Read Online Lost at School by Ross W. Greene - Free Book Online Page A

with them.”). The more plausible and productive explanation is that the school is placing demands on the kid—for focused learning, self-starting, organizing, sustained effort, and getting along with others—that may not be nearly as intense at home. Best for adults to stop pointing and start identifying the kid’s lagging skills and unsolved problems.
    The Story Continues …
    Joey and his mother rode home in silence, Joey staring out the window from the backseat, Ms. Lowell feeling alone, frustrated, and at a loss. Joey attempted a quiet, “I’m sorry.”
    His mother was trying hard not to scream or cry. “Don’t talk to me, Joey. I don’t want to hear anything right now.”
    What’s the point of screaming and crying? she thought. Joey had been on the receiving end of many of her lectures and punishments over the years, but his problems remained.
    It angered her that the people at school acted as though Joey’s problemswere all her fault. But they weren’t any better at dealing with Joey than she was. Worse, in fact. They just expected her to retrieve him when they decided they’d had enough.
    She briefly considered calling her ex-husband, Joey’s father. The guy who had left it up to her to raise Joey. Actually, his lack of involvement, while an irritant, was better than the alternative. They had never agreed on how to deal with Joey anyway. Still, it sure would be nice to have someone to help out.
    Joey’s mom conjured up the list of mental health professionals who’d worked with her and Joey over the years, seven at last count. The ones who told her to be more consistent, set firmer limits, use more consequences, and hold him accountable. The ones who prescribed medication that usually didn’t make things much better and often made things worse. Eventually, Joey just refused to keep going to therapy and taking medicine, and his mother didn’t see the point in forcing the issue anymore. None worth calling now.
    Finally, they were home. When they entered the house, Joey went to his room and Ms. Lowell to her own. She sat down on her bed and started to cry.
    Joey could hear his mother crying. He walked quietly to her room and knocked on the door. She quickly wiped away her tears as he opened it.
    “Mom, I didn’t mean to hurt Mr. Middleton.”
    “I know.”
    “I’m sorry I screwed everything up again.”
    “Me too.”
    “I don’t know what to do.”
    “Me either.”
    “I’m sorry you’re crying.”
    “I’ll live.”
    “Maybe I should go live with Dad.”
    “Why, you think your father has any great ideas for how to keep you from going nuts at school?”
    “I don’t know.”
    “Do you have any great ideas for how to keep you from going nuts at school?”
    “No.”
    “Well, me either, Joey. So there it is. No one knows what to do. You’ve got us all baffled, pal.”
    Joey didn’t say anything else. He closed the door, went back to his room, and buried his head in his pillow.
    Mrs. Woods sat glumly at her desk at the end of the school day. She tried grading a few papers. She tried reading a memo from the superintendent. But something was gnawing at her. Joey.
    She’d seen her share of challenging kids over the years, but she was still in disbelief about how quickly things had escalated in her classroom only a few hours earlier. She recalled what she’d heard about Joey from last year’s teachers: “Joey is like Jekyll and Hyde. One minute he’s minding his own business, the next minute he’s exploding, usually over practically nothing. I think he’s still upset over his parents’ divorce. I hear his mother has a pretty nasty temper, too!”
    I guess I saw Hyde today, she thought. She sighed as she recognized a familiar knot growing in her stomach. How many of those had she experienced over the past five or six years?
    Her team teacher, Mrs. Franco—known for running a tight ship and for her strong irreverent streak—stuck her head in the door. “You OK?”
    “I don’t really