Last night I wrote a fairly incoherent post about my daughter and her education. It wasn't drunken rambling, but it was probably about as close as I have ever come to that state. (I've never been drunk, or high, either. Perhaps that's my problem!)
The lyrics have changed since the last time I sang the song, but the melody lingers on: Is she doing as well as she can? Probably not. Is she doing as well as she can without being a studying drone? Ditto, and, not bloody likely. How can she improve her grades, specifically in two of her core subjects? The answer from the school, when they give one at all, tends to be unsatisfying, as the things that they say to do, she does do, leading me to think that it's more a matter of quantity than content -- for example, school says review the material, she says I do review the material, and the school replies We meant without music playing in the background, videos occasionally playing in the foreground, and, no matter how, at length, and more than once. Her response would be I like playing music, it helps me think. And I'm not really watching the videos. Usually. And I don't need to do it more than once.
I know that education tends to be an imprecise science. Your mileage may vary. Results not guaranteed.
I also know that as things go, she's not doing all that badly. B average, taking the toughest courses that her school offers to a second year student. I'm pleased by that. It's when I reflect on how close (one point) she was to getting a C in one course that I start having these thoughts about what else can be done? The answers that occur to be are the ones that they used when I was in elementary school, lo these many years ago. Vocabulary drills. Flash cards. Mindless rote memorization. I try hard not to think those are the only way because, by god, they worked for me. I am not always successful in this. And, of course, remembering my class rank at graduation, they didn't actually work all that well for me, either.
We're willing to be perceived by her as being mean. We're not willing to do it without a strong sense that it'll work.
2 comments:
One approach to sections in chapters in books is to scan the chapter quickly...charts, photos etc. and then read the end (summary or last page) first so that you can see where the chapter is going. Then read the section titles so that you have in your mind how it is going to get there and see if you (the student) have any questions already and finally read the chapter. Of course, this only works for some subjects.
True. I suppose it's expecting too much for an instructor to say how to study their material. And one size approach might not fit all, anyway.
I am damn tired of feeling as if we're the first to come across this question, though. Were I the entrepreneurial type, I'd think this was an Opportunity.
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