In a world of no grades - how do you keep your day dreamer motivated?
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Anonymous
| We're in MCPS - the land of Ps - and my kid is perfectly satisfied with a P and not willing to go the extra mile to try to do more challenging work. The teacher is frustrated and I am too. How do you get your kid motivated? We've tried praise, we've tried yelling, and we've tried workbooks to provide a challenge with no success. My kid just doesn't care. How do you keep your kid motivated? |
Anonymous
| Troll |
Anonymous
| I don't know what a P is but read the Kazdin Method to learn about how to motivate kids. Some kids are not motivated in the same way that others are and need a little extra motivation. Nothing wrong with that. That said, in the early grades it hardly matters that they get top grades or master everything. Kids often mature on their own and decide when they want to buckle down on their own. It really doesn't much matter till high school so let them have their fun in this pressure cooker region. I would use motivators to make sure homework gets done. |
Anonymous
What makes you say troll? This very question came up at a dinner party recently |
Anonymous
| I don't think you can motivate your kid. You can give them consequences but that seems extreme. |
Anonymous
| What's wrong with being satisfied with a P? I think it's great. Now he can put his energy into something in which he is more interested. |
Anonymous
Not the troll caller but I find it "very" hard to believe the teacher is frustrated that the kid doesn't get better than a P. That's ridiculous. |
Anonymous
| OP poster here. It is not that the teacher cares about the Ps. She wants to see more effort, rather than a kid who is just checking the boxes to get a P. Thanks to those who provided advice. |
Anonymous
I agree. Kids can be very passionate and interested in topics that just don't come up in the classroom. Let your kid find out what he likes without it being tied to school or learning. |
Anonymous
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Whose to say A-F would motivate the kid. I know when I was a child I did not care about grades.
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Anonymous
Agree that mcps and their grading system has nothing to do with your child not being motivaged.OP, how old is your child? That makes a difference. |
Anonymous
My son is motivated by money. When I was a kid, my older brother (who is just like my son) couldn't have cared less about grades so my mom paid him. More for an A than a B and nothing for a C, etc. She paid me too to be fair but I wouldn't work hard even w/o the money (but the money was a nice bonus  My son now gets all As and I pay him for them. He is very capable of getting them but they are pretty meaningless to him otherwise.
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Anonymous
I agree. I don't know why A/B/C/D/E would motivate a daydreamer more than P/I/N would. |
Anonymous
Point taken on the letter grades not helping. He's in 3rd grade. I think PP is correct that we need to find the right incentive. |
Anonymous
| Huh? My 3rd grader in APS gets letter grades on all of his work. |