Just Talkin' it out

Gary wanted to chat last evening. It sort of went in a circle and I think it stopped where it did because I had to go to bed, not because he had settled on anything.

He wanted to know if I had sent in the form saying he would be attending the charter school next year. "Yes, but it's not like they can do anything if you change your mind. Are you thinking of going back to Our Small Town High?"

"Well, maybe...." Reasons turn out to be:
1. Everything at the charter school is college prep level and he is having trouble keeping up with the work.
2. He wants to start a martial arts club and that would be more successful at Our Small Town High (OSTH).
3. OSTH offers more AP classes for which you can get concurrent credit (i.e. pay tuition to a local college, not mine, and receive high school credit for the course).
4. He really isn't "arty." In his art history class (required there), they are doing calligraphy. Everyone else is able to make this really cool letters, but he can't. They do art stuff in almost every single class!
5. He could take courses like sports medicine at OSTH.

I did not point out the contradiction between 1 & 3, although when he said "AP English" I did tell him remind him that English wasn't his best subject and he shouldn't count on being able to get into AP English. I reaffirmed that it was his choice but I wanted him to remember what his experience of being at OSTH was like.

I realize that I forgot to mention that at the art school kids are allowed to listen to their MP3 players while they do work. He likes that.

Then he said that he thought that he could get his martial arts club going at the OSTH, did I think so?

I said that I thought he could get it going at the charter school if he pitched it right. "What if you sold if at first as a club to learn stage fighting? It could grow into something else, but stage fighting is something that would fit the school."

He thought that might work. Then he talked about how it would be dangerous to teach martial arts at OSTH. There are some pretty rough kids and he would feel bad if anyone took what he taught them and used it to really hurt anyone. The kids at the arts school are not the sort that get into fights.

Then I pointed out that he could block/choreograph and direct a fight scene for his senior project. He thought that that was WAY cool. Then he said that some of the best fight scenes in movies were acted in slow motion and then sped up. I asked if there was any way that he could do his senior project with someone who did video work, or maybe he could do the video work too.

Anyway, that was where we left it. He was pretty excited about the idea.

But who knows where he will be this afternoon.