridden like a mule, complete with the application of "the rode", he will write essays that stun educators. He likes math and art, but even those grades have slipped as he simply stopped doing homework he just did not feel like doing. (He would lie about whether he'd completed all of his work, so his mom didn't find out until his report card came home.) If he was showing problems in some classes and not others, it would be one thing, but this year his grades are slipping in even his favorite courses, all due to failure to complete his work. His mother has always dropped everything to help with research or unfamiliar homework problems whenever he has asked, so it isn't a lack of support on her part. This is a pattern of not liking to do anything that does not come as easily as breathing to him.
Case in point, he played flute in fourth and fifth grade. He liked flute and had an aptitude for it. He did not like to practice and did none of it in fourth grade. He did not have a problem comprehending the music or handling the instrument; he simply did not like to stand behind a music stand for fifteen minutes a day rehearsing. In fifth grade I oversaw his daily practices by playing alongside him on my steelpan for fifteen minutes every day, and no amount of tears of bad attitude at being forced to practice would sway me. His music teacher was astounded at the difference.
Simply put, the boy is lazy, not learning-disabled and lacking in support.
no subject
The thing is that when pushed, he will produce stellar work. He does not like to write, but when ridden like a mule, complete with the application of "the rode", he will write essays that stun educators. He likes math and art, but even those grades have slipped as he simply stopped doing homework he just did not feel like doing. (He would lie about whether he'd completed all of his work, so his mom didn't find out until his report card came home.) If he was showing problems in some classes and not others, it would be one thing, but this year his grades are slipping in even his favorite courses, all due to failure to complete his work. His mother has always dropped everything to help with research or unfamiliar homework problems whenever he has asked, so it isn't a lack of support on her part. This is a pattern of not liking to do anything that does not come as easily as breathing to him.
Case in point, he played flute in fourth and fifth grade. He liked flute and had an aptitude for it. He did not like to practice and did none of it in fourth grade. He did not have a problem comprehending the music or handling the instrument; he simply did not like to stand behind a music stand for fifteen minutes a day rehearsing. In fifth grade I oversaw his daily practices by playing alongside him on my steelpan for fifteen minutes every day, and no amount of tears of bad attitude at being forced to practice would sway me. His music teacher was astounded at the difference.
Simply put, the boy is lazy, not learning-disabled and lacking in support.