Originally Posted by joan_quilts
DS #1 failed 2 classes in his 7th grade year by 2 points. WHY? He wouldn't do his homework! He got a job doing hay work and had to help pay for his summer courses. We didn't fail, he did, and he learned real quick that it all costs something.
We weren't being too hard, we were teaching them that either the play by the rules or they have to pay. Middle son got caught with cigs on school property. He had to go to court and had to pay $162 fine. He paid it, not us. He didn't do that again!
None of our boys have ever been in real trouble, they work and understand that in life you have to take responsibility for you actions.
You did the right thing as far as I am concerned.
Your "DS #1" also learned the value of an education, whether he realized it or not. "Hay work" sounds like very hard physical labor. Hopefully, he also learned that he has a choice of making a living with his back or with his brain, and that education is what gives him the choice.