fast pace of the STEM project-based class
...
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.
Based on this post, is it possible that their plan is to encourage him that
done is better than perfect? This is something he may need to learn in order to be college-and-career ready.
I would suggest that he may need to see himself as having an identity which does not include a crippling level of
anxiety/perfectionism... borrowing from
mindset: it is OK to make mistakes, we learn from them... procrastination is not a useful strategy for avoiding facing the fact that we may make mistakes, especially when trying something new, different, or challenging. Writing/publishing can be a great way to address this, as writing is a reiterative process, including proofreading-critique-refinement.
As a parent, rather than stating that he is anxious/perfectionistic, might you want to describe these as his current challenge areas that he is working to break free from?
