Search Results for: blog do you punish your kids for bad grades

Reward for Good Grades?

Ahhh…it’s that time of the year. Homework. Class work. Grades. What is your family’s philosophy on making good grades? Should a child be rewarded for this? I can’t help but feel a little sorry for my daughter who is in 10th grade this year. She is following in the footsteps of her older brother who had a well-known reputation for his schoolwork…he never turned it in. Or if he did, it was very last minute. Smart as a whip, he never once studied for a test or exam but always got A’s and B’s. However his grades would reflect his … Continue reading →

Does More Pressure Need to Be Put on Students?

I got an email from a website, “Online Degrees,” in which you can find a really interesting article, “Pressure from parents: Do students need more of it?” It was interesting to read this after coming off parent/teacher conferences. I have one child that truly cares about their schoolwork and is doing well. I have another child who could take it or leave it. Then I have a child that really doesn’t seem to care. Three very diverse students. The article cites a study done by the “Pew Research Center,” in which 6 in 10 Americans believe that parents aren’t putting … Continue reading →

Smoking In the Girls Room

If you got caught smoking anywhere at my former high school (including the girls restroom), you would be automatically expelled. Not placed on detention or suspended for a few days; rather, you’d be kicked off campus for good. No questions asked. No second chances. Given my history with no-nonsense school administrators, and their severe opposition to smoking, you can imagine how floored I was to learn that a school located near Cardiff, Wales, is actually considering a move to create an area on campus that kids could go in case they needed a smoke break during school hours. If that … Continue reading →

Bad Report Card Blues

What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done to hide a bad report card from your parents? Say the dog ate it? Claim it “accidentally” flew out of the school bus window? How about telling your mom that you were kidnapped after school by a man with a gun, who forced you into a car and drove you to the outskirts of town, but somehow you managed to escape through a car window, but in the ensuing chaos (namely the fact that you were running for your life) you forgot your backpack—-which housed your report card–in the kidnapper’s car. Ever use … Continue reading →

Battling for Basic Education

The next time your child complains about having to go to school, consider having him tune into PBS’ Time for School 3. The 12-year documentary project chronicling the lives of young children desperately trying to secure basic education is as heart wrenching as it is informative. You’ll have a pit in your stomach by the end of the show. I did. Time for School 3 is the continuation of the documentary, which started filming in 2002. The series takes viewers inside seven classrooms in seven countries and offers a glimpse into the lives of seven extraordinary children who are practically … Continue reading →

Paying for Your Child’s Bad Behavior in School

What kind of punishment would really hit you where it hurts in regards to paying for your child’s bad behavior in school? British government officials say parents of poorly behaved students are no longer deterred by moves to shame the family name as punishment to get their kids to act properly, so they’ve decided to hit moms and dads where it really hurts—-in their wallets. According to reports, parents in the United Kingdom – whose kids attend state schools – will now be required to sign a contract that promises their children will behave while at school. The government’s new … Continue reading →

Joking About Homeschooling

Homeschoolers are the butt of late night tv jokes, a writer recently stated. Being an insomniac, I watch a bit of late night TV and with the exception of one skit that included Micheal Phelps, I don’t recall hearing any. In fact, Jay leno has been dubbed Educator of the year video that discusses ineffective schools are. Personally, I think this writer was reaching. Curious to find out what people are saying about homeschooling, I scoured the internet in search of homeschool jokes. The first set of jokes I found were from a homeschooled kid who’s jokes were the “you … Continue reading →

Back-to-School Supplies: It’s All About the Bag

If you don’t know that back-to-school supplies are on sale right now, then you either don’t have kids or you haven’t been shopping in a while (or you haven’t been reading my blog). Personally, even if I didn’t have kids I would still hightail it to Wal-Mart (Kmart, Target, etc.) to scoop up 10-cent packs of pens, pencils, glue sticks, notepads, and scissors. Some deals are too good to pass up. What’s more, what home couldn’t use a fresh supply of office provisions? Still, despite the rows of hot-colored highlighters, the fancy detailed pencil boxes and the endless amount of … Continue reading →

Back-to-School Shopping Tips

So much for summer! Wal-Mart, Target, Toys R Us, heck, even my favorite supermarket have ditched their displays of sun chairs, sunscreen, sunglasses and sand toys to make way for back-to-school supplies. Now, instead of deciding on the type of cooler to take to summer sports camp, your son will be faced with the dilemma of picking between a new Transformers backpack and one that features SpongeBob SquarePants in all his electric yellow glory. However, before you allow your child free rein in the backpack aisle you might want to consider these helpful safety tips: Make sure you choose a … Continue reading →

Kindergarten Teacher Arrested for Trashy Move

Hmmm… guess I’ll file this one under: Another reason I’m glad my daughter is attending half-day kindergarten this fall. In addition to not having to take a nap on the classroom floor (though, part of me would have enjoyed being a fly on the wall when my anti-nap drama queen went up against a woman who had 18 other five year olds to cajole into remaining silent for an hour), my daughter will also be skipping lunchtime in the school cafeteria. Subsequently, I will not have to deal with the same situation parents of a Connecticut kindergartener were forced to … Continue reading →