I want my son to have the ACT score he dreams of for applications to colleges. I want to help him the best way I know how. I don't believe in paying thousands of dollars for classes, we did pay for a tutor for math only to find he really knows what he is doing. I believe the classes where you sit for four hours for weeks on end and review, taking 4 practice tests during that time are a great idea if you want to drop $2000 at a minimum with no guarantees. I can afford that, but I won't do it. And what about the kids who can't?
I know my son has this thing about tests, especially the ones people put so much emphasis on. He wants to do well, but, he scares himself into believing he just can't do it. It is not true. He is truly a smart boy and can compete with the best of them.
For example, when he needed to ace a final to get a B in Geometry just to stay in Advance Placement classes, he studied hard and did it. Second case in point, he was so close to a C in Physics this year he really needed to do well on the test and last few projects in order to earn his B without taking the final, he did that too. So what is it about this ACT? He is missing the easy answers when he studies at home, and sees that when he reviews it. He second guesses himself when he is not sure and gets it wrong. I just now told him, your brain gives you the right answer the first time, 9 times out of 10 when you are guessing and he told me he noticed that when he was checking answers. He could see where he erased his first guess and put the second one which was wrong.
Where do I come in? I search all over the internet to find study tools to help him, I helped him take a practice test, timed as if he were there. What I noticed? He really doesn't want to focus so hard, he hates tests.
My advice, this is one of the most important tests for him right now and he has to study and then go into testing with focus and a positive attitude. Will he listen to me? I don't know. I want so much for him to get a great score, he did well the first time but wasn't happy, so I want this one to be the one that he says, "okay, I wanted to be in this range."
I can't make that happen, can just give the tools and encourage from the sidelines. Isn't that hard? I want him to have the same determination I use when I am trying to recover from setbacks with this brain injury and I wish he would use my hard work as an example.
I can only wish, encourage, test, and pray when he goes into this test on Saturday. I hope he finally got the lesson that if he can pull a B in Geometry and a B in Physics through hard work and determination, he can achieve the highest score he has set for himself on this test.
I don't want him to be disappointed, that is life you know, but, we moms we try to always catch our babies before they scrap their knee. Not a big "boo boo", but you just don't want them to have one at all.
The lesson is in the letting go and he has to prepare with all the tools at his disposal if he so chooses. You can't help someone focus on a test, especially not this one. It is up to him to put his eye on the prize and go for it.
God help me. Saturday thru the day the results arrive will be some of the longest days of my life.
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