This is it. My son's last year before he starts middle school. He's taller than me now. How do I dispense my precarious wisdom to a child I must look up to?
His current worry is the dreaded Piece of Paper.
In sixth grade, discipline is done with slips of paper. They are read the rules once, count them, once ,and then if they blow it they are given a slip of paper - like a ticket I guess. More then ten pieces of paper in a quarter and they are no longer allowed to do the fun stuff that quarter. He's worried about getting a piece of paper.
Ah, here in lies the rub for me. Do I nurture the system follower in him, or do I nurture the independent thinker? Both are valid. He is a creative boy. Always thinking outside the box. Actually creating his own box. But he lives in this world. This world that has silly rules and smart rules and unwritten rules which nobody talks about but you're supposed to know.
In the end, he's afraid of standing out. Standing alone. Yet, that is who he is. How ironic that creative children thrive when they are inspired to explore on their own yet they hate the isolation. They are gifted with a unique perspective of the world, but beat themselves up for seeing things differently.
We roll played what would happen should he get a slip. It would feel icky, but he'd survive and he'd learn. And life would still go on. In fact, maybe we could celebrate that he made a mistake and learned from it. Yay?! Mistakes are good.
He's not sure about this. Humiliation looms. But he's willing to consider it.
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