Since Grade 6, his attitude and marks have deteriorated. . . . He is easily frustrated at the slightest difficulty, gives up readily and uses dislike of a teacher as an excuse not to apply himself. . . . An underlying issue, entwined in all this for me, is a feeling of shame and of parenting failure, because education is such a cherished value. Ellen The problems your son is facing have no easy or quick solutions, as you well know. . It is easier and more comfortable to do nothing and fail than try, try, and try some more and still fail.
Mistakes are an important part of any learning process.
He's made some big ones and probably a lot of small ones to get to where he is now. Some can be fixed, others just need to be acknowledged and others can be used to help figure out how to keep this from happening again. As parents, it is important that we not beat ourselves up when our kids have serious problems with their school or social life. Whatever has happened is over. What they and your son can do is start now to move on.