Poor grades! What works?

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-20-2007
Poor grades! What works?
13
Fri, 04-20-2007 - 8:45pm
I'm new to the board, but not new to dealing with a teenager (now 17) who is capable of much better grades, but happy to just get by. He will be a senior next year and I don't know what to do. It's laziness or lack or motivation as far as I can tell. He makes really bad homework grades, but is somehow able to pull a decent test grade. He's a C student. But it's because his grades are horrible and then at the last possible moment, he brings everything up to C. I'm ready to do ANYTHING! But what works? Any advice? Take away video games, TV, everything?

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Avatar for weberdns0
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-25-2000
Sun, 05-13-2007 - 2:50pm
Our 16 yo 10'th grader is like yours... We have told him recently that he is responsible for paying for any college applications and his first semester of college himself as we are helping him to make C's.
iVillage Member
Registered: 12-05-2006
Sun, 05-13-2007 - 5:10pm

If you know that your teen is capable of better grades, and you want him to pull them up, make sure you start early in the semester with the rules.

Driving - or access to the car, is usually a good motivator. Basically insurance companies usually give you a pretty decent break if your teen has As or Bs. You can hold the keys unless the grades are consistently at the level you set at the beginning of the semester. Or, you could let them know that they have to pay the difference in insurance costs between what the "good grades" rate would be, and what you're actually paying if the grades are too low for that rate.

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-29-2003
Mon, 05-14-2007 - 9:34am

You know what? My DS is a sophomore, but what I did has worked to a point.......I 'restricted' him for 2 weeks--no driving and cut his social life in half. I took all but one hour of texting, computer and phone away from him (yes combined phone texting and computer was one hour)...I also made him study for 30 minutes at the table where I could see him. I know 30 minutes isn't much, BUT it forced him to find something to do....re read notes, keep up on reading, organize notes, actually STUDY.....and it has been successful---not by leaps and bounds...the first 2 weeks were pretty slow, but when I found out his grades still suffered, I implemented a 2nd two week 'stint' and told him no matter what the 30 min of studying per night in plain sight would remain in effect until the end of school (maybe the end of HIGH school)...and you know, it's worked. His grades have improved---he fights me tooth and nail on the 'studying' but I've held my ground so far....his grades haven't SOARED, but he's gone from d's in 2 classes to a c and a b....so it's better.

Good luck

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