StudyBlog

When I get a call from a worried parent whose child has experienced a drastic drop in grades, usually the main cause is that they’ve fallen behind with their homework assignments.  This can be an extremely trying cycle for parent and student alike.  As grades fall, parents experience increasing worry and frustration about their child’s behavior, motivation, future, etc.  The student, in turn, gets discouraged, and little-by-little, begins a process of slowly tuning out their parents’ (and teachers’) disapproval, until the students seemingly “doesn’t care” anymore.  Often, by the time I meet with a student, their grades have fallen sharply, and they seem to have all but given up on the school process entirely.

Time and time again, I hear the same lament: “I just can’t get him to care about his homework!”  Let me say that, as a parent of two, I’m SURE that I’m as guilty of this as anyone; but the fact of the matter is that you can’t force your child to care.  It has been my experience that in these situations, the heart will follow the hand.  As children gain the tools for staying on top of homework assignments and see their grades start to inch up, they begin to feel empowered.  In the end, I believe that’s what motivates them more than anything – the feeling of increased control over their lives.

The next few StudyShop blog posts will explore strategies for parents that want to guide their child out of homework troubles. Stay tuned!