Lower Grades Don’t Equal Failure

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There are many reasons that a child’s grades should not be the measuring stick for their success. Some student’s grades tend to be on the high side for one reason or another, while other students can’t seem to get a “good grade” no matter how well they know the material or how hard they study.

Lower Grades Don't Equal Failure - By Misty Leask

As homeschool parents most of us don’t place too much importance on our children’s test grades, but often others do.

For some reason people believe that the grades children get in school determines the level of their success or their failure. Yet, grades aren’t all that make up our children. No one can say our children are successful or failures based on the number in red written on their test.

Lower grades don’t equal failure. Good grades do not equal success.

Each child has a unique future and their future does not depend on getting good grades in school. Hard work, determination, a good work ethic, character and much more will impact our children’s future in greater ways than the grades they receive in school.

We need to ensure that we do not have certain expectations for our children and the grades we expect them to get on their schoolwork. Our children’s hard work and diligence toward their school work is worth more than the highest score they could receive.

There may be times when our child is truly struggling with a particular subject or concept and the grades reveal that. When these times come it is important that we don’t simply push through, instead we need to take the time to ensure our children truly understand before moving onto the next thing. This can be difficult for homeschool moms that struggle with feeling like they are behind in their homeschooling, so be sure to remember that each child is unique and they each learn at their own pace. If you don’t take the time needed to teach difficult concepts properly, it will continue to impede their progress going forward.

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Some children can be lazy in regards to their school work and lower grades can reveal that laziness. If you feel that this is an issue for your child, you can’t ignore the problem. Take time to watch your child and ask yourself a few questions; Are they bored? Am I pushing to get too much done each day? Is a good work ethic simply lacking? Am I not encouraging them enough? Do they not understand the blessing of learning and education? After you’ve taken time to watch your child and ask yourself these questions, sit down with them and discuss your concern regarding the laziness surrounding their school work. Make sure that you don’t stress the grades they’re receiving, you don’t want them to focus on getting “good grades” and measuring their success according to them.

If your child tends to get lower grades than is typically deemed successful, ensure that you take time to point out their other qualities to them. Make sure they know that lower grades don’t equal failure. Encourage them to do their best and remind them that their best is all you ask of them. Take time to work alongside them to build up their self esteem, to further instruct them in subjects and topics that they struggle with and show them that hard work and determination go farther than any grade anyone can receive.

It’s time to change the way that people measure the level of children’s success and failure. The grades that children receive in school should not be the only measuring stick. We need to encourage others to look at our children in a new light, to see who they really are and what all they are capable of…regardless of the grades they receive in school.

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