I have trouble understanding my boys and their attitudes to school work.

Mind you, now that Older Son is at uni, he nags little brother, saying he should work harder now and save himself some grief in the future. But the rewards are too long-term for Younger Son to be bothered, to be honest. He really needs something immediate to motivate/deter him.

When I was at school I (largely) enjoyed the school work, was conscientious about homework most of the time, was competitive and wanted to avoid the shame or embarrassment of both not doing well and not having any homework to hand in. I was on the verge of being one of those annoying goody two-shoes – in fact, I could well have been, I lived in my own little world a lot :P

So when Younger Son gets notes home or on his report saying he mucks up in class and doesn’t bother, makes smart remarks, doesn’t hand in homework (if I knew of the existence of any homework I might have a chance of putting the boot up his bum) – well, I have no idea of how to motivate him because his head doesn’t work like mine did.

I think that if the cane still existed he’d find himself suddenly quite motivated! As far as I’m concerned if the school can’t manage his behaviour at school but he’s well-behaved at home, why should I be doing their job/s for them … at the same time that I realise that they have limited means of punishment/reinforcement.

Do you mind if I ask how old Younger Son is, Yeehah?

Just wondering whether I can think of anything useful from my brothers’ time in school (mine is of no use – I have the same kind of brain as you!!)

bon008 said:

Do you mind if I ask how old Younger Son is, Yeehah?

Just wondering whether I can think of anything useful from my brothers’ time in school (mine is of no use – I have the same kind of brain as you!!)

Just turned 13 last month, he’s in Year 7 at high school.

Well.. I don’t have much experience but here are the things I have observed:

- in primary school one of my brothers would get in trouble for causing a distraction in class because he finished his work really quickly – it wasn’t stimulating enough for him so he got bored quickly (and the teachers weren’t very good at recognising what was going on)
- I think some kids who play up a bit can be insecure and feel that it’s the best way to be respected by their peers – better to fail on purpose than to try and possibly fail?

When I was at school I (largely) enjoyed the school work, was conscientious about homework most of the time, was competitive and wanted to avoid the shame or embarrassment of both not doing well and not having any homework to hand in. I was on the verge of being one of those annoying goody two-shoes – in fact, I could well have been, I lived in my own little world a lot :P
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i was a studious little kid. i notice my daughter didn’t follow me – smart enuff but just didn’t want to study.
not much you can do – except love them and help them whatever the outcome.