She might not ever even be a "C" student

As most of you know, this is what (in her infinite wisdom) Jordyn's 3rd grade teacher told me as we were trying (and failing) to identify why Jordyn had such a hard time in school. At the time the comment was made, I was so wrapped up in trying to figure out what it was that was preventing Jordyn from "getting it" that I didn't have time to dwell on the comment itself, and although it temporarily devastated me, the comment didn't really bother me, personally. If anything, the comment was more of a catalyst for me to get to the bottom of this and it thrust me into action. If the teacher and the school couldn't figure out what was going on with Jordyn (which, I think, really is their job to do, but because she wasn't the bottom of the barrel, she didn't warrant enough of their attention and resources), I had to take matters into my own hands.

Independent tests followed by a CAPD diagnosis followed by a 5 page document of recommendations from an audiologist friend of mine followed by an IEP with the school followed by a year's worth of Resource Room time accompanied by an awesome 4th grade teacher and an awesome 5th grade teacher seemed to improve her grades and prepare her for 6th grade and the beginning of Middle School.

Although, I must say, as she embarked on her middle school career, "She might not ever even be a "C" student" was always there in my head. Will she flunk out of Middle School? Will she be able to attain those elusive "C" grades? Will she get frustrated and give up and turn bitter? She is approaching the teen years, after all, bitterness is a key component of teenage angst.

The first quarter of 6th grade came and went, and Jordyn passed! Not only did she pass, she made the honor roll!! Her name was in the paper!! OK, so where's my "proud parent of an honor roll student" bumper sticker? My friend Stacey informed me that you only get one of those if you are on the honor roll every quarter and then you'd get the sticker at the end of the year. Shucks. There goes my dream of getting one of those stickers. After all, "She might not ever even be a "C" student".

Then came the second quarter. Honor Roll.

Third quarter. Honor Roll.

I'm seeing a trend here.

Then, it happened. Fourth quarter. Honor Roll. We got the letter in the mail inviting us to attend the Academic Honors Awards ceremony and Wednesday was the big night.

Jordyn was soooooo excited to be a part of honors night. She works VERY hard to get the grades she gets and academic pursuits do not come easily for her. With the exception of studying for spelling tests, she has done all of the studying and assignments on her own, so this was an especially monumental honor for her, considering she did all of the work herself.
She was afraid she might cry during the ceremony (and embarrass herself), but she ended up only getting a bit misty eyed, which she was able to blink back before the drops fell.

In addition to her Bronze awards the teachers nominated her and about 10 other 6th graders as recipients of the most improved academics award for which she received a nice blue ribbon.
And when she commented to me later that evening about "only getting BRONZE" awards when all of her friends got SILVER, I simply told her that now she has a goal to work towards next year. (Bronze is a GPA of 3.0-3.49 and Silver is a GPA of 3.5-3.99)

I don't ever expect Jordyn to make the honor roll, but I do expect her to try her best, to work diligently, to behave appropriately, to have a positive attitude, and to put forth a fair amount of effort. I would much rather have my child be a C student with an awesome attitude and wok ethic than a straight A student who's a pain in the ass. And when I sent that comment in a thank you email to her teachers (although I said rump instead of ass) her social studies teacher replied with this email, and it brought me to tears:

"It has been a pleasure to have Jordyn in my class this year. She is such a sweet young lady. I am a true believer that you don’t need to be a straight A student to be a very successful adult. Jordyn has everything it takes to be very successful, enthusiasm, diligence, common sense and most of all kindness. She will go far!"

And she really is a sweet and kind soul. How did I get so lucky?

It was such a special night for her, for all of us. My parents came to watch. My sister and my nieces Bailey & Bella came to watch. I hooted and hollered when they called her name (hold all of your applause until the end - puh-leeeze! As if!)

Then we returned to our house for a celebratory ice cream cake from Coldstone Creamery. Midnight Delight, which was absolutely delicious!

Way to go Jordyn! I am so proud of you.