My nine year-old is a smart boy. He loves to read and write. He is a fantastic artist. He watches videos on cartooning on the internet and replicates the drawing exactly. He scored a perfect score on the language portion of our state standardized test, this past fall. But, to him, school is something that he has to do. Homework is something that he has to do before he can do what he would like to do.
We are constantly telling him to slow down on his work, and do his personal best on every assignment. But, I think it frustrates him to have to move slowly. We got his most recent report card, and he has decent grades. But, there is room for improvement, and it is not because he doesn’t know what he is doing, but it is because he rushes through. His handwriting grade, his math grade, his health grade, all could be better, if he slowed down, read the directions, and took the time to give a complete and correct answer.
As evidenced by his state test score, he can write well. He can write very well. But he often writes too quickly and without reading the complete instructions. When I talked with him about the fact that if he slowed down, ALL of his grades would improve, and especially his handwriting grade, his response was “But, mom, when I write, I have so many good ideas in my head, that I need to write quickly so that I can get them all out and not forget them.”
He might be right, but sometimes he makes excuses. I talked about writing all his ideas down quickly before he starts the assignment, so he won’t forget those good ideas. I talked about taking the time to check his math problems. I talked about making sure he has really read the directions. But, I think that all this talking might just be going in one ear and out the other. I think this tends to be a boy thing, especially for our brighter boys. My best friend’s son, although a little more conscientious than my own, was disappointed with a grade on his report card, because he too, rushes through work that he finds easy.
So, what is the answer? Anyone have any good tips on convincing boys to slow down and take pride in their work? I would love to say that the school should be making adjustments for these bright kids, but they do. And no matter how accelerated the work might be, they still, at some point, need to understand the important of slowing down. Or do they?
by In The Fast Lane
I have the same problem with my eight year old girl. And I’m a teacher, so it frustrates me to be the parent of the child who rushes through and who could do better if she just took her time. But I do think there needs to be more focus on work of quality rather than vast quantity. I think we give kids too much work without giving them work that really requires them to slow down and think, and strive for excellence. Worksheets with fill in the blank answers don’t require excellence. Weekly writing assignments that are done once and sent home don’t require excellence. What’s the point of slowing down and doing outstanding work on something that’s going to be thrown away tomorrow?
I think these kids are smart enough to know that so much of what we ask them to do is just required work, but not quality work. We are teaching them mass production skills over craftsmanship. And that’s really a shame. But at least they’re smart enough to get that.
My eleven is the EXACT SAME WAY. It’s so frustrating. I haven’t found the answer yet. Still searching…
My 12 year old was the same way when she was younger. Now she’s in 7th grade, and the work is more challenging in general, and she is more invested in it. She takes pride in her projects, and she cares about her grades. (They also type almost everything, so handwriting is no longer an issue.) In the younger grades, I tend to agree with Lesley, and don’t think I mind my kids rushing through and moving on. (Within reason, of course.)
In our experience/school district, 6th grade is the transition year – moving away from “busy work” and into work that engages the kids in a meaningful way.