No, your child isn't
Is my child
unintelligent
The underlying issue is
that your child lacks
interest in the subject
they are studying, they
haven't developed the
proper skills to help them
thrive when they are
confronted with new
tasks, and they are only
motivated, not by
obtaining knowledge and
growth, but by arbitrary
letter grades.
Now what?
Work WITH them!
Your child needs to understand that the brain like stupid?
any other muscle needs to be trained. The 16
why is s/he struggling in school?
Habits of Mind are a great way to start changing
the way in which they confront and think about
new problems in their life, wether they be in the
classroom or in everyday life. Work with your
child so they can develop and use these skills
proficiently.
How do I start?
Identify subjects that your child has natural
interest in. Help them understand tactics they
use to learn new things in that particular
discipline which can also be applied to learning
new things they might not have as much interest
in. Remember, grades don't measure intelligence.
It is far more crucial that your child actually
learns the material. Celebrate their honest eorts.

THINK! Does my child; Wait, what?

Get involved in physical fights,
These behaviors are
These results show an
Never or rarely wear a seatbelt,
associated with association, not a causation.
Play video/computer games 3+ hours each day,
lower grades
This does not mean that one
Eat breakfast every morning,

. .

necessarily causes the other

These behaviors are but that people with good
Play in organized sports,
grades statistically have a
associated with
Have regular yearly dentist appointments,
higher grades! certain set of habits outside
Participate in 60 minutes of physical activity daily? of academic situations.

16 Habits of Mind identified

by Costa and Kallick include:
Persisting

Thinking and communicating with

clarity and precision

Managing impulsivity

Gathering data through all senses

Listening with understanding and

empathy

Creating, imagining, innovating

Where did this rubbish come from? Thinking flexibly

Responding with wonderment and awe

Every two years, the Center for Disease Thinking about thinking (metacognition)

Control and Prevention conducts a national Youth Taking responsible risks

Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), focusing on students Striving for accuracy

from grades 9-12. They use the results of this survey Finding humor

Questioning and posing problems

to find an association between various health habits

Thinking interdependently

and letter grades received in school.

Applying past knowledge to new
situations

These aren't the only factors that you should Remaining open to continuous learning

consider more carefully when you think about what

will help your child succeed. Your child should be
working on developing Habits of Mind. These are 16
skills, identified by psychologists, that successful
A person who has worked at and developed
these habits has a disposition to behaving
intelligently when confronted with new
problems.

and intelligent people use every day to overcome

problems and learn new things!