Nerd is good!

I was a math genius when I was in the first grade. We were learning about numbers and shapes, nothing too complicated, and our tests were worksheets torn out of the teacher's workbook. I would finish those tests so fast that my teacher would grade them right there in class and my grade was always the same – 100. I started to get tired of the monotony of tests that were too easy and the same boring grade every time. So I decided to shake things up a bit.

One day, I deliberately missed a couple of questions on the test. So proud of myself, I took my test up to the teacher's desk and watched as she marked two questions wrong. It made me so happy. Finally, I was normal like all the other kids. The next test day, I did the same. And the next. I'm not sure why my teacher didn't say anything to me about it. She must have known. She must have because on one test, she failed to mark one that was obviously wrong and I pointed it out to her.

I kept this up for a while until not getting a 100 became boring. Being normal wasn't as glamorous as it had appeared to be. Being normal was boring. So on the next test I did my best and then got the shock of my 7 year old life. I missed a couple of the questions. I was devastated. From then on, I had to work harder. I struggled to get those perfect grades.

And even today, I kick myself for being so stupid. It wasn't like it was a major effort to get those A's in school but I remember how it was so easy at first and I was lulled into a sense of security.

I think that may be what is happening with my oldest daughter. She is so brilliant, probably a genius, and has always received good grades in school. But last year, in 4th grade, something happened. I'm not sure exactly what but she suddenly stopped doing her work. I guess she got tired of the schoolwork being so boring and decided it wasn't worth doing. So she stopped doing it.

Then the TAKS test came around. The 4th grade TAKS test is very important if you want to go to a magnet middle school. That's the test they prepare the kids for all year long and tell them how important it is to do their best. Well, my daughter didn't do so well. She still did better than most students, but her scores weren't indicative of a gifted student and now her chances of being accepted into a magnet program for 6th grade are very low.

I wonder if she actually tried to do her best or if she was still rebelling against the boredom. If she wasn't doing her schoolwork, it's entirely possible that she didn't learn essential things. Will she now struggle to get decent grades? Her first report card for 5th grade wasn't stellar but it wasn't as terrible as I had braced myself for either. There is still hope she can recover. But somehow she has to realize that it's good to do your work and get good grades. Somehow, she has to realize that being nerdy is good. Somehow, I have to teach her to embrace her nerdiness.

As my dad always says, “Nerd is good!”