School is not always a place of joy and creativity for students. Some dread it.
I can remember being a fearful student in elementary and high school. I did not want to turn work in. My teachers would tell me it was messy, and that I should do it over. I understand what it means to be that student who hears, "She could be a good student, if she would just show some effort." I was showing all of the effort that I knew how to show. It was never enough.
This Thursday in my featured article, School Success with ADD, you can find out how to help students with ADD who have had long-term academic problems. These are students who have failed in school for years and refuse to work. I have successfully used these methods with hundreds of reluctant students.
There's nothing magic about the techniques. They are best practices for teaching students. When used as a coordinated and consistent program for working with a student, these techniques can make a powerful change in the student's classroom motivation.
Please remember, students who have had years of school failure, cannot turn it around in days or weeks. It is a long process that calls for pounds of patience, encouragement, and a sense of humor.
Be prepared for criticism. Years of being "tough" and "holding the student accountable" have not worked with students who fail to complete or turn work in. You will be told that you are coddling the student. If "coddling" is a synonym for making sure a student is learning and working hard in class, I plead guilty!
It is never too late to begin the trek to school success. This can change the life of a child forever.
I hope you find the article useful. When I showed it to a student to get his take on it, he told me that it was what I had done for him. That's true!
Have a blessed week, and please let me know what you think of the article!
Connie
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