Eldest Son's Second Time 5: A True Record of School Non-Attendance

Mr. U, the mentor from 7th and 8th grade

In talking about my eldest son's second period of school non-attendance, I must not forget Mr. U, who was his homeroom teacher in 7th and 8th grade. Mr. U was a teacher overflowing with love, to the point where I wondered where such passion came from in his young, petite frame.
Actually, my eldest son's school had different tracks, and for some reason, my son was in the advanced track. Moreover, during the beginning of 7th grade, he was managing to keep up with the top tier to some extent. However, from the second term onwards, as his physical condition gradually began to deteriorate, his grades also started to decline.

I had already informed Mr. U about his non-attendance in elementary school, including the fact that he had Orthostatic Dysregulation. The teacher often reached out to my son, and when he finally couldn't go to school in the third term of 7th grade, he called us many times and even offered to come to my house to see him. I felt that would be too much of an imposition, so I told him that if possible, I would try to drive him there myself.

My eldest son's school has a 'study room' next to the nurse's office. It was a 'safe zone' where children who couldn't enter the classroom for various reasons could gather to study on their own, read books, or do what they liked. Mr. U suggested that if he could make it to school but wasn't feeling well, he could go to the nurse's office, or if he felt a little more mobile, he could go to the study room.

When I heard that Mr. U would be his homeroom teacher again in 8th grade, I cried with relief and happiness. Although he could no longer enter the classroom, I took him to school on days when he seemed able to go to the study room, even if it was only once every two weeks. The teacher would take time out of his schedule to come and see my son and praise him for coming to school.

To repay the teacher's kindness, I felt that as a parent, I at least had to attend the parent-teacher meetings, so I managed to participate, but eventually, it became too painful for me. When I saw the class photo and immediately burst into tears in the classroom, I decided I couldn't come anymore, explained the situation to Mr. U, and stopped attending from the next time onwards.
Perhaps I no longer had the strength left to keep pushing myself.

9th grade teacher Mr. T and taking periodic exams in a separate room

For some reason, my eldest son said he wanted to take at least the periodic exams. However, he didn't have the stamina to take all the subjects, so he only participated in the ones he could.
Taking exams in a separate room, the study room.
At first, he must have still had some knowledge stored up, as he was able to get decent scores to some extent. But that gradually ran out, and by the time he entered 9th grade, there were scores in the 20s, or even single digits if things went poorly. However, it is a mystery to me now how he studied for it, but he managed to keep his scores in science and math around the average.

Perhaps it was my son's pride.
I believe he worked seriously on those subjects because Mr. U, whom he trusted, was a science teacher, and he wanted to get good marks in that area.

When he moved up to 9th grade, there was a reorganization of the tracks.
Thinking that it would only cause my son more suffering to keep him enrolled in the advanced track when he could barely go to school, I asked for him to be switched to the regular track. Of course, the school also suggested this, and my son moved to the regular track.

It would be a lie to say my heart didn't ache as a parent when I remembered the smile on my son's face when he passed the entrance exam for the advanced track.
However, I judged that continuing to be enrolled while his academic ability was shaky would only hurt his pride.
(I believe now that this choice was not a mistake in the end.)

Mr. U was a teacher for the advanced track, so naturally, they had to part ways.
But even after my son went to the regular track, I heard that Mr. U would call out to him as soon as he saw him. On days when he could talk to Mr. U, my son would always report it to me happily.
His 9th-grade homeroom teacher, Mr. T, was a man who taught physics. He seemed to have received a thorough handover from Mr. U and understood my son's situation.
Both Mr. U and his 9th-grade teacher Mr. T recognized my son's determination to take the periodic tests as much as possible even though he couldn't enter the classroom, and when they had time, they would stop by the study room to provide a little tutoring or just be there for him.

My eldest son's school had a lot of homework, and I had a strong impression that it was strict before he enrolled. In reality, they were strict about unsubmitted assignments and slacking off, but for students like my son who had various circumstances, they created a safe zone and worked together as a whole grade to support him.
I have nothing but gratitude for this.