This evening, we had a scheduled Parent-Teacher get together. It was pleasant, with the child playing ringmaster based on a script (literally) drawn up by the teacher. Since the script included multiple time when the child wrote down what she was going to do in the future to address the (not many) deficiencies, I asked for a copy of it to bring home. This surprised the teacher. Maybe all of the other parents have excellent memories.
But what got my attention was when the teacher rattled off the child's grades for this period == two As, four Bs. Not great, not bad. Drop her GPA some, she could be President.
Then I noticed that both of the As are things she doesn't like - Reading, Spelling.
And three of the four Bs are things she does like - Math, Science, Social Studies.
She does better in things she doesn't like. And worse in things she does.
Huh?
2 comments:
Well, my best guess as a student who loved learning but hated school, and who now never really plans to leave school is this:
School sucks. Being told what to do when what you are told to do is frequently a waste of time is soul-killing. If you love or are good at the subject at hand, this effect is usually amplified. So, your daughter has an easier time doing the busy work in subjects that she feels less attachment to than in those subjects that she likes.
Sometimes I wonder how I will ever get my kids through school...
"loved learning but hated school" -- that's an interesting observation. I know that last year, when she had problems in 'reading', I was flummoxed until I realized that the problem was in writing about what she'd read, not either the ability to read fluently -- well, fairly -- or the desire to read a lo5. Turned out that she was cutting herself a lot of slack in terms of what was required, at the same time that the teacher was cutting her a lot of slack in terms of *saying* what was required.
When I made that observation last night, the teacher speculated that perhaps my daughter simply worked harder -- or was forced by us to work harder -- in things that she didn't naturally want to do. That sounded a bit glib to me, but I didn't want to push it because I didn't really have a good thought about it.
I've still got to think about this. I appreciate your insights.
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