Its the same sentiment, Mahagogo5, I knew what you were saying. I am just hoping shifrbv can feel all our care. It can be such a lonely place. I know many of us have been there. My mantra lately has been "keep eyes on the prize" and the prize for my family is health and happiness where possible. Stress can really make it hard to find the goal let alone the way forward.
I love this entire post.
"The Prize" is
not being in the "right" high school, having perfect transcripts, or going to Very Elite University.
SO wise.
My DD also suffered for many years with completely AWOL math instruction-- and she
loves math, and she's VERY good at it. However, the consequences of having been ignored and left to fumble her own way through it (even with the mitigation that we've been able to throw at this problem) has resulted in her feeling completely out of her league among her highly groomed collegiate peers, mostly engineering students who are
machines with accuracy (and a lot of whom are running at material for a second or even third time, tyvm) whereas she is, well-- she understands things from the concept OUT, and knows the mathematics far better than they even as she is learning it for the first time, but doesn't always earn the marks that they do. This is an unbelievable stressor for her because being "100% girl" is so much part of her identity.
The system as it is rewards perfect compliance with high-but-not-TOO-high expectations, and punishes truly intrinsic motivation at most turns.
Deviate from that path and you're in the rough in no time at all.
Yes-- eyes on the REAL prize. Please.
