"To top it all off he failed three classes in the 6th grade and is on track to do so again which will mean another session of summer school."
Sigh. How can a child "fail" 3 classes in 6th grade? I'm not saying this to blame your son, I'm blaming the school. I'm not surprised he doesn't feel smart (he's being communicated that he is not, he was labeled a "failure") and I would have strong, negative feeling if I was labeled a failure so young also.
I don't think "another" session of summer school will help him. I'm not a fan of signing up a child in the same "system" that failed him the first time to help him understand a concept. If they didn't reach him the first time, what makes you think they will succeed this time?
What subject did he fail?
I can't stand "Everyday Math" that they use in my son's district and this summer (he's going into 4th grade) I'm going to sign him up for a one hour, weekly summer program at Mathnasium to help "boost" his understanding. I was told that if kids don't understand the basic in elementary school, it will be much harder when they get to middle school. I can see he is a little confused and I sure am by EM, so I'm going to do that.
I agree he needs a learning style assessment. You can do this online yourself.
http://www.learningsuccessinstitute.com/
Click on Products and then Learning Style Assessments Online.
http://learningsuccessinstitute.com/aselfportraitonline/i...
It costs about $25-30. It's pricey, but it's worth it. You can do this for everyone in your family (about 8 yr olds an up can do it online).
I've done this for myself and my 9 yr old son. I took their 3 days workshops (first two sessions) in Ventura in the past year and a half.
Read their book DISCOVER YOUR CHILD's LEARNING STYLE. Every parent and teacher should read it and truly take the time to digest the information. I believe a simple assessment is in the book and you can do the book assessment (FREE) if you wish. But the nice thing about the online assessment is that it provides more, specific tips to help the individual with specific characteristics.
The Learning Success Institute does have a Coach program, where you sign up with them for a year and someone will work with both of you throughout the year to help him succeed. That is obviously more expensive, but you should explore it.
THey have AMAZING success stories. They have dealt with kids who schools could not help and the kids SOAR once they discover what THEY love to do and how they love to learn. Not everyone benefits from sitting still at a desk and doing boring work. There are ways to make the school work engaging and relevant to your son.
I implore you (like one of the previous posters) to make this a priority, because you do not want him falling through the cracks and perhaps - down the road - taking drugs. Dealing with a self-destructive 17-year-old with an alcohol or drug habit - who needs REHAB (now that gets pricey) is far worse and to avoid that... do this now.
The book is deceptively simple and it's easy to dismiss it, but I urge you to focus on that. There are other learning style books also out there.
EDITED TO ADD: THanks to whoever posted that CNN - Football/Sports/Brain Injury Link.
My 9 yr old son is very athletic. He loves being active. I have never encouraged football and I don't understand why other parents sign their sons up for this dangerous sport early. That link explains why I'm not a fan. My son just started playing Lacrosse this year, and it's been fine. But I'm still leery of full contact sports.
Is there a local rock-climbing wall to try? That would help him
- increase his strength (the people who climb are crazy ripped)
- learn to be in the moment and focus very hard
- be motivated by his own success (not competing with anyone else)
and so on.
Think outside the box - there has to be other "better" sports.
Can you ask him WHY he wants to play football? This might help you understand his motivation (whatever the appeal is). Though I would pay heed to the moms who said that the sport hurt their sons. And ANY lousy coach can hurt any player. There was a Basketball documentary in the early 90s that followed some inner-city kids and their basketball dreams. One coach pushed and pushed and pushed one kid to play DESPITE a knee injury. The poor kid grew up to be an adult who could never walk right again (the coach never acknowledged his part in this), let alone, follow his dream of being in the NBA. Parents should not just drop off and leave their kids at sports. You really need to stick around more and see exactly what is going on and what is being communicated to the children in their care.