d. m. arney, m.a.

In the midst of academic angst, it’s easy to loose sight of the emotional context that adolescence is caught up in. Nobody wants to do badly, we are social creatures and the acceptance of the herd effects us greatly, even if we wish it wouldn’t. But that doesn’t mean we react rationally when life seems to be swallowing us into a dark hole. My client used that metaphor and it stuck with me. It makes sense that we are unmotivated to do school work when there is something missing from our lives, like oxygen or space. Take real care not to miss the distress for the grades. No person wants to do badly; there is always something else involved. Our job, our mission is to find it.