I've been getting on one of the girls in one of my classes because her grades have gone done the tubes since she hooked up with one of the boys in the class. I just got this e-mail from her.
Dear ms POd,
It's K (math x pd y). I just wanted to tell you more about what we talked about in class today. I have been doing bad in math ( and honestly, in most of my classes) because I've constantly been getting sick since december ( because even during finals week I did bad in almost all my finals). It has honestly nothing to do with M because even before he and I had been friends, I was still decreasing in my grades in most classes. I've been going to the doctor so much that I'm honestly getting tired of it. I had so many tests done and they still didn't know what was wrong with me. I had to have an MRI ( they found a cyst in my brain.. from birth, but it's not serious), EKG, Sonogram of the heart ( chest cold), 2 blood tests in one month ( and I have to go to repeat it again tomorrow after school because the doctor called and wanted it repeated.) I have to miss my morning classes some time next week because they want me to go to a hemotologist ( which is only open during morning hours). So, from the various tests mentioned above the doctors found from the blood test that I have thalassemia( form of anemia, mostly for people of meditterenian blood) and EBV which is a virus that has to go away with time and I cant really take any medicine. So, with these two things combined it makes me feel very tired... my left side of my body ( arm and leg) feel heavy and numb ( not enough oxygen gets to my tissues). Also, I have sharp pains throughout the day in my lower back and sides of my stomache because my liver and splien are inflamed. Along with everything comes the normal symptoms of extreme dizzines, and constant discomfort.So, this has been going on for a while, its not so fun, and I try to hide it mostly during the day but sometimes its hard. Most people who have the virus I have, stay home for at least 1-4 months. I obviously have been going to school,but there are those occasional days were it gets too bad and I have to go home ( like last friday). Well, thats basically one part of my current life story, and I hope now you realize why I've been doing bad in class ( not only yours). Its really hard, especially since math is one of my last classes, to feel well enough to grasp the entire point of the lesson, which is why I'm attending tutoring now with ms R tuesdays and thursdays pd3.
We never know what kids are going through outside of school. This girl is always smiling, always beautiful and somewhat inattentive. I'm glad I have done nothing more than talk to her about her behavior. I hope she is back to herself again soon.
5 comments:
I hope she gets better and good fortune comes her way! Your blog is awesome!
I had a student this year- wonderfully talented, sweet, academically motivated, beautiful. She started out the year missing a lot of class- her dad said it was some stomach issues. Then she missed some more. Come to find out, she was missing because of severe depression and an eating disorder that had spun out of control to the degree that she had to be put in residential care for the remainder of the semester. I ended up having her do the class as independent study and she did every lick of work I sent her way. We don't know what the kids are going through. Thanks for sharing this. I hope my kids are lucky enough to have a teacher like you some day.
Maybe she can try to get a homebound teacher; they most definitely still exist. With medical certification, she could probably obtain home instruction. Homebound teachers give Regent exams as well, working with the high school closest to the kid's home. She needs to stay home and rest, judging from her e mail. It may be time for she and her family to consider this option.
I interviewed a 4th grader to help assess the need for gifted services. Teacher had reported that he was impulsive, unfocused and tended toward underachievement. He was a neat kid and we had a great visit but in chatting with him I found out he had an 18 month old sister who died and his 4 year old sister had leukemia (they'd just returned from a Make a Wish trip to DisneyWorld)....and we wonder why he has a hard time focusing. You are right, we never know.
Dear Pissed Off,
I am a school counselor and I am wondering if this student gave her permission for you to share her e-mail here.
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