Only One Child, A Million Teachers

Thank you all for haning in there and continuing to check this blog on a regular basis regardless of the lack of new information. I am now in my last semester of school and have maintained a 4.0 so you know why I don't have the time to blog. As for life in Texas it is going well. Jordan managed to finish the seventh grade on the A/B honor roll. This just goes to prove to everyone that when someone tells you that your child can't learn and will never be sucessful don't believe them and let someone keep your child from being sucessful.

I am glad that I removed Jordan from the school he was in. I know that not everyone can move to another state, but you can make changes in your child's education that will help your child to be sucessful. Even if you can't afford a private school you do have a right to move your child to another school in the district where he/she has a better chance to get what they really need. It is really difficult to fight the school district even if you have experience in the area of education. The special education team in Indiana really made my life and my child's life miserable. As I look back now and have had more experience with a district where things are done by the book it is truely appaling what we went through in Indiana.

I want to assure all of the parents of a bipolar child, who are still struggling on a daily basis, that there is hope. I had been to the end of my rope and was ready to throw in the towel when I made a change in my childs educational future. Of course, I had made other changes prior to this one, that were not as sucessful, but I kept trying. I believed in my child and his incredibly intelligent mind. I refused to let educators tell me what was best for my child. They assured me that they knew all about "children like mine" and had worked with hundreds of them. I was told that my child was simply manipulative and needed to be punished until he learned to do as he was told. In Texas the educational system truely did understand my child and choose to educate him as opposed to disipline him. He was not suspended by the Texas schools but remained at school to learn and he did learn.

Jordan has grown so much in the last year and I no longer dread the beginning of the school year. I know that he will continue to thrive. We still have set backs, after all, the fact that he is bipolar has not changed; just the way he is being educated. What I really want to tell all of you is don't give up on your child. The fight can be hard and at times it seems you will never win, but press on because your child is the most important person in the world. Don't ever let anyone tell you that any child is incapable of learning. Perhaps the teacher's style is just not conducisive to your child's style of learning. There are millions of teachers but there is only one child, yours. Good luck to all as we move into the new school year.