Educating a 15 Year Old Boy

Sometimes when I talk about my son, I feel like I should start the sentence with, "So, a man walks into a bar..." because somehow no matter how insignificant the incident may be, my son's unique way of living his life makes people laugh; not at him, but with him.

That's his gift. He can make you smile, make you feel good just being around him. He really likes most people and he has this uncanny ability to take things easy, not sweat it, be cool, and always see the upside.

Where did he come from? He's the star of his own after-school special for goodness sake!

Being his mother has been the rollercoaster ride of a lifetime. At first it was difficult to get used to. When your child has the "gift of gab," loves to be the "class clown," and somehow always ends up in the wrong place at the wrong time, you learn to dread that parent/teacher conference with a passion.

But as he grows up I see that these qualities that have drawn negative attention to him are the very ones that make him so wonderfully vibrant. It's the reason I finally changed the school he attends. He needs teachers that understand his personality, teachers who know how to use his gift for gab, and how to use his ability to perform to make learning enjoyable.

I have also discovered that male teachers really have a knack for gaining his attention and respect. I believe it 's because they understand the nature of being a boy, and that they instinctively know how to allow a bit of kidding around without losing control of the classroom.

As a parent I had to learn to accept that there will be times when he uses his maturity and times when he chooses not to. At 15 years old he knows what the consequences are. The kind of person he is makes punishment difficult as there is not much that he can't adjust to in minutes.

Inhibiting his social calendar and his computer access seems to be the key when all else fails.

I believe 15 year old boys like mine learn a great deal from participating in sports; specifically team sports. Playing on a team causes him to think about the success of the group. His actions directly affect the whole group, and he knows it.

I know I'm biased, after all, I am his mom, but I believe he makes a difference to the people around him. He has a made a difference to me.

I like the person he is. I enjoy finding out about the man he is so quickly becoming.

In any case I have learned a great many things about how to educate a 15 year old boy, and sometimes I think the joke is on me!!

Its okay, he keeps me on my toes and smiling.