Frustration

I would love for someone to explain to me how one teenager can be all about getting good grades for college, and another is all about doing as little as necessary to keep average to sub-par grades?

Care to guess which category Joe Cool is in? I know the problem is that he doesn't want to deal with the pressure of hard work- he avoids it like the plague. Not a high-stress coping kind of guy. Hopefully, he will live a long life by being his mellow, fun-loving self.

To make it even better (by that , I mean worse), he got his results back on the ACT test- basically a test given to tell you, based on your scores, what area of skill you might consider for a career as an adult. It could be interesting, I suppose, to see if the test might help narrow down your choices since there is such a great big,wide world out there and deciding on one thing can be hard.
On the other hand, this test could also make you feel like a moron who is doomed to ditch digging in the swamps. Joe said he wanted to perhaps consider the education field- maybe a teacher. He was shot down. He was told he scored below college readiness in all areas- English, Math, Reading and Science. Why? Because he is not in honors classes. He was then given suggested career choices based on his scores...
My son, one of the most friendly, lovable, kind young men, was told he might consider Manufacturing(tool & dye maker, dry cleaner), Mechanics (Auto/aircraft mechanic), Transportation Operation (cab/bus driver-yes, it actually lists that), and some other jobs, none of which he has ever been interested in. While I do not consider any of these jobs bad, so to speak, I was very disheartened by the cold statistical analysis that presumes test scores to be an accurate measure of a persons abilities. He just might be a mechanic one day, and I pray he is happy regardless of what he chooses. But for some group of people to.... well, I won't get too wound up- you parents know where I am going with this.

And so, this has left his parents prayer harder, and fretting more over his already volatile self-esteem and future. Can he be whatever he chooses? Certainly. Can he go to college and be one of the best teachers on earth- Ab-So-Lutely. (can't he?)
Why then do we narrow the World of Opportunity for our children down to a "Career List" of 26 categories, A-Z?? My father used to promise me as a child that I could do anything I chose to if I just set my mind to it. I believed him then and I believe that now. Yes, hard work and determination are involved somewhere in the career equation. Right now, my son doesn't see that need. Perhaps he hasn't found a goal important enough to him to work that hard.
Like Peter Pan, he is trying to stay in Neverland, never to grow up, never to take on boring adult responsibilities. It is frustrating for him and his parents. Slowly I do see changes, so painfully slow at times. But, seriously, after being told by 4 graphs and 6 charts what you are good for...who wouldn't want to go with Peter to the Lost Boys hideout and never come out again? I just might pack our bags tonight! We're coming Tink!