Kids - School Grades

Honestly I wouldn't let them do that. There is a line I think we don't need to cross homework wise. Get your stuff done as best you can, get to bed at a decent time, and be ready to do it again.

It depends, if I remember correctly Carvers kids went to top notch colleges like MIT. You don’t get into schools like that with Bs and slacking.
 
Who are always the AEA people and education professors in college, women. They teach how they would learn. Boys and girls minds do vary.

The new math makes less sense to boys than the old way, but girls seem to pick up on it quicker. Just an example.
I never know what “new math” is. Is that anything post Newton/Leibniz so like post 1680’s or so? Or after “newer” branches like topology? Or using graphing calculators instead of log tables? Or just talking about the problem in a different way?

Even if the teaching method is somewhat different, there are so many tools available for industrious students to use to understand problem solving. When the Calculus teacher was deployed and the sub knew nothing about Calculus, my son taught himself basically by watching Khan Academy videos or asking his dad or an older brother. Then he wound up having to teach the other students and refer them to resources.
 
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To clarify, I mean the way we go about teaching is a joke. It never seems to evolve with the goal of teaching kids important skills.

To further clarify, I'm not ragging on teachers. I'm being critical of the system.
You'd say teaching is the same now as when you were in school? I know for sure the way they teach things like reading and math have changed at the elementary level anyways.
 
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I never know what “new math” is. Is that anything post Newton/Leibniz so like post 1680’s or so? Or after “newer” branches like topology? Or using graphing calculators instead of log tables? Or just talking about the problem in a different way?

Even if the teaching method is somewhat different, there are so many tools available for industrious students to use to understand problem solving. When the Calculus teacher was deployed and the sub knew nothing about Calculus, my son taught himself basically by watching Khan Academy videos or asking his dad or an older brother. Then he wound up having to teach the other students and refer them to resources.
It’s post 80s I know. I would help my oldest with his algebra and he would get half credit. Answer was right but he did the steps wrong. They changed the way you do it from me to him. I asked a couple of his classmates parents and same thing happened to their kids. With no text books, it’s hard to help if you can’t look over the processes that they require if your kid is confused.
 
It’s post 80s I know. I would help my oldest with his algebra and he would get half credit. Answer was right but he did the steps wrong. They changed the way you do it from me to him. I asked a couple of his classmates parents and same thing happened to their kids. With no text books, it’s hard to help if you can’t look over the processes that they require if your kid is confused.
Yeah I am not a fan of not having a textbook.
 
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I never know what “new math” is. Is that anything post Newton/Leibniz so like post 1680’s or so? Or after “newer” branches like topology? Or using graphing calculators instead of log tables? Or just talking about the problem in a different way?

Even if the teaching method is somewhat different, there are so many tools available for industrious students to use to understand problem solving. When the Calculus teacher was deployed and the sub knew nothing about Calculus, my son taught himself basically by watching Khan Academy videos or asking his dad or an older brother. Then he wound up having to teach the other students and refer them to resources.
Instead of forcing everyone to memorize multiplication tables, different methods are introduced. The issue I had with it is that instead of showing them as options to solve a problem, the curriculum forced kids (and therefore parents) to master all methods. it wasn't an option to simply say, "I'm good with memorizing my tables." My oldest (and I) spent too many confusing and frustrating nights trying to figure out the homework instead of just understanding how to solve 23 X 56.
 
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Just talk amongst parents who have both boys and girls and how the boys struggle early and through algebra one but then overtake the girls in math after that. So it is a small sample size and non scientific.
My daughter's in 8th grade and got a perfect score for math on her ISASP. I don't have a boy, but I'm sure if I did they couldn't do better than that.
 
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The best thing my daughter had happen to her in middle school was running into a teacher that challenged her and made her work. Smart kids can absolutely cruise until they hit as teacher that kicks their ass a bit. She hated that teacher at first for "giving" her a C on a test, but she ended up being her favorite teacher by the end of the year.
 
Our oldest is in 7th grade this year, the first year they actually assign letter grades. Before, it was just the fall, winter, spring standardized testing results.

How do you/did you approach balancing a push for good grades with just doing their best? What were suitable grades for your kids?

Our kids are incredibly intelligent but struggle with ADHD, Anxiety, Depression so there's a bit of a balance act we have to figure out and just realized as the first grades came in that we hadn't figured that out yet.

Realizing your kids' issues means you're paying attention to them. Keep doing that and you'll be fine.

Just like our kids, us parents make mistakes. My daughter listens to me much more intently when I sprinkle in moments of my own shortcomings and failures.
 
I’ll likely expect A’s. But I’m not going to freak over B’s if the effort is there.

I agree with some on here that school in general is a joke, but the work habits & kindness to others are more important to learn right now.

I actually had a stern discussion with my now 4th grader last year about his effort in math. Brought home lots of mistakes on his worksheets. I just asked if he was really, REALLY trying his best. He admitted he probably wasn’t. I asked him to try for one week and we’d get ice cream. I don’t think he missed more than one math question per week for the rest of the year.

I’ll only expect A’s because I’m almost certain my kids should be able to handle it for most classes. Especially through high school, good grades should be achievable if important soft skills like effort & organization are practiced.

The ice cream bribe. Pro move there.
 
The best thing my daughter had happen to her in middle school was running into a teacher that challenged her and made her work. Smart kids can absolutely cruise until they hit as teacher that kicks their ass a bit. She hated that teacher at first for "giving" her a C on a test, but she ended up being her favorite teacher by the end of the year.

LOL, I had a teacher that graded on a "I know your better than this curve" small school and he graded you on your ability plus your effort. Academically challenged kids with good effort would always get out with a C. Screw offs could easily get Ds or Fs. On projects is where he made the the smart kids put in the effort to get the As and Bs.
 
Holy crap you have 6 kids!?! I’m in awe, that’s so much work.
It’s only five, one Caltech, four ISU. No one went to MIT, but the Caltech one does have a prank MIT shirt. And they are all adults now so we are hoping at least one of them will not have us committed or something when we are even older. I have a full basketball team.
 
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