Submitted by Patti Voelker (not verified) on February 23, 2007 - 22:18.
As a parent of a 12 year old boy and a 13 year old girl, and being a former middle school teacher, I can tell you that the educational differences begin now. As a young, bright, eager teacher, it only made sense that the boys got in trouble more often because they were loud. Girls got better grades on assignments because they appeared to have put in the time and presented a quality product.
Now that I have a boy, I understand. My son will come home and tell me all about what he is learning in school. I know he understands the material. He even uses vocab words he has learned at school in games we are playing at home. He has exceeded on state tests and he is reading above his grade level. But, he can only pull a B out of class. My son does not pay attention to detail when creating an art project to go with his book report, or creating a "fun" flip book to prove he understands Mesopotamian life. The information is all there, but the handwriting is horrendous and the pictures are skimpy. In a recent project worth 20 points, the teacher took off 10% for not having a complete heading at the top and another 10% for not being neat. Nothing else was wrong, but it brought his grade down to an 80% when he clearly understood the information.
I don't want my son to become disenchanted with school. I don't want him to stop loving learning because he is unable to put together a product that makes the teacher happy. I understand that in some cases neatness should count, but please do not let it get in the way of the big picture. Let them learn.
As a parent of a 12 year old
Submitted by Patti Voelker (not verified) on February 23, 2007 - 22:18.
As a parent of a 12 year old boy and a 13 year old girl, and being a former middle school teacher, I can tell you that the educational differences begin now. As a young, bright, eager teacher, it only made sense that the boys got in trouble more often because they were loud. Girls got better grades on assignments because they appeared to have put in the time and presented a quality product.
Now that I have a boy, I understand. My son will come home and tell me all about what he is learning in school. I know he understands the material. He even uses vocab words he has learned at school in games we are playing at home. He has exceeded on state tests and he is reading above his grade level. But, he can only pull a B out of class. My son does not pay attention to detail when creating an art project to go with his book report, or creating a "fun" flip book to prove he understands Mesopotamian life. The information is all there, but the handwriting is horrendous and the pictures are skimpy. In a recent project worth 20 points, the teacher took off 10% for not having a complete heading at the top and another 10% for not being neat. Nothing else was wrong, but it brought his grade down to an 80% when he clearly understood the information.
I don't want my son to become disenchanted with school. I don't want him to stop loving learning because he is unable to put together a product that makes the teacher happy. I understand that in some cases neatness should count, but please do not let it get in the way of the big picture. Let them learn.