Glider Plane

Riley is taking a computer class. He has been telling me the details of his work. The computers are linked to drills and lasers in another room in the school. The students design something, most of the students Riley tells me are designing cribbage boards, then take the design to the equipment and build it.

Riley said he didn't play cribbage and that making a cribbage board did not thrill him. He finally figured out the class assignment was to build something, anything, using the cool equipment in the other room. The light bulb went on in his head. He opted to design a glider plane.

His first design, he cut out of paper with a laser, after designing it in the program and saving it to the laser. The paper was way too thin. I asked why not use card board, but he said the ends are open and the surface rippled so it wouldn't be air dynamic. His teacher will get balsa wood for him, once the design is firm. He had a few details that needed to be worked out, like marking the center of the wings for connecting the body of the plane and figuring out how to make the cone shape for the nose. It was good to practice with the inexpensive paper first. I was pleased that Riley was choosing to make a glider plane rather than a cribbage board like the rest of the class. The teacher is encouraging him. I think the teacher is finally seeing the Riley I know, the smart independent student, rather than the sick kid always missing school that he saw the first half of the year, forgetting to make up missing work. 

 Riley talked about his classes. He is finding the regular English class to be pretty easy. He admitted to not applying himself in his honors class.He said he felt really smart for the regular class. It is boosting his confidence.  He is finding a lot of the honors science to be a repeat of what he had at his old school so he is acing science effortlessly. It reminds me a bit of  DG. When DG would take a hard class, first he would take it at the community college, so he had had some exposure to the material, then he would retake the class at the college and ace it, having already had the class once.

Riley misses the organized style of his last math teacher. His last math teacher handed out at the beginning of the semester the assignments and the due dates. As the due dates approached the teacher would remind the students. You had the option of getting all the work done at once or as it fit your schedule as long as it was in a couple of weeks before the end of grading period. Riley worked well with that style. He likes to know what is coming. Work ahead when appropriate or applicable.

This math teacher he has now assigns work the day of the lesson. Riley is struggling. He doesn't know where to look ahead, to get ahead of the lessons. I suggested he stay after school for the tutoring sessions. A friend of ours is already taking advantage of the free tutoring. I would need to pick him up after school since he wouldn't be able to ride the bus home.

At our old school it was mandatory tutoring for any grades below a C. I miss that attention and purpose the school had to keep the students progressing.  There was even busing to bring the mandatory tutoring students home, a second round of after school busing that also covered the middle school students in the same program. I bet it also handled the sports kids when they were done with practice around the same time. That would open the door of opportunity to many students who otherwise would have to decline due to transportation issues.  There was just such focus and purpose. For a school district in Oregon, with the horrible funding that they have, the use of assets and facilities and dedication to student success was impressive. The success and graduation rate of the students was proof.

Half of what Riley says rolls over my head with the technical details, but I can see he is finally enjoying something, bragging about his science tests, and describing the glider plane plans. He is still struggling with Spanish class. Too bad I don't have a trip planned to Mexico this summer. He needs some immersion.

Learning the teacher's style is so important. It is a game. You have to play by the teacher's rules. I am hopeful that next year Riley will be even more comfortable and healthy that he can make up for the slips he had this year. Next year really counts for a lot, Junior Year.

I signed  Riley up for his first SAT in June. I wanted him to have exposure to the test. Have fun with it, not stress. Next October he will take the PSAT, then another SAT in the spring. Hopefully he will get some names and phone numbers into his cell and have friends to contact this summer. Of course he has his trip to New York to look forward to right after school lets out. Lets hope his year end grades look good so I feel generous with spending money.

It was nice to hear Riley excited about something in school.