How to stop my brother from crying...

Pizzagirl
Fri, 08 Jan 2010 14:05:48 +0000

It would be a waste to let him lose this knowledge.



Oh, gag. Pre-calculus is only pre-calculus, he can learn it again one day. This is his life and his happiness.

When I was a bit older than your brother, I was tested by the powers-that-be and they recommended that I start college classes in mathematics. Instead, my parents said that they’d only let me advance one grade (so I walked up to the high school for math class and then back to middle school for the remainder of my classes). They were SO right. There was no rush. Unless, of course, life’s a competition to see how much learning can be crammed in one person’s head.

I agree with moonchild; your parents have helped foster the equivalency of academic achievement = worth. This isn’t a kid who’s enthused about the subject matter the way some kids eat up info about dinosaurs or moon rocks or whatever other topic floats their boat. He’s afraid of not being perfect all the time. This is a real problem. The fact that he’s not crying may mean that he’s just pushed it all inside, which solves nothing. You are a good brother for caring; is there a social worker at his school who might be able to help?