Ch. 4 – The Other Side of Zack
School reopened. Zack’s school material required for the year was mailed in large boxes through his online academy to his home. He attended live online class sessions through his laptop, webcam and headset with his new 3rd grade teacher, Mrs. Amy Ryerson. When it was time to do his workbooks, I would assist him, make sure he understood the contents, then allow him to take computer generated quizzes to assess his knowledge.
Zack was one of those rare intellects who had a love of learning. He was always asking questions and welcomed extra assignments. Academically, we were off to a strong start.
There were just a few red flags for me. As long as we were doing things his way, Zack was the happiest boy. If I tried suggesting anything differently, he would be resistant.
One day, Zack was particularly pleased with himself after completing an entire Math chapter on long division, which was very advanced for his age. As a reward, he was making a clay sculpture of a green dinosaur for Art class. Meantime, I sat looking through his calendar. I realized there was a writing entry due for Literature the next day. “Hey Zack,” I called to him, “When you’re done with that art project, we need to be working on your English essay.” “No way!” he stated. I looked up in surprise. “But it’s due tomorrow, sweetheart and I’ll help you with it,” I coaxed. I knew the paper was on a story that Zack had found really boring, but I hadn’t expected him to flat out refuse. The more I tried to reason with him, the more agitated he became.
Finally, he threw down his dinosaur and stood up. He walked menacingly towards me and grabbed my arm. “I told you Jessie, I don’t care about the due date. I won’t do it! Don’t remind me again,” he scolded me like I was the child. He sat back down and glared at me from across the room.
I was too stunned to speak, so I took a few deep breaths and waited. Zack eventually went back to constructing his clay sculpture. I couldn’t believe that the mild mannered 8 year old I first met, could have such an aggressive side. As I watched him now, he was peacefully playing again. It was as though Zack’s entire personality had just split.