I had an interesting discussion with one of my 5th graders yesterday. He's way too mature for an 11-year old...lousy home life. Both of his parents have addiction issues. Both have done prison time. He's emotionally aware enough to realize that a lot of his emotional problems come from trying to cope with him family issues.

Anyway, I asked him how he saw his life in 10 years. He sees himself as being able to make it but still having some of the same anger issues he has now. He doesn't think you can really change who you are-so if you have anger issues now, you'll always have anger issues.

It made me start thinking about that. I truly believe you have the power to change who you are. I don't think it's an easy process...or maybe sometimes it's too easy. Depends on what you are trying to change! Flipping channels the other day I saw a snippet of Chef Jeff on the Food Network. He did time in a federal prison for selling drugs. Now he owns restaurants. He made the comment though that he made a conscious decision to stay away from people, places and things that brought him down.

What do you do when the people who are bringing you down are your family? How hard that must be.

He has a really hard time at our school. The expectations for behavior and academics are very high. If you're capable of A's and B's then C's are just not okay. Not doing your homework is not an option. We don't send kids home for behavior problems. They stay at school and deal with the consequences. He realizes that teachers want him to be successful...he just doesn't understand why they care.

I deal with these thoughts pretty much every year. Does the amazing amount of effort we're putting into this kid really have any effect? Especially when we are dealing with a 5th grader who spends one year on our campus. Will this year of working hard, having people who actively show their care, will it make a difference in his life? Will he stay on the same track he has stayed on for so long? Can he see that his life can change-if he puts to effort and energy into it? I don't know the answer to that. Most days I just hope.