Bumping for an update:
Son decided (thanks in part to some suggestions here, thanks in part to
great tutoring and probably thanks in part to some video-game grounding) both that he could do the algebra and that he needed to do it.
Although he didn't do great on the last test before the mid-term, he took advantage of the chance to improve his grade by correcting the questions he missed. All of his corrections were right. As a result, he got a D for the quarter instead of failing. We'll take passing.
But more impressive was that he actually studied for the mid-term -- perhaps more and over a longer period of time than he has ever studied for anything before. He was trying really hard not to just beam when he told us (as matter-of-factly as he could) that he made a 92 on the mid-term. That was well above the class average. He would have made an A (93 and above), but he missed what he said was the easiest question -- the kind you can only miss if you misread it, which he did. (There's another lesson for him -- read carefully.)
The result, even though he made Ds both quarters, his semester grade is a C thanks to the mid-term. I don't think we've ever been so proud of or made such a fuss over a C before.
He got to choose where he wanted to go for a celebration dinner (meaning he picked where he likes the desserts best). And he's gotten lots of positive feedback from his teacher about how well he has been doing. We seem to have hit the point of confidence and success building on each other.
Just thought I'd share.
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