QOTW: Grades
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QOTW: Grades
| Mon, 02-19-2007 - 9:44am |
Board QUESTION OF THE WEEK:
What kinds of grades does your 10-14 year old get?
| Mon, 02-19-2007 - 9:44am |
Board QUESTION OF THE WEEK:
What kinds of grades does your 10-14 year old get?
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My 6th grader has been bringing home A's and B's. He's made the Honor Roll both quarters now.
If you ask him, DH and I are tyrants who will accept nothing lower than 100%'s on everything. The TRUTH is that DS is very hard on himself, so if he gets a grade that he feels is unacceptable, or that he feels WE will find unacceptable, he becomes upset and worried that we'll be "mad" at him or "yell" at him. Yes, he's a perfectionist.
We do expect him to study, and if he has honestly studied to the best of his ability and brings home a lower grade, we accept that. OTOH, if he did not study, then we do not accept low grades. We don't punish, but we do make it clear that we expect him to do his job (which is studying and his best at his school work).
At the beginning of the year, he was placed in a lower "track" than we had expected. His grades were always very good, but his standardized test scores were average at best. He's not a good test taker, and has a lot of anxiety over those tests. Because of his confidence issues, his 5th grade teacher had recommended him for the "B track" instead of the "A track". He was crushed, and truth be told, so were we. We know he can do the A track work, and his grades this year have proven that. His teaching team has been giving him the A track tests instead of the B track tests and he is acing them. Ability is not the issue. We decided not to move him up mid-year as not to "rock his world". However, we will push for him to be "A tracked" next year. He knows that he needs to "produce" the quality school work for him to be moved up next year. We don't pressure him with that fact. We just tell him that if you want X, then you need to do Y. I know he puts enough pressure on himself that we really don't need to, and shouldn't, put our own pressure on him.
He's also very competitive, and quite proud of the fact that he's in the top three of students in his own class. I think that keeps him motivated to get good grades. But, he's only 11, and he IS a kid, so he has his moments of "I don't care" and "I don't want to". We just encourage, and he slides back on track. He's never been difficult about school. He actually loves going. He was so upset that he had to stay home a few weeks ago because he had pink eye. He's the kid who strives for perfect attendance every year. He's made it once. (hey, when your sick, your sick! LOL)
Sorry, this turned into a novel!
Marcy
Grades are very important to us, but not to the extent that we have to moniter her daily work. She's a bit of a perfectionist, very hard headed and determined. Luckily for us we've instilled a want to suceed in her and she does it because she WANTS to. When she brings home a report of missing work, I just ask her if this is what makes her feel good and if not..what is she going to do about it? I've never had to ground her for grades (my 15 yr old son is another story) and I'm almost embarassed to express here how great she does in school. She usually get more in trouble for doing more than asked to do, she takes every project to a higher level than asked and has gotten reprimanded for it more than once. Write a one page paper? She'll write it AND do a power point slide show. That's just her nature.
She very seldom has homework, they give the kids a 'study hall' type class every day and since she hates to free readd she saves and does her homework then.
As for pushing, I think it depends on the kid. My daughter doesn't need pushing at all but many kids do. If they're making D's then there is something wrong that needs to be addressed! Some kids really skate through school but some need more help just to pass. Instead of focusing on the bad grade I stress more that I'm concerned the child isn't understanding and my supervision is more "because you're important to me" not a punishment for failure.
Yes, we have paid for good grades, $10 for an A, $5 for a B, nothing for less. And only for Core classes, not PE or electives. Double money earned for Advanced classes. She has that money calculated before she gets the report card home! HAHA!!!
My older son is more than capable of making good grades but he's very lazy. We HAVE gone through the 'getting teachers to sign off on homework assignments' in the day planner and standing over his shoulder like a hawk. He eventually got tired of all the 'attention' and picked up some responsiblity. He's just now gotten interested in following a career in engineering at the end of 10th grade so he's more motivated now for the advanced math and science classes...we'll see how long THAT lasts!
Denise
Board QUESTION OF THE WEEK:
What kinds of grades does your 10-14 year old get? This semester she recd. an A in Math, English and Art, a B in P.E. (I thought P.E. was an easy A) and Social Studies and a C in Science. At the beg. of the semester she had an F in Science. We could not believe it. We took all her privileges away. We gave her privileges back as her grade went up. It worked wonderfully. Now she's making A's and B's this semester.
Do you push them academically or do you just let them do their own thing? What kinds of study habits & skills have you instilled in your child to help them succeed? Hannah gets off the bus, comes inside, has a snack and goes into the living room to do her homework. No TV or music on, to distracting. We put a desk in the living room because she was goofing around at her desk in her room. She's been doing this since Kindi. I usually don't have to ask her to do her homework. She just does it.
Do you believe that kids need to be pushed to achieve good greats, or do you believe they either have it or they don't? I think they need to be encouraged to have good study habits and equip them with the proper tools to succeed. Like a tutor if they are struggling.
I know that Hannah could get straight A's if she wanted to but she doesn't. We just encourage her to get good grades, obviously not an F in Science when she's cabable of making an A.
My son's grades are all A's and some B's.
What kinds of grades does your 10-14 year old get?
Aly usually gets straight As, but got one B in social studies (her least favorite subject) in the first 9 weeks this year. I was actually HAPPY that she got a B, though, and had hoped she'd get it earlier than 4th grade. I've seen too many students get to middle school having never made a B on a report card to be crushed when they did.
Do you push them academically or do you just let them do their own thing?
She pushes herself academically. I don't know what I'd do if she weren't academically-motivated.
What kinds of study habits & skills have you instilled in your child to help them succeed?
Not very good ones. Good enough to get her through high school (like me), but she will struggle in college! (like I did the first go-round in college, even though I finished with a 3.1, I still struggled) I've tried to show her some techniques/tips I learned my second go-round in college, but she's disinterested because it's not necessary right now. And HOMEWORK is a nightmare with her...always has been since 1st grade (Kindergarten homework was great...lol).
Do you believe that kids need to be pushed to achieve good greats, or do you believe they either have it or they don't?
I believe that all kids should be motivated to strive for academic success. For some kids, it comes naturally, for others they'll need to work for it, but that doesn't give those students that have to work for it "permission" to just slide by.
Share your thoughts on grades your kids get and what you have done to help or hurt them in getting those grades!
The only thing I think I have actually had a hand in helping her was by going back to college when she was in school and her seeing my motivation to succeed, and to not be devastated by the one B that I did receive my second go-round.
Alysha
My dd gets straight A's on her quarterly reports, but that's not without a few B's & C's and an occasional F on individual assignments. As grades equate to "performance reviews," I put a strong emphasis on them. Throughout life, success depends on the ability to meet the expectations of your "customer," which may be your boss or someone who's buying something from you or someone you're doing a service for. At school, teachers are your "boss" or your "customer." You need to find out what their needs/expectations are and work to satisfy them. As a teacher, however, I feel that the responsibility to provide worthwhile education is absolutely vital. I always hope that the intent of any grading that goes on in school is to ensure that children are mastering appropriate educational objectives.
I'm not rich enough to leave my dc a financial nest egg. And as an older parent (33 when dd was born, 36 when ds was born), I think it's realistic to expect that my dc will have to navigate much of their adult years independent of my continuing support. Toward that end, I find it absolutely vital to prepare them to succeed in the world. Especially, they need to have strong problem-solving skills. Study skills, research skills, time management skills, all contribute to this. What could prepare them better to succeed in life than a solid, well-rounded educational foundation?
Do kids need constant pushing to learn to brush their teeth and wash their hair and pick up after themselves? Yes. Do they need pushing to acquire successful academic habits? Absolutely!!
This school year, Kayleigh has made high honor the two marking periods so far of this school year.
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What kinds of grades does your 10-14 year old get?
Ramona Mom to 2 great kids and wife to one wonderful hubby since 1990!
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