Middle school grades and workload

[Anonymous]

DC is in the 7th grade AAP in a top-rated school. She is a B student in general. Sometimes Cs, sometimes As - very creative, but has difficulty sustaining attention, needs support in planning, time management etc. Also, she just doesn't care enough to put extra effort into her schoolwork. FWIW, she effortlessly tested into the program back in elementary.
I compare her assignments with what her friends in non-AAP programs are doing. The AAP ones - at least in this school- are by far more complex. They're generally open-ended, require quite a bit of research and, in my diletantic view, high-school level analytical thinking and writing skills. And I'm jealous. I see her friends making straight As, and I wonder if she would be better off in a program where you can score an easy A by filling in a simple worksheet. So how do I deal? What's the significance of middle school grades anyway? What will matter in the nearest few years - excellent GPA or what she can actually do?

[Anonymous]

The only middle school grades that will matter are any that are high school classes. Being in classes where she will have to learn to work hard and manage her time will help her when she goes to high school.

[Anonymous]

Stop comparing her to her friends. How do you even know what they are doing? I have a high schooler who went through AAP and I had no idea what his friends were doing or their grades. Stop making an effort to find out.

[pettifogger]

Forget any middle school grades. Her motivation level is the most important thing that will matter for high school. Also having a basic ability to stay organized, but definitely intrinsic motivation is the #1 thing that she'll need to acquire at some point (hopefully during middle school).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC is in the 7th grade AAP in a top-rated school. She is a B student in general. Sometimes Cs, sometimes As - very creative, but has difficulty sustaining attention, needs support in planning, time management etc. Also, she just doesn't care enough to put extra effort into her schoolwork. FWIW, she effortlessly tested into the program back in elementary.
I compare her assignments with what her friends in non-AAP programs are doing. The AAP ones - at least in this school- are by far more complex. They're generally open-ended, require quite a bit of research and, in my diletantic view, high-school level analytical thinking and writing skills. And I'm jealous. I see her friends making straight As, and I wonder if she would be better off in a program where you can score an easy A by filling in a simple worksheet. So how do I deal? What's the significance of middle school grades anyway? What will matter in the nearest few years - excellent GPA or what she can actually do?

How did she do in elementary school? Did you find her grades then were a good predictor of how she is doing now in middle school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Stop comparing her to her friends. How do you even know what they are doing? I have a high schooler who went through AAP and I had no idea what his friends were doing or their grades. Stop making an effort to find out.

OP here. Her friends' moms are bragging how their kids get straight As. I say, oh, that's great, I think this and this assignment was really hard, they must have put in a lot of work. They say what assignment, we never did anything like that, we just had to do this other short thing. So, no, I'm not prying, but when it comes up, I ask questions.
DC had all 4s in younger elementary and a mix of 3s and 4s in older elementary. Her challenges were always there but her teachers never made a big deal out of them, as she is generally a very sweet kid who comes off really intelligent.
Just read another thread about parents pressurizing teachers for better grades and, well, this makes me twice as concerned.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stop comparing her to her friends. How do you even know what they are doing? I have a high schooler who went through AAP and I had no idea what his friends were doing or their grades. Stop making an effort to find out.

OP here. Her friends' moms are bragging how their kids get straight As. I say, oh, that's great, I think this and this assignment was really hard, they must have put in a lot of work. They say what assignment, we never did anything like that, we just had to do this other short thing. So, no, I'm not prying, but when it comes up, I ask questions.
DC had all 4s in younger elementary and a mix of 3s and 4s in older elementary. Her challenges were always there but her teachers never made a big deal out of them, as she is generally a very sweet kid who comes off really intelligent.
Just read another thread about parents pressurizing teachers for better grades and, well, this makes me twice as concerned.

Honestly don't get so worked up by other people bragging. Let them have their joy and just ignore it. The assignments are different. So what? You are not in competition. Grades are not a big deal in middle school unless it's a highschool level class. It's tacky of them to brag and it's tacky of you to be comparing notes with them. Also, you all are way into your kid's assignments saying "we judt had to do this other..." It's not "we" it's the kid's work.