I'm completely convinced that middle school for most of today's young people is 5 bazillion times worse than it was when I was younger...It is nothing short of pure hell, and I just pray that Hannah survives. I'm realizing now just how innocent, good, and naive she really is. That doesn't mean she's perfect. She tells lies to get out of trouble, she makes bad decisions, and she's often completely disrespectful to Hubby and I. But, in the end, she is a *good* girl. A *good* person, especially outside the walls of our house....especially at school.
She has NEVER misbehaved in a classroom or disrespected a teacher. Never. Ever. And she never would. Moreoever, she's never been in a classroom setting where backtalking the teacher, mouthing off in the back row, and generally being rude and disruptive on a regular basis is how some kids behave. And now, after two years of attending a wonderful school with top-notch standards, best learning/teaching practices, and fantastic facilities and resources, she has now been thrown into the lion's den.
On top of going through the repatriation process, which brings its own specific challenges, she's also going through the difficulties that come with a new school, town, etc. She's hypersensitive AND going through puberty, which means at least 50% of all her reactions to anything end up in a teary meltdown. I'm doing the best I can to be patient, understanding, and helpful to her during this transition. But, frankly, I don't have all the answers. Hell, I don't know if the answers I have are even any good. And honestly, I'm going through my own repatriation/new town/new job issues, so part of me just wants to sit down and cry along with her!!
I don't know that I have a point here. I'm just hoping that if I keep getting things down in writing somewhere, I'll feel better, I'll think through things a bit more carefully, and maybe even some answers will magicaly appear. Is that too much to ask?
Wednesday, September 07, 2011
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3 comments:
oh dear... this sounds just so horribly tough, for Hannah and for you too! :(
And the saddest thing about your description of kids in middle school is thinking that perhaps some of these kids misbehave like that because they have unstructured homes and parents who don't care and educate them the way you do. Kids who get their way 99% of the time because the parents are too busy or tired to enforce firm limits...
I don't know if what I'm wrote makes any sense or not, but I'm sure that Hannah is old and smart enough to understand that some of these kids may have troubled home lives. I also hope that being aware of that may help her to better appreciate the care that you & hubby put into raising her to be a good girl...
... sigh. I don't really know what to say apart from these things.
middle school was hell on earth, so I feel for her, I really do. Hopefully she can find some other "good" kids.
Good luck... I must admit, I'm terrified about middle school for the reasons you describe. I went to middle school in MD for 1 1/2 yrs and then middle school in FL for 1 1/2 yrs. The MD middle school reminds me of how you describe the Qatar school, the FL school much like you describe the MA school. The culture shock for me was awful... I will never forget how hard it was to adjust to be treated as a potential trouble maker rather than a potential contributing citizen of the world...
have you thought about talking to her teachers or the principal? Are her teachers trying to control the class or is it a lost cause?
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