Apathy

So, what do you do with a kid who is completely uninterested in school and everything it has to offer?  What do you do about a kid who can lose all distractions (TV, Xbox, phone, etc.) and still not do work?

I am in that place where I see apathy killing my son's future.  He hates school, but he's not unintelligent.    As an 8th grader, he has been passed from one grade to the next without learning any real skills.  At the same time his standardized test scores have steadily dropped and nothing has been done.  This weekend I learned that he is failing two classes (neither teacher called to let me know what I could do to bring up his grade) and, as a result of his standardized test scores, he should attend academic boot camp (45 minutes after school four days a week for the next 4 weeks).

So, the school recognizes that he needs attention to pass the tests but has done nothing to help him master the content of his classes.

Now I'm apathetic.  I feel as though this is too little too late.  My kid has been sidelined for years because they know he is bright, but he is a fool in class.  Further, they don't think he can be changed.  Where were these people several years ago when I was telling them that he needs some support?

No wonder my kid is apathetic.

Technology Doesn't Live Up To Its Promise

Technology promises so much, but when it doesn't work, it really doesn't work.  What's worse, we have become a people who cannot comprehend the failure of technology.

A case in point:  Many years ago I received my bank statement in the mail and was horrified to learn that I was overdrawn and had actually bounced a couple checks.  Upon further inspection I saw that I did not, in fact, make an error -- the bank had.  More precisely, the bank's computer made the error (another bank double deposited the same mortgage check).  It's a good thing I caught the problem so quickly.  However, despite the paperwork I had to prove that I did not make a mistake, the bankers were still hesitant to give me back all my money AND remove all fees related to the insufficient funds.  Technology should have been able to catch such a simple thing.  Really, the same check number cleared twice.  If a computer cannot catch that, perhaps there are more problems ahead.

I have that problem now.  Since I live in an area where there is no general mail delivery, I have to use a PO box.  The trouble began several years ago when other companies started using the Postal Service database to determine valid addresses.  Now, when I order something that is being delivered by a company other than the postal service, my actual street address comes up as invalid.  What's worse, no matter how many times we try to correct this with human beings, the same problem keeps cropping up.

Verizon is the worst for this.  Free phones are only available when you order them online.  (Frankly, since it costs so much for cell service, I have no desire to pay for a phone.)  Still, after traveling this road many times, we cannot get the dang phones delivered without a problem.

Why, why, why can't technology make my life easier???