The fine line
You tell your child to try their best in their tests,
competitions, whatever they do. You ask them “Did you try your best?” and they
say “Yes Daddy. I tried my best”.
When the results come back, they aren’t as good as you
expect, especially from someone that claims they tried their best.
What do you do? Do you:
- Doubt them? Meaning even though they claim they tried their best, they didn’t? They were fooling around and really did not even bother to prepare for the test?
- Understand that they did try their best but they really have not reached the standard of their peers or the level expected of them.
- Ignore everything and wait for the next test to see if things improve or go downhill?
It is really a fine line trying to decide what to do. Putting
too much pressure on them might make them dislike the subject or studies in general
and destroy their love of learning – which is what is really needed. On the
other hand, letting them study on their own hardly works. As you know, most
kids need that gentle kick in the backside to get them pointed in the right
direction.
But the new generation of educators now tell us that not all children are academically gifted and we should not push everyone in that direction. Some are born to be sportsmen, musicians, entertainers, beach-bums. They all have to be given the opportunities to grow.