My Single Mom Life

Yesterday I posted about some teachers being concerned with how Mark is behaving in school, and after I spoke to him at great lentgh last night, he went to school this morning with the promise of trying.

I received an email from one of the teachers a few minutes ago, letting me know Mark appeared to be in a much better place today, and thanked me for my support in helping her, help Mark.
This is my reply.
She'll probably think I'm nuts now. *LOL*

Dear Ms. W.:

Mark and I had a very long, very detailed talk last night about his behavior at school.
He knows it is unacceptable, and will not be tolerated.
He was also heavily encouraged, to be more socially interactive, instead of the sloth like creature he has been portraying in class.
What that means is, he will answer questions when called upon, he will interact with his fellow students, he will refrain from drawing images, although totally harmless, that might possibly cause people to be concerned.
I think he finally understands now that his behavior was causing people to believe he was either so sick he was dying, or a severely mentally disturbed young man, on the brink of committing a bad act.

Mark said to me he doesn't like people, that's all fine and good, I don't really like very many people myself, but when in a social setting such as school or any public setting, one has to behave like everyone else lest they think something is wrong you, and start making phone calls questioning your mental state.

In this day and age of kids shooting up their schools, teachers will no longer ignore the quiet kid in the back of the room. Those are the types of kids who pulled the triggers in almost every school shooting.
Teachers have been told what signs to look for. So even though Mark simply wants to do his work and be left alone, being alone and quiet is like a tornado siren warning that that kid might have issues, and it needs to be looked into.
He gets it now.
Our talk did a lot of good, even if it made him angry that he would have to interact with people, he understands how it looks to other people when he sits quietly, and alone, showing the look of a depressed teen.

Thank you for contacting me, don't hesitate to do so again. If he falls back into his old habits of sleeping and not participating, let me know, and I will get him back where he needs to be.
The last thing I want is for him to fail his classes, but I also don't want people thinking there is something wrong with him and he needs therapy. He doesn't, he is just a bored teen with no motivation to be part of anything bigger than himself.
He finds society fake, and people's actions phony. He doesn't understand that society even with it's fakery, it has a need to be cohesive and fluid. Those on the outer rim, are always looked at like they don't belong and will do something crazy.
He understands now how his actions were causing people to think of him. He said he will try harder to fit in, he'll try to talk and be part of it all, and to do more work than just what is required by January.
He really just wanted to be left alone, but he knows how it appears to others to be the quiet, un-involved kid.

So just let me know if he slips back, we'll work on it.
Any day that I receive an email or call that says he's not participating or sleeping, is a day he loses all his fun stuff like video games, which he loves.