The combination of slow processing speed and the fast pace of the STEM project-based class are the root problem. Everything else is complicating or compounding it.
I want to see a homework limit. I think 20 or 30 minutes per class per day, so 2 - 3 hours per day is a reasonable maximum. For the homework that requires special at-school technology, I want the homework limited to what he can do at school (including the 30 minutes after school his teacher will let him stay and work on it), and be graded only on the completed portion.
I want him removed from the STEM project-based class. The principal talks about it being a shame if his behavior limits his intellect. Seriously? Leaving the class is not going to reduce his IQ and the pace of the class is the cause of the behavior problems. I was suspicious from the beginning, since their plan to encourage a reluctant (anxious, perfectionist) writer was to require him to write a 5,000 word narrative, on a deadline, for a competition, and to encourage him to publish. It has gone as badly as I expected.
DS11 has stopped the cycle of falling behind in his other classes. He is using his study skills and his new grades are similar to second trimester. He has maintained an organization system since I intervened and helped him (emotionally) work through weeks of papers.
He has one late assignment left. It's a long assignment on drafting shapes on 3D printer software. It's the exact sort of tedious, multi-step project that plays to his weaknesses. It's on special computer/software that he has limited access to, so he can't use his strategy of spending extra time on it. This 3D printing drafting unit is until the end of the year, there are other similar assignments he has not started yet.
I have not heard back from the school. I am waiting impatiently for a clue about how much conflict (or not) might be involved in resolving the situation.
Thank you for your support. <3
