Do you know a way to help my little sister getting her grades up ?

1. 49

   chanrothposted 13 years ago

   My sister is in 4th grade and I tutor her, not me alone but other after school tutors as well. Her teacher is Cambodian and she help my sister a lot. But my sister is still getting low test score. Her problem is English and Math, but every time when I start teaching her or other tutors...she start talking about her friends. Right after school she put her homework away, turn the TV on and start singing...She could remember every lyric in the song she sing but she doesn't remember her English assignment or Math. I have no idea what is wrong with her. Is she having learning disability or something? She even bring bad attitude home from school. I don't know where the attitude and wording came from but it is all slang and rude.

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   1. 76

      Barbara Kayposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I don't know if this will help, but use what you can in everyday life. My son is a math genius and we started by counting silverware at the table. Then I started making him compare prices at the grocery store figuring out which had more by ounces.
      
      If you think hard enough, you can come up with something. Sing English words or rules etc.
      
      I haven't been beyond bribing my grandkids with M&M's when they got the right multiplication answer from flash cards. Don't overdue this idea though because of all the sugar.

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   2. 86

      wayseekerposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      chanroth,
      
      If you have not already done so, I highly suggest contacting the teacher and going in with her for a conference.  While I know this can be scary, I have never known a teacher who would not be receptive to a parent or guardian coming in to try to solve problems.  If you're seeing it from home, the teacher is guaranteed to know about it.  The teacher may be able to give you ways of seeing the problem that you had not considered before, leading to potential solutions.
      
      If she loves music, you can check out these sites (I found them through a quick google search on "math songs" and "reading songs":
      
      http://www.songsforteaching.com/index.html
      
      http://www.thelearningpad.net/id86.html
      
      There are tons of resources, both pain and free, for using music to teach reading and math concepts. 
      
      In the end, the most important thing is not to give up.  Keep up with her no matter how grumpy she gets--eventually she will see you're trying to help.
      
      Best of luck!
      
      wayseeker

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   3. 71

      Just For Funposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I'm not an educator or parent, but I noticed in school that the kids who don't perform well sometimes think of themselves as stupid and give up too quickly. I would make sure to compliment her on the problems she gets right to build her confidence. If she only solves the first half of a problem, say something like
      
      "Good, see, you do understand this. Now just bring the number over and subtract X"
      
      Again, I'm not an expert but it might be worth a try.

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2. 67

   NathanielZhuposted 13 years ago

   The problem here is that your sister doesn't want to study.
   She's just like my sister.
   I painstakingly study during my high school years for more than 7 hours a day and she barely does it at all.
   
   If your sister doesn't want to study, you have you try to convince to her the benefits of studying and education otherwise, she'll NEVER do well.
   
   This was like me during 7th - 10th grade. I was a depressed christian. I saw education as useless. I got a GPA of 2.5 in my freshman year and 2.8 in my sophomore year. I blamed myself for being stupid, but in reality, it was because I didn't study and I COULDN'T get myself to no matter how much I wanted to. In my Jr. and Sr. Year, I found the importance of education and so I got a 3.95 GPA in my Jr. and 3.8GPA in my Sr. Year.
   
   The key here is: MOTIVATION and it doesn't currently seem like your sister has any.

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3. 49

   chanrothposted 13 years ago

   Hi Barbara, I have tried that with my sister. She understand it today and tomorrow she forget all of it. I don't have a child of my own, so I don't know much about children, but is this part of learning disability or she's just not paying attention?

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4. 86

   wayseekerposted 13 years ago

   Chanroth,
   
   Since you brought up learning disabilities--guardians can go to the school and specifically request testing for a child.  They will consider the request, do a child study, and, if the teachers feel it may be a concern, they will do the testing which is designed to determine if there is a problem.  If there is no problem, or the teachers feel this is not the issue, they should give you information and support in trying to solve whatever the issues are.  These are all federal mandates, so if she's going to a descent school, the teachers should be happy to provide this support.
   
   Once again, my best to you--and you should be proud of the fact that you are willing to invest this kind of time into your sister--if only there were more kids out there with support like this!
   
   wayseeker

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5. 49

   chanrothposted 13 years ago

   @ nathanieIZhu, I was thinking about the same too...but if she's not motivated into learning why is she crying and hitting herself in the head when she can't solve a problem. It made me sad too seeing my sister like this. 
   
   @wayseeker, thank you for a valuable information. My older sister said its too early in her school year to talk to the teacher about it, but she been having these kind of problem since 3rd grade.

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   1. 86

      wayseekerposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Teachers notice this kind of thing almost immediately.  Get on it right away.  That's what I'd love to see in my own classroom with a kid in this situation. 
      
      Best,
      
      wayseeker

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6. 71

   RealHousewifeposted 13 years ago

   Maybe you could try different flash card games - my kids love the trivia cards and I know they make lots of math variations that do not seem like work - more like games.  Also - my kids love the workbooks you can get for these subjects from Walmart - they are very cheap but effective. 
   
   I would be very very nice when she is rude and say, "sweetie - you are being disrespectful.  Television in a privilege and reward - you may watch tv after we finish studying/homework/whatever and not until then.  You must be firm and make no allowances until she follows this routine.  Maybe give a favorite snack while studying too.......good luck and good for you for looking for help when you need it:)

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