"I'm worried about a lack of motivation - he's not getting up until one o'clock."
Many parents across the UK will empathise with mother-of three Louise, who is worried her teenage son is becoming disengaged from his studies, as schools remain closed due to Covid-19.
"It's hard enough motivating a lazy 17-year-old boy who doesn't really care much about school in normal times," says Louise.Yes, being a parent is tough, I'm told.
I'm also told that if you indulge them in their every whim until the age of five, you can damn well forget getting them to become decent human beings past that age. Looks like you just learned that.
"They need the interaction with the teacher, a bit more more than, 'Here's a worksheet'.
"I'm worried my son's not going to bother doing any work now before his A-levels next year and frankly, he's having a nice time, he's exercising lots, playing video games, so why would he start working again?"Why indeed, since you clearly intend feeding and clothing him regardless..?
"It's very difficult for parents to get their children to knuckle down sometimes," says Rebecca Poole, head teacher of Hampton High in south-west London.
"But it's important not to panic. I would say that if it's creating unbearable conflict at home, don't force it.
"As teachers, we will do our best to repair the damage to learning, the important thing is children's wellbeing and safety.
"Families should hear that, they shouldn't tie themselves in knots - we're in this for a long schlep."Yes, we should let teachers repair the damage. What could go wrong?
Er...take away his games console?
ReplyDeleteOr at least negotiate - he get access to the games if he puts in a decent stint of work first; after all, who is paying the electricity/internet bill? Even if the school has not provided enough suitable work, he could, at the very least watch some of the excellent television documentaries out there and broaden his general/subject knowledge - or even read a book!
It would be interesting to know what this mother's expectations of her son's teachers are - and how much support she gave the school pre-lockdown. From past experience of the sort of mother who takes her story to the media, I wonder if there might be chickens coming home to roost here.
What could go wrong is that those teachers are turning out young adults who after 13 years of so called education still can't read properly.
ReplyDelete"Or at least negotiate - he get access to the games if he puts in a decent stint of work first; after all, who is paying the electricity/internet bill?"
ReplyDeleteI suspect the answer is 'the taxpayer'!
"What could go wrong is that those teachers are turning out young adults who after 13 years of so called education still can't read properly."
Even worse, they can't reason properly. Still. Working as intended.