Brainworks® - Differences Between High Achievers and Under-Achievers
Differences Between High Achievers and Under-Achievers
"The smarter you are, the harder you work. The harder you work, the smarter you get."
- Dr. Sylvia Rimm
- High achievers believe they are capable of achieving. Under-achievers see themselves as a series of failures.
- High achievers have determined that school is important to them. Under-achievers do not see the connection between school achievement and their future.
- High achievers have developed strategies that will lead to success. Under-achievers lack the strategies needed to solve problems and manage their behaviors.
- High achievers believe in hard work and determination. Under-achievers often avoid any work they think is too hard, and many times they just give up.
| ASK THE EXPERT |
Question
Please help!! My daughter is driving me crazy. She will not complete her math homework. She works the problems she finds easy, but refuses even to try the hard ones. When I ask her why her homework is incomplete, she always says, "Those problems are too hard. I’ll make a "C" on what I’ve done, and that’s good enough for me." If she would do all her homework, she could make a "B" or even an "A" in her math class. How can I convince her that "good enough" is not good enough?
Answer:
Your situation is one we hear often from parents when they first come to Brainworks. They have been told by teachers and school counselors, "If your children would work harder, they could make straight "A's." The problem that brings them to Brainworks is that their student is content making "C's."
There is no magic pill or quick fix to turn an under-achiever into a high achiever, but at Brainworks, we have many success stories of changing lives. (Visit our website at www.brainworks.info to read some of these stories.)
It sounds like your daughter is an under-achiever, but we would need to meet with her and discuss her academic attitude before we could develop a personalized lesson plan to change her approach to school. Here are some general questions we might ask:
- Does your daughter have memories of when her efforts have led to success? Or does she blame others for her dilemmas?
- Is she willing to take the time to look for mistakes and correct them? Or does she avoid editing because she is afraid she will find mistakes?
- Does she have an undetected learning disability that causes boredom, frustration, or inconsistent performance? Or does she lack a competitive spirit?
- Does she set academic goals for herself? Or does she lack basic skills and study habits, which are the preliminary to goal setting?
- Has she developed organizational and time management systems? Or does she do her school work at the very last minute?
- Does she desire new daily challenges in school or non-school activities? Or does she avoid new experiences?
- Does she advocate for herself to get her needs met in school? Or does she fail to understand that she controls her destiny?
Brainworks has been a successful educational company since 1981. Our success, in part, is a result of our diagnostic testing and the personalized lessons we develop for each student based on the test results. We don’t just tell you what the problems are. We also work with you on a plan for correcting your child’s problems. Under-achievement is not an easy problem to fix, but with hard work and commitment, old habits can be replaced with habits for success. Get help and a support system. You are not alone. Your daughter is worth it.
