The real reson why kids make bad grades.

Originally posted by creamsoda
I believe that it all comes down to the words of encouragement, and discouragement. Not only that, but also the kind of teacher and what goes on in the class they are in. I do believe that a students grades do not have anything to do with homework.

When a student is discouraged. Whether it be given a bad grade, or told that they can do better and that they are doing bad, the student tends to get bad grades.

Well my young friend, let me congratulate you on at least pondering yourself. You seem to reflect on your abilities, which is a benchmark of intelligent people. Those who are ignorant have no way to gauge their intelligence, because they do not question themselves or check facts, and it has been proven that low IQ people overestimate their quota because of this. High IQ people tend to underestimate themselves.

Getting on to my thoughts; your observation may be in part true, but I think if it is true, you should try to change your attitudes if it causes you to get low grades in a subject. What I am trying to say is, that most people you will study under, work for, and relate to will probably not praise you for your efforts. Get used to that - life generally doesn't reward good behavior, but is almost certain to judge you for poor performances.

So, your task should be to study and do the things you enjoy and praise yourself for a good job, and take criticism just enough to evaluate if it is warranted. The stuff you do not excel at should still be done if it is some form of requirement, and just do enough to placate those who require it. Eventually you may find an interest in something that doesn't thrill you now, so don't throw your current learning in the trash bin.

I did below C average in most things in High School, and barely passed, not because I did not have the aptitude, but because I was extremely bored with the material and would rather daydream about my projects and ideas. Eventually I needed some of it in life and it was a snap to pick back up what I had been taught, even though I thought it was a waste when in High School.

Good luck, though.

Originally posted by creamsoda
When a student is discouraged. Whether it be given a bad grade, or told that they can do better and that they are doing bad, the student tends to get bad grades.

When a student gets bad grades, it's because they are bad at the subject. They are told they can do better and given bad grades a result of this. True, this can be discouraging, but it is a lack of ability which causes bad grades, not the other way around.

Originally posted by creamsoda
Well, its not really the Person that people look at anymore who they believe that are fit for the job. Its the Papers that matter in todays world. Yeah you could train for months and they wouldnt hire you if you had bad grades before. But if you made straight A's your whole life, they would take you right in without any experience and just train you there.

You need to spend some more time in the ral world before you make conclusions like that. In the REAL world, its more like "Its not What you know, its WHO you know." In all the jobs Ive ever had, the LAST thing they looked at was grades. A diploma is important, not the grades behind it. The employer wants to know that you can see something thru to its completion. What matters more to them is character. If a fellow employee brings in someone and says "you want this guy..he's good" Youll get the job. One reference is better than all the papers in the world.


As far as blaming others for the boring job or whatever..Remember this...I tell this to all my grumbling employees. " I know this sucks, and I know you dont like it. But thats why we pay you. If it was fun, you would pay US to do it"

As I stated in a largely ignored thread I wrote earlier today, there is no one single magic bullet that will get kids good grades, or raise their interest in school, or self esteem.

The system itself is so heavily flawed as to make even a perfect condition of excellebt teachers and willing students incapable of a competitive education these days. It will take not only a complete redesigning of the system from the ground up, an entirely different skillset of teachers, and taking a real-world approach to the skills that are taught.