Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Smarty Pants

She's halfway there!

When Sarah came home with a "C" on her report card for the 2nd quarter of the school year, I was very upset about it. I wasn't upset that she had earned a "C". I was upset that she really earned an "A" but because she had chosen not to turn a few assignments in, the zero grades dropped her down to a "C".

Yelling at her, and punishing her, and staying on top of her hadn't worked, so I had to try a new strategy. I told Sarah that I was finished worrying about her grades. Obviously, she was the only one who could make a difference, and so I was leaving it all up to her.

I did, however, give her an incentive - a reason for her to want to do well in school. I told her that if she made straight "A"s on her next four report cards - last two quarters of seventh grade and first two quarters of eighth grade - I would buy her a laptop computer.

So, Sarah's report card for the third quarter of seventh grade showed great improvement - she made straight "A"s. And this afternoon, her fourth quarter report card arrived in the mail. Take a look.


Yep. She's halfway there. Straight "A"s again! Way to go, Sarah!

2 comments:

Heather said...

Way to go Sarah!

Working Mama said...

Just goes to prove how much she's been holding back - a little motivation sometimes goes a long way. Good going, Sarah