[ category kids]

Boy’s “natural” method is 60% (perhaps up to 90%) effective. Perhaps let him use his method; let him delay his preparation till the last evening; let him score some low marks; and let him experience the pressure from school. Maybe he would feel the pressure and take actions.

Instead, I could focus on extra-curriculum learning (ECL) such as Chinese char recognition, English phonics rules not linked to his spelling tests, multiplication verses, pinyin, blogging. I could use my tactics of enforcement and insistence, free of the stone wall pressure from school.

Perhaps his school performance will drop, but he may have a bit more fun learning those other things, because I won’t drive him crazy with the in-curriculum stuff.

Sign of undue pressure and ineffective control — yelling. My ECL is less likely to escalate to that level.

I was once “overweight” on my kids’ fundamentals drilling and continuous study vs “underweight” on school performance like exam and homework scores. Revisit this position.

One weakness still not addressed is initiative. The best he has shown so far is piano… If he actually studies some spelling on his own I would be thrilled.