Schools aren't bad or evil. They just are very good at teaching kids who fall inside a normal range, and mine doesn't. Even though his fly is unzipped at times, and he's still a kid, he's just quite unusual.
Grinity, I have to say, it is difficult to see the schools as anything but EVIL when they are taking perfectly fabulous kids and really REALLY screwing them up. Probably I am to blame for some of my son's difficulties in fitting in (not exposing him to TV from the moment he was born, for instance) but my expectations that a mature, sweet, smart guy could walk into a first grade classroom in September and come out the other side feeling good about himself were just way too high.
Serious depression and suicidal talk/tendencies caused by a complete lack of academic and social fit and no apparent end in sight don't just happen when a kid is 13, 14 and 15 -- this can occur at 7, 8 and 9 and it is horrifying and scary.
Kaboom, do keep trying, and crying if need be. Also, if you find your child is sad/angry about this outside of school as well as when confronted with going to school in the morning, you might have to consider it is messing with his mood in a broader way/consider counseling for the time being to get him through.
Keep him in the loop on how things are going, talks you are having, etc., it might seem strange to do this with a first grader, but it sounds like you have no ordinary first grader.
It seemed to give my ds (8 at the time) some hope that things were actually maybe gonna change.
We have not seen a ton of change in the regular classroom, but he is the in the gt pull out which (usually) helps get him through the week. Still tough, still a daily challenge, really, but he 'feels good about himself' now and that is huge.
(... if you think
I sound angry, don't get my dh started on this subject...)
