<p>Oh yes! Too much stress here, with lots of work to do before the year ends, and DD is definitely feeling it.</p>
<p>Re senior year - DS was actually pretty good by the end of senior year. I think he knew that he had to enjoy those last few days.</p>
<p>
Typo! I meant that it sounds like it might be more important to YOU.</p>
<p>^Shouldn’t we stick to complaining about our kids rather than questioning each others parenting skills? Isn’t the point of this thread to complain about our rotton offspring? :D</p>
<p>I think meremoms frustration was not so much the B but the fact it was for such a stupid reason. I would be upset if my kid just blew off homework assignments because they didn’t think they were worth their time. School and life is full of assignments and commitments that waste our time and I can assure no one knows better than a 4.0 student.
There are times when parents need to be parents because even the best of our kids shoot themselves in the foot now and then. I would have done the same thing even if my kid wasn’t a 4.0.</p>
<p>Mine has been surly the whole year. I’m getting used to it. :D</p>
<p>^ Same here used to it but do not enjoy it. Funny thing is our older S never got this bad. We think younger feels he has to live up to older brothers example, and they are so different you can’t compare em. A week to go of school and hopefully summer relaxes him a bit.</p>
<p>As a current junior (almost senior, thank god), I’ve been a very, well, b***** person this year in general. This year has been tough. I’m one of twelve in the school taking an extra class before school that has a lot of projects, so I have more homework. I’m one of twenty in the grade who are taking all honors and AP classes currently, and the amount of homework I had this year was unbelievable. If anything, these last few weeks have been better for me. I’m happy to almost be a senior. It’s a bit unreal to realize that I’ll be applying to college soon.</p>
<p>If anything, there has been more tension between my friends and I. We’re all trying to get into the colleges we love. We’re all trying to achieve some goal that we all have, and we’re all driving ourselves crazy over achieving them. We’re picking fights with one another about gpa and SAT scores and extra curriculars and if it’s better to have a rigorous schedule and some B’s or an easier schedule with all A’s, and our guidance counselors are driving us crazy and trying to take the most difficult classes for next year. It’s all just one big mess at my school. We’re all happy summer is almost here.</p>
<p>After reading this thread I feel like I am doing something wrong haha! As a junior I am having a great time since most of my AP classes have joke finals, I am done with all my standardized testing, done with my common app essay. Now I cant wait to spend a summer relaxing, visiting schools, and filling out my apps. To top it all off I just got a car.</p>
<p>I just finished junior year and all throughout the last couple months I was heard from friend’s parents that I was an anomaly. I had energy and made sure to get everything done on time and well. I remember one mother said she was surprised that my eyes were fully open, as at the end of her own son’s junior year he was practically a zombie.</p>
<p>Here’s a couple things that I think helped:
<p>DD still has three more weeks of school…full of IB Independent Assessments (torture!) plus final exams in 6 classes (not kidding!) plus to get a jump on next fall, her team now practices or scrimmage every day after school but Friday. Are they insane?</p>
<p>The workload is so heavy that after the SAT this weekend DD started a math IA within an hour of getting home. Yikes! Prom in a week so DD takes a break with me on Sunday for 2 hours to get some accessories …buy some cute earrings at an outside market…beautiful weather…what is not to put you in a good mood?</p>
<p>…D, in the middle of what I expected to be a relaxing break from the grind, suddenly has total meltdown about wrong earrings, wrong life, horrible SAT, never get into any decent college…I didn’t see it coming. Surly would have been nice…witch from OZ was a better description. Later she calms down, apologizes, hugs and thanks me for my patience…complains of sore throat…one look, say “aaahhh” and hand on her forehead…I can tell that she has strep with raging fever…Junior year can’t end soon enough. Today I will have to take off work and get a doctor’s appointment but get her to school for English IA which can’t be missed or rescheduled or will impact her final score next year. Thank goodness I have a very flexible work schedule.</p>
<p>
So she goes to school with a “raging fever” and a very good chance of infecting others?</p>
<p>DS finished four out of 6 finals as of 2:30 pm today, 2 more to go in the next 2 days, then ACTs Saturday. The dark cloud of despair seems to be lifting, and my smiling son has reappeared, thank goodness. Cracking jokes, shoving history and English notes into the recycling bin, playing with the dog. There is hope, everyone.</p>
<p>Finals were last week so we are good this week. Hope things are better for you now. Last week was rough though.</p>
<p>S finished his final final today. A couple easy days of surveys and fun work and junior year is a memory (for him), now to deal with the D that is a junior next year, Oh Boy!!</p>
<p>The funk and gunk is beginning to lift. My d has 2 finals left (tomorrow) and then she is done. Hang in there, everyone! I even encouraged her to make some fun plans to go out to lunch afterwards. Lil sis (freshman) still has 4 finals and has been trying to sneak out of her room without my notice to play the piano for a little relief.</p>
<p>Just thought you all would appreciate an update.</p>
<p>DD came home from last final yesterday (Spanish, of course), and told me that she had apologized to her teacher for blowing off the work and thanked her for giving another opportunity to make up the work. Then she apologized to me. She was very contrite and sweet. After much needed hugs, I took her to lunch.</p>
<p>I asked her what had changed her attitude. D said that when she was at grad parties for several friends this past weekend, she heard a lot of the seniors talking about how they had been waitlisted at our highly ranked flagship U because they didn’t take jr. year classes seriously enough. They had to scramble to raise their GPA’s 1st semester Sr. year to finally get off the waitlist. That woke her up. Their “over it” attitudes 2nd semester were the result of having to work so hard to redeem themselves 1st semester. </p>
<p>It was hard for her to be so young (she just turned 16 a month ago) and at the end of the course track in several disciplines - she was surrounded with mostly seniors and just didn’t appreciate that she was at a different point along the HS path than her classmates.</p>
<p>Our sweet, considerate, hard-working, self-motivated DD is back. Hurrah!</p>
<p>@MereMom, Wow, that’s a great story. The right lesson at the right time, taught by the right folks (those regretful seniors). Amazing, thanks for sharing it.</p>
<p>Oh, my. Junior year is hard, I don’t remember it fondly. Lots of work, and at the same time raging hormones. You’re learning to deal with all of these new things, growing up, thinking of college applications the following year, and studying hard. Sometimes it seemed to me that I just didn’t have any energy left for being nice and cheerful, or for doing house chores. I was exhausted all the time. After a couple of weeks in the summer, things will get better.</p>
<p>Just remember, this is a hard time for parents, but it’s even harder for teenagers.</p>
<p>Just dropped DS off for ACTs. Last. SAT/ACTs. Ever. No matter what. </p>
<p>Looking forward to picking up an exhausted but DONE and finally-rising senior, and going to eat at a joint known for ridiculously large and delicious burgers. Bring on the summer, please.</p>