High school help...?

Question

this isn't a question saying how I'm gonna get beat up or anything, it's just to see what you think, about my son getting in to this school. First of all my son is going into, 8th grade and were in the process of moving into another neighbor hood. He will be attending a public school after being in private his whole life. his test scores in 7th were outstanding and were as good as 11th grade, but his report cards were horrible, and i think the reason for that is because i lost my job and we, were also in the process of moving that whole year, I think that might of screwed up his work and all of that. He wants and I want him to attend North Side College Preparation, IL. This is one of the best school and do you think they'll cut him some slack and let him in because of his testing scores. Northside Prep is a public school by the way. Do you think he would be better off staying in a private school or going to a public school? do you even think he could make it at all?

Answer 1

Your sons problem is one that a lot of kids face.  He is probably one of the smartest kids in his grade, but for some reason he is not motivated.  That's where you need to help him.  Express to him how important school is, especially once he gets to high school.  Make him understand how lucky he is to be naturally smart and how many kids would give anything to have it so easily and how hes wasting it by not striving to reach his full potential.

Answer 2

School environment is very important, so I encourage you to get him into the most advantageous environment possible. I think that if you make an appointmentwith the administration of your desired school to discuss your concern, explain the circumstances behind the reportcard grades and offer his test scores as some indication of what he can do, then you'll show not only that he has aptitude, but that you and he are both willing to work toward improvement and value education. That can go a long way toward accomplishing your aims.

In my experience as a teacher, low grades and high test scores can result from many things:

- changes in home (which is what  you mentioned)

- forgeting to turn in homework assignments

- inconsistent peformance (100% one week and 70% effort the next two weeks)

- difficulty with time management (remembering to do math homework every day but forgetting to do that big month-long reading project for English)

One of the best suggestions I ever heard was to set aside a set period of time every night for 'studying'- 'studying', not 'homework'. When homework is done, students are usually free to play video games, watch tv, or otherwise goof off. If they have to 'study', then they sit at the desk until the set time is up, so they have no reward for forgetting long-term projects or reviewing notes more than one day before the test.

I hope something here will be of use to you. Good luck with your school search.