Today on The Ranch, we talked about grades.Grades. Ugh. It seems to be the primary focus of parents and students alike. Grades morph into titles and positions and money in adulthood which is probably why we adults value them so much. They are like money. They are a universal standard by which to judge your child's performance and more importantly to some parents, a comparison of your offspring to that of someone else's. Let's face it, grades just might be a reflection of you as a parent.
When it comes to high school, grades are a key indicator of "where your child will go next". Will she go to a prestigious school or a community college? It all depends on your child's needs, personality, ultimate goals and level of comfort, but boy, oh, boy, look at the competition! Yowser! And then, there are those bragging rights. Check your motivation for pushing your kids to earn certain grades.
First of all, do you even know the elements that went into your kid's grades? If your school has an online system such as Power School, look at their profile. Is your child turning in a consistent performance? Do you get the sense that they are "all in" and are committed to meeting the expectations of their teacher and the demands of the assigned tasks? Then, GRRRR-eat! You can sleep soundly tonight, but only tonight because that's the essence of parenting.
What if the grades are all over the map and the grade is just the "average" of all of those wild swings? Those of us here in southern California crack up when the "average or median home price" in the country is announced ($189K) because that won't buy you a porta-potty here. But unlike inconsistent home prices, inconsistency in the classroom is a hallmark of uneven neurological development which manifests in learning problems.
What if the grades are all over the map and the grade is just the "average" of all of those wild swings? Those of us here in southern California crack up when the "average or median home price" in the country is announced ($189K) because that won't buy you a porta-potty here. But unlike inconsistent home prices, inconsistency in the classroom is a hallmark of uneven neurological development which manifests in learning problems.
Does the online grading system show you that your child is turning in all of the assignments, but failing the tests? Uh oh. This could mean a couple of things: Your child needs extra time to "show what he knows" or he doesn't really know the material. If he is failing the tests, he is likely not to have mastered the concepts.
Some clarification is necessary here. When students are in the classroom, the teacher is "priming, prompting and preparing". It's part of the learning process. The teacher reminds the students of "what we learned yesterday" and builds small steps (called scaffolding) in a process to move their skills toward refinement. However, in my office and in the world at large, you and your kids are required to "know it cold". I was in the post office today. There was no one to tell me to give the clerk a $10 and a $5 bill to cover the costs. It's an "automatic" skill for me and not an "emerging" one. Automatic skills represent mastered knowledge and concepts.
If you come into my office and I test your math skills and you're still counting on your fingers, don't have "automaticity" of basic facts, compute with paper and pencil every calculation of a problem and ask me the formula for determining the area of a triangle, but you're making stellar grades in math, "something does not compute here" (ah yes, pun intended!). You are likely to be one of those kids who's getting a B because consistently turning in homework is important to the teacher, so he places a lot of the "weight" of the grade on homework. It's important to know this.
What if your child is making a B and isn't doing homework or is skating by with it and is blowing the doors off the tests? This teacher likely values a strong test performance and puts a lot of "weight" for the grade on tests and quizzes. Your child is likely to be bright, learn by simply being in the presence of the instructional process (incidental learning) and may be so bored that the tedium and self-discipline associated with homework is just intolerable. Uh oh. The "arrogance of intelligence" may be at play. He learns so easily that he becomes intellectually lazy and fails to learn the organizational skills, time management and work ethic necessary to manage life. He may be bright, but may fail at life once the "production" skills increase which is likely to happen in college.
Some clarification is necessary here. When students are in the classroom, the teacher is "priming, prompting and preparing". It's part of the learning process. The teacher reminds the students of "what we learned yesterday" and builds small steps (called scaffolding) in a process to move their skills toward refinement. However, in my office and in the world at large, you and your kids are required to "know it cold". I was in the post office today. There was no one to tell me to give the clerk a $10 and a $5 bill to cover the costs. It's an "automatic" skill for me and not an "emerging" one. Automatic skills represent mastered knowledge and concepts.
If you come into my office and I test your math skills and you're still counting on your fingers, don't have "automaticity" of basic facts, compute with paper and pencil every calculation of a problem and ask me the formula for determining the area of a triangle, but you're making stellar grades in math, "something does not compute here" (ah yes, pun intended!). You are likely to be one of those kids who's getting a B because consistently turning in homework is important to the teacher, so he places a lot of the "weight" of the grade on homework. It's important to know this.
What if your child is making a B and isn't doing homework or is skating by with it and is blowing the doors off the tests? This teacher likely values a strong test performance and puts a lot of "weight" for the grade on tests and quizzes. Your child is likely to be bright, learn by simply being in the presence of the instructional process (incidental learning) and may be so bored that the tedium and self-discipline associated with homework is just intolerable. Uh oh. The "arrogance of intelligence" may be at play. He learns so easily that he becomes intellectually lazy and fails to learn the organizational skills, time management and work ethic necessary to manage life. He may be bright, but may fail at life once the "production" skills increase which is likely to happen in college.
Yes, grades are important; they are the "currency" in school and are a parent-control tactic, as well. Fail the test, lose the car keys. The skills learned here also relate to their adjustment to adulthood.
Pay attention! School is the precursor to the World of Work. Pay attention to your child's ability to keep up with instruction and with production (homework, projects, tests) because production is (probably) the only way the teacher is assured that your child is mastering the content and this is her job. If your child is not "making the grade", ask for a meeting and ask the experts about their "take" on what's going on. Ask for an assessment. Get some basic information to help you plan your next step.
What SHOULD be most important to you? How seriously is your child taking their responsibilities for school ("the work of children")? Are they putting forth a genuine effort and displaying a positive attitude? If not, what is interfering with their performance? ADHD? Learning problems? Anxiety? Depression? Giftedness? If you don't help them to develop these traits, later, their lives will be seriously impacted. They won't develop the "get up, dress up and show up" required of adults every day of our lives. School is not just about learning the facts, it is also about developing the social skills, coping skills and production skills (organizing, time management, task analysis) required for later life. Make no mistake about it. It's serious business.
I've had a few "Dads" in my practice who are the Chief EO, FO, OOs or their companies. This is what they tell me. "I need just a few rock stars. They tend toward being divas, so they're a lot of work. What I need most are those folks who truly contribute to the well-being of the entire company. We can rely on them every day to come in and do their job and support their coworkers and bring a sense of satisfaction to the workplace. They are the heart and soul of the company." Well, there's a mouthful.
When your child's teacher expresses concern, thank them profusely. They care. They honestly care. Help them to help your child. Learn what they know. Help each other. Teaching is an emotional team sport. Everyone plays their position. Get really good at yours.
Here's your homework...check the online grade system, talk to the teacher to clarify your concerns, ask for a meeting, ask for an assessment, call a learning specialist in your community. Don't accept "He's lazy", "She's not trying". Find out "why".
Pay attention! School is the precursor to the World of Work. Pay attention to your child's ability to keep up with instruction and with production (homework, projects, tests) because production is (probably) the only way the teacher is assured that your child is mastering the content and this is her job. If your child is not "making the grade", ask for a meeting and ask the experts about their "take" on what's going on. Ask for an assessment. Get some basic information to help you plan your next step.
What SHOULD be most important to you? How seriously is your child taking their responsibilities for school ("the work of children")? Are they putting forth a genuine effort and displaying a positive attitude? If not, what is interfering with their performance? ADHD? Learning problems? Anxiety? Depression? Giftedness? If you don't help them to develop these traits, later, their lives will be seriously impacted. They won't develop the "get up, dress up and show up" required of adults every day of our lives. School is not just about learning the facts, it is also about developing the social skills, coping skills and production skills (organizing, time management, task analysis) required for later life. Make no mistake about it. It's serious business.
I've had a few "Dads" in my practice who are the Chief EO, FO, OOs or their companies. This is what they tell me. "I need just a few rock stars. They tend toward being divas, so they're a lot of work. What I need most are those folks who truly contribute to the well-being of the entire company. We can rely on them every day to come in and do their job and support their coworkers and bring a sense of satisfaction to the workplace. They are the heart and soul of the company." Well, there's a mouthful.
When your child's teacher expresses concern, thank them profusely. They care. They honestly care. Help them to help your child. Learn what they know. Help each other. Teaching is an emotional team sport. Everyone plays their position. Get really good at yours.
Here's your homework...check the online grade system, talk to the teacher to clarify your concerns, ask for a meeting, ask for an assessment, call a learning specialist in your community. Don't accept "He's lazy", "She's not trying". Find out "why".
Now, you have information and a plan. Just do the best you can...it's usually good enough.
I keep forgetting to tell you. I have a professional Facebook page where these posts appear and I add new information regarding latest trends, research and just plain goofy, fun stuff. Log into Facebook and search for Dr. Claudia McCulloch and see what's shakin'...
TTFN, Claudia
I keep forgetting to tell you. I have a professional Facebook page where these posts appear and I add new information regarding latest trends, research and just plain goofy, fun stuff. Log into Facebook and search for Dr. Claudia McCulloch and see what's shakin'...
TTFN, Claudia
