Re: motivate HS sophomore

Chilly Mike wrote:

> Hello,
> My son is a HS sophomore who is capable of doing better than his 3.2
> GPA indicates.  I've been considering rewarding him with money if his
> report card GPA is higher than 3.20, but I'm not sure if that would
> help.  Then I think that if he doesn't improve his grades, I'll cut
> back his TV time, or his online time, or his social time, and have him
> spend that time studying, but then I'm not so sure that's a good idea
> either.  I want him to put more effort into his studies, without
> turning him off.  He is able to skate by with one study hall and
> doesn't have to work hard to earn his 3.20, but I know he could raise
> his GPA to at least 3.6.  Any thoughts? Or should I just be happy that
> he's earning a 3.2 GPA?  Thanks for any help!
> 
> Mike
> 

Punitive actions would pretty much guarantee a rebellion and not what
you want.  I would try to motivate him by talking about what he wants to
do, what's he interested in.  Even if he's a part-time employee at the
local skate / surf store, talk about setting up a business and what the
store does.

Also, a 3.2 GPA, while not stellar, really isn't bad.  My parents were
tough on me and it did absolutely nothing to raise my GPA, it just made
me feel stupid and worthless.  My mother took one look at my PSAT score
and remarked "Well, that won't win the National Merit Scholarship" (my
brother actually got this), so I felt awful.  When I told my friend my
score, with the comment "it's not very good", her eyes bulged out and
she said "It's one of the highest scores in the school."

Jeanne