Hub and I are both Type A personalities who were straight-A students and overachievers in anything we did – not because of outside influences but because we came out of the box that way. Sure, we appreciated receiving a reward for a job well done, just as most children do, but that was not what motivated us. Both of us would have driven ourselves into the ground to earn A’s in our classes even if nobody was watching or cared.
Our 12-year-old adopted child could not be more different. To him, school is about having a fun social life, and learning is secondary. While he likes to learn new things, he has never given a hoot about what grade appears on a test or report card. While some of his friends would have a meltdown over seeing a B, my adopted would point to his own C or D and say, “Dude, it’s just a letter on a piece of paper!”
So, imagine my surprise when my adopted child came home from school a few weeks ago in fits from earning a D on a science project! He was indignant because he said that he completed all of the elements of the assignment, but the technology he was required to use had not saved some of his work, and he was fit to be tied over his grade.