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PrintDear Teacher - January 2012
Disorganization May Work for Child
Paying for Grades: Does It Work?
Freezing up on Tests – How to Resolve
Disorganization May Work for Child
Question: It is beyond belief how messy my middle-schooler's backpack is. I have tried to give him organizing hints, but he just keeps shoving all his schoolwork in the bag – even his neatly done homework. How can I help him get organized? – For Organization
Answer: Everyone has different standards of neatness. Some students have perfectly organized notebooks with every paper in the right place. Others like your son just jam paper after paper in their backpacks. Most students are probably somewhere in the middle.
If your son is doing well in school and seems to be able to find papers and other school materials without too much trouble, give up on trying to organize him. Disorganization is working for him, so he is not going to be committed to changing.
There is one thing that you can do to minimize the problem of the overstuffed backpack. Before he starts his homework each day, insist that he find the papers and books that he needs in the backpack and dump the rest into a specific bin or box in the house. In this way, he'll start each day with an empty backpack except for material being returned to school. This should satisfy your desire for him to have a neater backpack as well as make it much easier for him to find important papers.
When the box or bin is full, he can either sort through the papers and find those he wants to keep or simply throw everything out. You may wish to date a few papers and put them in a folder or album, as they will be a good record of how he is progressing in school.
Paying for Grades: Does It Work?
Question: We now pay our smart middle-schoolers $10 for every A and $5 for every B. They used to get mostly B's, now they usually get straight A's. Is there anything wrong with this? – Paying for Grades
Answer: Of course, as you know, there are pros and cons on the issue of paying for grades; however, in your household it is working and everyone is getting the results that they are looking for so it is a win-win situation.
If children buy into getting better grades because they want a reward (money, TV time, a cell phone), one positive outcome is increasing their skill in one or more subjects. This can lead to a feeling of accomplishment and can create a genuine desire to do well in school and an appreciation of learning.
Rewarding children for grades can backfire if children already have a desire to learn. They may begin to think that they are working harder primarily to get a reward rather than to do well in school. However, if children have little or no desire to succeed in school, rewards may get them on the path to doing well in school.
One caution: If parents expect rewards to improve grades, they must offer rewards for grades that the children can reasonably be expected to achieve. A child with good basic math skills could be offered rewards for A and B grades. However, the child with weak math skills should not be expected to get more than C or possibly B grades.
Freezing up on Tests – How to Resolve
Question: My 10-year-old son freezes up whenever he takes a test. The teacher offered him more time, but it did not help. It just gave him more time to be panicked. Is there anything that can I do to help him overcome test anxiety? – Very Anxious
Answer: The best way for children in elementary school to feel confident before taking a test is simply to keep up with their work and make sure they understand what is being studied. Reviewing sufficiently is another one of the big secrets to facing tests with confidence – not panic. Your son needs to review every evening. In fact, over-learning material is one way to reduce test anxiety.
Another helpful hint in avoiding test anxiety is in knowing what will be on the test. Teachers usually review for tests. During the review period, teach your son to write down and underline anything the teacher identifies with "You really need to know this!" He should also complete and review all study guides that the teacher uses in class.
Some anxious students find it helpful to make up tests from study guides and chapter questions to practice taking a test so they realize that they know the material. These techniques should be helpful unless your son's problem is really one of an inability to learn the material.
