7th grade woes
 

My 12 year old is getting poor grades in school because she doesn't turn in
her homework (class work and tests are fine). The homework organization has
been an issue since forever, and we've tried everything. Any suggestions?

7th grade woes
 

"The Keatings" wrote:

My 12 year old is getting poor grades in school because she doesn't
turn in
her homework (class work and tests are fine). The homework
organization has
been an issue since forever, and we've tried everything. Any
suggestions?

In our school district, and maybe in our entire state, there's a
required class for seventh graders where these skills are taught as part
of the curriculum. The students must purchase a standard planning book,
and all the teachers are aware that this is part of the program. My own
kids didn't go through this, and I'm not sure how much it helps, but
maybe having eveyone expected to take out a notebook and write down
assignments can make a difference.

If I were in this situation, I think what I would do first would be to
ask my daughter what possible solutions she can think of, pick one, and
do everything in your power to support her in it. Maybe it could be a
special (nicely decorated!) folder to put assignment sheets in. Maybe it
could be pens in cool colors to write things on her arms. I'm sure
you've thought of weekly and monthly rewards for success, but the ways
to track that success have to be agreeable to her.

Sorry I don't have a better magic wand to wave at this one.

Peggy

--
....it's always better to find humility before
it goes out looking for you. -- Carolyn Hax

7th grade woes
 

The Keatings wrote:
My 12 year old is getting poor grades in school because she doesn't turn in
her homework (class work and tests are fine). The homework organization has
been an issue since forever, and we've tried everything. Any suggestions?


My daughter is only in 3rd grade but it's also an issue. The school
provides each child with a planner and the child is suppose to write
down all his/her assignments as well as due dates. This is usually a
good tool but DD has spelling problems so it's difficult to decipher her
assignments. She also has a plain folder that has two sides: one marked
"keep at home" and the other marked "return to school". In theory, she
puts returned homework and tests in the "keep at home" half and homework
to be done in the "return to school" half. In practice, everything is
scrambled.

When she gets home, we immediately go through the folder, we sort
through the papers and put away graded homework and tests. What's left
is homework to be done. She has to do the homework right then. We've
found waiting means she forgets (and so do I).

Recently, we've set up an incentive system. If she completes her
homework and gets an acceptable grade on them (check or check plus), she
gets one point. If she forgets and gets "2nd notice" on them, one point
is deducted. She also gets points for test grades (one point for A or
B; minus one point for C; minus two points for D). She gets things she
wants with the points she accumulates.

The other thing we found that helps is she works on our kitchen table
that's been converted to a desk for her use alone. She must keep that
surface absolutely clean. No lunchbox. No backpack. No toys. No crafts.
Nothing except a pencil holder, school books, dictionary and a lamp.
This seems simple but it demands discipline (actually for the entire
family).

Obviously your child is older so you may not be so hands-on (I don't
know - I don't have a 7th grader). I'm hoping that by the time DD is in
7th grade, she'll only need gentle reminders (I have a feeling that may
not be the case).

Jeanne

7th grade woes
 

The Keatings wrote:
My 12 year old is getting poor grades in school because she doesn't turn in
her homework (class work and tests are fine). The homework organization has
been an issue since forever, and we've tried everything. Any suggestions?


This is such a YMMV thing. My DD (7th grade), for example,
is very self-motivated, and routinely gets her work done in
school, or at home days or weeks before it's due. DS (4th
grade), on the other hand, requires considerable oversight,
far more than DD ever did in 4th grade.

So the question becomes: how much do you want to be involved
in your kid's homework. It sounds like for your 12-yo you
need to ride herd very hard. At our house, this would mean
no socializing, no screentime, no sports until homework is done.
It would mean parents keeping track of homework due-dates,
which in Middle School can be a royal pain.

In the context of the question, what does 'Tried Everything'
mean? When I hear that, I envision a child who has learned
to outwait the parent :) Our DS is very good at that.

One last thing that might be occurring, although since this
has been an issue forever and you've tried everything, likely
not: what's going on at school? Does she have normal social
interaction for a 7th grader? Does she like her teachers? I
would say "no" answers to those might mean there's a bigger
problem than poor organizational skills.

Scott DD 12 and DS 9

Our daughter had similar problems in middle school with organization and written homework. It wasn't until 9th grade that we found out that she was severly dyslexic but had compensated so well for it in learning to read that her reading and comprehension were always at or above grade level. The dyslexia testing people were amazed at how well she could read. They identified dysgraphia and disorganization as the components of dyslexia she was least able to compensate for and gave us ideas about how to change that.

I wish we'd had that information in 7th grade when the school insisted she drop her drama class [the only thing she was getting an A in] and in its place have a study hall in which she did almost nothing. I was willing to object to that, but she didn't want us making a big deal out of it.

Tom [DD 26 BA in Theatre Arts, DS 29 video game tester]