#Also I teach English and I got this 10yo kid to teach

[alice-in-wonderart]

Hey lovelies, I've been a little less active these past few days, but it's been a wild ride. Had to do a ton of stuff, more work came up (yay! Alice is a responsible adult) and I haven't had any time to write whatsoever. I have 3 requests to finish and I'll be posting either tomorrow, or on Monday! I haven't forgotten about you my lovelies~ Just a little heads up. Await my humble return, my dudes!

-Alice

[marslovabledrollgeek]

Family rant. Can't do readmore. Sorry

My uncle enrolled my little cousin in military (day) school, and I'm so upset. He's 13 yo. They're at their "wits' ends" because he doesn't like to do homework, has bad grades despite being smart, he looks at them defiantly while you scold him and drops little lies. Um... so normal tween/teen behavior?? He doesn't steal, he doesn't bully others, he doesn't destroy property (that would be his little sister, whom they dote upon), he doesn't tell huge lies with big consequences (that would be my uncle, of whom I can't trust half of what he says since I have memory- my uncle has faked so many lives such as being a bullfighter, a singer in Slip Knot, faked he had cancer to get money out of grandma and pity out of us, and other cons). It just seems like such an overreaction, even my dad (who was super strict with us) thinks so and spoke up with my grandma. In the end we can't do anything, not our child, but still. He's really good at mental math, since he was little, but he has trouble with word problems and he gets bored/distracted easily with the work. He has some reading speed and reading comprehension bumps, which people keep blaming on laziness and not caring about his studies, but my mom, hubby and I keep insisting that he get tested for dislexia and/or ADD (mom's a psychologist, hubby has them both, I may have undiagnosed ADD and I've been exposed to them enough from mom's work, research, and hubby to sometimes pick it out). But no one listens. NO ONE cares to read on the matter. Because mental health, personality and reading disorders are "bogus" hippie stuff that make people soft, and it's only real for people that are "crazy". Um. My grandma even said some misconceptions on dislexia to us before she knew my hubby had it, and he went "um, actually that's not how it works, and I have it so..." My cousin read the first Harry Potter book in Spanish, then English when I got it for him, along with the 1st Narnia book. At his own pace, for fun. He loves to draw and I'm the only one encouraging it. He's never given me a moment of attitude (whereas his sister has). Yes, I don't have to deal with him daily, all day (although I did use to live with them for a year). But still. Could he be playing me? Maybe. But I also support him and take time to listen to him. They keep saying that they've tried everything at home (but no testing or trying different teaching methods, just yelling, punishment and intimidation), but they have a very unstable, inconsistent family life and I would have acted up more than he has. My aunt and uncle fight all the time, though they try not to in front of the kids. But they can tell. And even when they are on good terms, their way to be affectionate is through insults, sarcasm and putting each other down, because that's "funny". So how is he supposed to learn that's not okay? "Oh but he plays them. He knows what to get from each parent and does it". Well no shit! So did I, so did all/most of us. If your parents can't be in synch on what you're allowed to do/have, then of course you're going to try to go for the parent that is convenient. It's normal. It makes sense. His sister is a brat. I love her and when she was born I held her when my uncle couldn't be there (he lied to CBP and was banned from going into the U.S., surprise), but she's a spoiled brat. She gets away with murder, blames it on her brother and even when there are witnesses of her doing wrong, nothing gets addressed. She's not a baby either, she's 9-10yo and very bright. If I were her big sister I'd be resentful and acting out AF. As it was, I DID act out and had mad attitude, and that was with a more stable, affectionate and supportive home than his (with its own issues, bit still fewer). My uncle takes sick pleasure in humiliating him in front of the whole family and has literally told him, in front of us all, that his sister is the princess and he is the peasant at home and nothing more. Like. WTF? All.his.life. especially since his sister was born, so it's been 10 years of feeling less at home (and my grandpa does the same to him, and grandma to a lesser degree). Oh but military school is "because I love you, if I didn't care about you, I'd kick you out of home. But I do care and we're fixing this". Shiiit, son. Maybe show it a bit earlier? And my aunt tries. She does. The issue is mainly my uncle. But damn. I want to help him, but I don't know what to do. He's a good boy, and I'm just afraid they will extinguish that flame that I see when he talks to me about drawing, and music and life. That he will start believing from his dad's mouth that he's "bien pendejo". That he won't be given the educational help he needs and will be full of resentment.