My kid has been a straight A student since he started school. He has convinced me that he wants to attend boarding school. Great! We are starting the application process Brought home a progress report form school and he is failing Math English and almost failing Science. I am not sure who this kid is anymore. Please tell me that someone else’s kid performed their worst during the application process and was able to get in.
At this point, I would be more concerned about the downward trend in his performance at his current school than planning for boarding school. Any BS your child would apply to would have this same concern. Do you know why he is failing some courses? Whatever this issue is should be addressed before considering BS. Failing grades will be a big red flag during the application process and will limit the number and types of boarding schools your child may (or may not) be a candidate for.
That’s concerning. Some possibilities:
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The difficulty of the courses has ramped up this year, and he’s suddenly falling behind. Perhaps he’s worrying too much about being perfect for applications, to the point that it’s hindering his ability to get his work done.
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He’s being bullied, or having social difficulties. That would explain the desire to attend boarding school.
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He doesn’t want to leave home, in his heart of hearts, and is thus unconsciously sabotaging himself. He may not be aware this is happening.
I would add to the periwinkle list. It is possible that the subject material is not challenging and that there is a paradoxical decline in achievement due to boredom and disinterest. This could be the main reason for the sudden drop in grades. The desire to attend boarding school could be to escape the mundane academic life of the present middle school. I remember being so bored in math class that I would take the test upside down to show the teacher how useless and non-challenging it was. Surprisingly, this smart ass behavior was not rewarded at the time.
Thanks for the reply. He is in the eight grade taking ninth grade honors classes at the local high school. I don’t think the subject matter is too hard for him as his test grades are fine. He forgets to turn in his classwork and homework and his lack of organization skills is hurting him. He had been able to manage until now. I had not considered that he could be unconsciously sabotaging himself. That is some thing to think about.
Puberty? I found the brain seemed to shut off a little especially when my son went through it. Definitely saw the forgetfulness and poorer organization thing, combined with more moodiness and tiredness. Too much going on elsewhere in the body, something had to give I guess. 
Glad it was temporary.
Does the school that your son currently attends offer any learning support to improve executive functioning skills?
If so, he may just need some support to improve his organizational skills. Perhaps have him tested?
Sounds to me like his organizational/executive functioning skills are hurting him right now – how is he performing on tests? Are his low grades due to not turning him homework (that he may have done, but failed to turn in) or test performance? If it’s the lack of managing of the non-scholastic part of school, I agree with the others that helping him develop those skills will help tremendously. It seems as though his brightness has allowed him to overcome his organizational skills previously.
I am not sure how he did it but by the end of the semester, he brought his Math and English grades up to A’s and had a very high B in science. He mostly forgot to turn in assignments(homework and class work). We went through his backpack and found most of the assignments in the bottom of his bag. He worked out a deal with his teachers where they allowed him to turn in the late assignments with 20 points deducted off the grade. I am trying to find him some help to work on his executive functioning skills. His school has no one to help him.
@queenmother, I am glad to hear the progress. It’s not strange thing for a teenage brain. It’s going through a lot.
Last semester, my supposedly very highly matured and organized 13 years old girl called me at work from her class that she forgot to bring last 10 pages of her homework. Professor doesn’t usually accept late submission. So I went home and turned her room upside down and couldn’t find.
The professor offered late acceptance because she presented the rest of homework. We turned her room and our cars and whole house upside down again that night. I suddenly wanted to see the first pages that she did have, and it seemed oddly thick. Turned out to be, the last 10 pages were in the middle of first pages.
There are executive functioning specialists and workshops for parents. Perhaps you might want to see if you have something similar in your area?
http://www.morrissey-compton.org/efri_parents.php
He’s a smart kid and is considered highly gifted. He tests very well. His grades are never as high as they could be because he always have work that he forgot to turn in. His middle school does not accept late work. The high school had an amnesty day where he could turn in any assignment that he had not previously handed in for a lesser grade.
My son has similar issues. I recommend the book Smart but Scattered. It’s helped us a lot. My son now has a system for tracking his homework and making sure he’s turned it in. His grades have improved a lot.
IMHO, I would suggest to keep a journal that your kid, class teacher and yourself can write for homework / assignments / comments and get it sign off every night for a start. Once the discipline kicks in, sign off weekly etc.