When you talk to him, do you really listen to what he is saying? I only ask because us parents tend to have an idea of what our kids are capable of but that expectation may be too high. Maybe the advanced classes are too much for him. Has his mood changed at home? Is he eating and sleeping normally? Has he changed friends? I think it's important to look at the whole picture and not just the academic side of it. A meeting with a counselor might be a good idea, it certainly couldn't hurt. Try setting up a meeting with the school psychologist. My oldest is 18 and is very smart, he got all As and Bs through 8th grade and the first part of 9th grade when he entered high school. Then his grades dropped, nothing else changed he wasn't into drugs or the bad crowd. He just didn't want to do the work. We talked to him and yelled at him and turned his phone off and grounded him, nothing worked. Finally, I decided to just let him be and let him fail if that is what he chose to do. I was tired of the stress it was causing me so I had to let go. He never did fail and he got a lot of Cs and a couple of Ds but I found out that knew exactly what he needed to do in his classes to get by. He frustrated so many teachers because his grades were so low but his test scores were through the roof! He graduated and is going to community college, which he hates but told me he knows he has to do it so he will. Good Luck!

We try to listen to him and have already done a lot of the same things you mentioned taking away the ipod, facebook, etc. We have tried rewarding him when he does well and giving him incentives to do well just like in the working world. He has always been a moody child but he does seem angry a lot or quick to temper. His eating has not changed or his friends. All of his teachers say he is very bright and not working up to his potential. He is the type of kid that loves to have fun and attention. He also has a habit of not accepting responsibility when he gets in trouble. I do know that we need to listen more it is just so frustrating.

As far as letting him fail I am very close to that point but I don't want to feel like I have given up on him completely. I don't know if there is anymore that we can do except for let him find his own way. He is very short sited and can only see the immediate gratification of his actions which is to have fun now. He was very excited this summer about playing football but he played around in school and was not eligible. So far that lost has not truned him around yet either. Thanks for listening I am truly open to suggestions