Calling on the Veterans

[alamama]

I hope this makes sense, and please excuse all of the grammar mistakes. I am writing this in the midst of frustration. I need your help. DD is 15, just finishing up 9th grade. I have only been hsing her since 7th. She is bright and always got A's in ps. However, once she closed the book the information she learned would be gone. One of my goals in hsing her was to teach her to learn.

 

So, with all of that said, the stumbling block we are having is her mindset of "I won't ever use this.", "Why do I need to learn this?", and so on. So if something is hard for her she automatically thinks those thoughts. While I agree with her on some of her points, that mindset is really making it hard for her to learn and for me to teach. I am honestly struggling with the thought of "Can I really teach high schoolers?"

 

Another note: she finished her 9th grade grammar and is starting her 10th grade grammar. We switched from Wordly Wise to BJU. I know that BJU is more challenging and that is part of the problem, but her mindset goes for all subjects.

 

What am I doing wrong?

Any suggestions as to how to help her to change her mindset?

 

Thanks for any and all of your help.

[SailorMom]

:grouphug:

You arne't doing anything wrong. She's 15.... Kids in ps say the same things :) Especially at that age!

As far as making it relevent, you may want to talk to her about keeping her options open. In some way that isn't condescending (teenagers....:tongue_smilie:) point out that she may not be 100% certain of what she wants to do in life, and that by having good general knowledge she can pursue whatever she wishes after high school.

Grammar is tough... while it is always necesarry to have good usage, knowing the terms themselves is usually only needed in classes and if you are an English teacher! However, it is on the SAT, and college English will require it, so it goes back to keeping options open....

 

ETA - I'm not much of a veteran, my oldest isn't even 15 yet - but have had to answer similar questions :)

[Home'scool]

I always used to use a weight lifting analogy.

 

If you want your body to become strong you go to the gym and lift weights. You do bench presses, squats, curls, etc.

 

And you will use NONE of those actions in real life. No one will ever stop you on the street and need you to bench press anything. You will never be required to curl a weight.

 

BUT, your body will be strong when you need to do real-life things that require stamina and endurance. Your overall posture will be better. You will feel better about yourself.

 

So learning some abstract math concept or memorizing history dates is strength training for your brain. You may never need the math concept, but your brain will be stronger for going through the motions of learning it.

[SailorMom]

I always used to use a weight lifting analogy.

 

If you want your body to become strong you go to the gym and lift weights. You do bench presses' date=' squats, curls, etc.

 

And you will use NONE of those actions in real life. No one will ever stop you on the street and need you to bench press anything. You will never be required to curl a weight.

 

BUT, your body will be strong when you need to do real-life things that require stamina and endurance. Your overall posture will be better. You will feel better about yourself.

 

So learning some abstract math concept or memorizing history dates is strength training for your brain. You may never need the math concept, but your brain will be stronger for going through the motions of learning it.[/quote']

 

Oh - good one - I may be using that soon :)

[apond]

I love that analogy!

[alamama]

:grouphug:

You arne't doing anything wrong. She's 15.... Kids in ps say the same things :) Especially at that age!

As far as making it relevent, you may want to talk to her about keeping her options open. In some way that isn't condescending (teenagers....:tongue_smilie:) point out that she may not be 100% certain of what she wants to do in life, and that by having good general knowledge she can pursue whatever she wishes after high school.

Grammar is tough... while it is always necesarry to have good usage, knowing the terms themselves is usually only needed in classes and if you are an English teacher! However, it is on the SAT, and college English will require it, so it goes back to keeping options open....

 

ETA - I'm not much of a veteran, my oldest isn't even 15 yet - but have had to answer similar questions :)

 

Thanks. I have had that kind of talk with her and got the shoulder shrug. :tongue_smilie:

 

I always used to use a weight lifting analogy.

 

If you want your body to become strong you go to the gym and lift weights. You do bench presses' date=' squats, curls, etc.

 

And you will use NONE of those actions in real life. No one will ever stop you on the street and need you to bench press anything. You will never be required to curl a weight.

 

BUT, your body will be strong when you need to do real-life things that require stamina and endurance. Your overall posture will be better. You will feel better about yourself.

 

So learning some abstract math concept or memorizing history dates is strength training for your brain. You may never need the math concept, but your brain will be stronger for going through the motions of learning it.[/quote']

 

I used one very similar to that this morning and she didn't want to hear it. She's strong willed and that can be a good thing, just not when we are hitting a wall.

 

Thanks!

[mazakaal]

You may want to tell her that I personally have found the ability to study and learn information extremely important just today.

 

We're Americans living in the UK for the past 10 years and want to try to get dual citizenship. We had to pass a test before we can apply for UK citizenship. Because I had learned how to learn, I was able to read the book, take notes, and study effectively so that I could pass the test without a problem. Two other people leaving the exam did not pass, so it's not just that it was an easy test. But because I knew how to study, I didn't find it particularly difficult.

 

So let your dd know that even if she never actually needs to know the particular information that is being taught, the study skills that she's learning are invaluable.

[alamama]

thanks for the comment.

[mcconnellboys]

Grammar is never a waste as way too many people in the under 30 crowd today can't compose even a single sentence that makes any sense. If communications break down nationwide, how do we carry on business? Misunderstandings in written communications cost time and money to correct.

 

Even for subjects that she may not use directly on a daily basis (and grammar is not one of those - you must use it with every written and verbal communication), learning how to learn, how to remember, how to make connections between topics, etc. is all an important process that will aid in any workplace. Workers make connections constantly, all day long. Business leaders today decry the inability of young workers to innovate, create, work together, think outside the box, etc. Exercising those neural pathways to the fullest extent through learning school subjects helps make possible the skills they're looking for....

[Sebastian (a lady)]

I hope this makes sense, and please excuse all of the grammar mistakes. I am writing this in the midst of frustration. I need your help. DD is 15, just finishing up 9th grade. I have only been hsing her since 7th. She is bright and always got A's in ps. However, once she closed the book the information she learned would be gone. One of my goals in hsing her was to teach her to learn.

 

So, with all of that said, the stumbling block we are having is her mindset of "I won't ever use this.", "Why do I need to learn this?", and so on. So if something is hard for her she automatically thinks those thoughts. While I agree with her on some of her points, that mindset is really making it hard for her to learn and for me to teach. I am honestly struggling with the thought of "Can I really teach high schoolers?"

 

Another note: she finished her 9th grade grammar and is starting her 10th grade grammar. We switched from Wordly Wise to BJU. I know that BJU is more challenging and that is part of the problem, but her mindset goes for all subjects.

 

What am I doing wrong?

Any suggestions as to how to help her to change her mindset?

 

Thanks for any and all of your help.

 

How does she know she won't use it?

 

I took German in high school and college, despite its being a less popular language. Even my ethnically German family wasn't sure why I was taking it instead of something "useful" like Spanish. I even spent a summer living in Germany as an exchange student. Fast forward about ten years. DH was up for a job overseas, but because of the stress of the position, the interview was with spouse. He insists that the pivotal moment in the interview was when I started telling stories about having lived in Germany. We spent three years living in Berlin, Germany and I used German every single day of it.

 

When I was in the Navy, there was a major inspection our ship had while we were in the shipyards. Our main engine shaft was leaking oil and shouldn't have been. I ended up crawling under the shaft with a plastic protractor and a plumb bob I made from some string and a large metal nut. I was able to measure the angle the shaft was at, then compare that to the blueprints and show that it was the unusual angle of the ship (having defueled all of its aft tanks) that was causing the leak, not a problem with the seals. The inspectors accepted this explanation.

 

One last story, back in Germany again. We were once at a large reception hosted by the governor of a German state. The other guests were mostly international diplomats stationed in Germany as well as German notables. I ended up in a lengthy conversation with a music professor and conductor of a university orchestra about the plot of The Magic Flute. We talked about the Prince and Papageno and several other plot turnings. To this day I've never seen The Magic Flute in performance. All of my side of the conversation was based on my listening to the Classical Kids tape about the opera. But it was exactly what I needed to be able to keep the conversation flowing.

 

We do not see the whole of our days layed out in front of us with much clarity. When I met my dh, I intended to stay in the Navy and become a commanding officer of ships, preferably an amphibious ship full of Marines, getting up close and personal with the enemy. Within ten years I was the mother of three headed overseas as a Navy wife.

 

I also really like the weight lifting analogy. She is learning how to learn. How to be disciplined. How to take a large task and break it into smaller achievable chunks.

[lllll]

...

[kimi-o]

I always used to use a weight lifting analogy.

 

If you want your body to become strong you go to the gym and lift weights. You do bench presses' date=' squats, curls, etc.

 

And you will use NONE of those actions in real life. No one will ever stop you on the street and need you to bench press anything. You will never be required to curl a weight.

 

BUT, your body will be strong when you need to do real-life things that require stamina and endurance. Your overall posture will be better. You will feel better about yourself.

 

So learning some abstract math concept or memorizing history dates is strength training for your brain. You may never need the math concept, but your brain will be stronger for going through the motions of learning it.[/quote']

 

I love this! Keeping this in the back of mind mind for later, because I'm sure this issue will come up with my kids.

[alamama]

Thanks for the encouragement ksva. Loved the "shut up and do it" part!

[lllll]

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[lllll]

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[alamama]

Hmmm...something to think about.