my 9 yr. old son won't do work at school. Any suggestions?

Question

He says he wants to be there, but drags his feet when it comes to work. He's like a square peg trying to fit into a round hole.

Answer 1

the way i teach my children is that T.V., video games, computer use (except for school, of course), the telephone and playing with friends are rewards. I have a system that keeps them motivated, but fair.
It is important to develop a system that doesn't change. You want them to easily be able to follow without confusion.
My 15 year old daughter's grades started falling a couple of years ago. Last year she failed 9th grade, and this year she started the year with 3 F's and 2 D's. Time for radical changes. the next report card she brought her grades up to all A's and B's with 2 C's.
I would tell you what I did, but the circumstances are different. Basically I made her responsible for her own actions. I now do this with all my children. School comes first.
As far as what your child says, the problem might be lack of motivation, problems at home, insecurities, the type of friends he is developing, or even a learning disorder like A.D.D., or dyslexia. You need to find the source of his problem. I would suggest starting with the school counselor, and constant communication with his teachers.
This is a PDF file that I found very useful with helping my daughter:
http://teachers.sduhsd.k12.ca.us/ewcounseling/ImprovingYourChildsGrades.pdf

The moral of this story is, you have to find a way to motivate him, whether he likes it or not. I realized that I was doing my children no favors by being easy on them, I was failing them. They will be the ones who pay for it.
As far as my daughter is concerned, she has never been happier. She has something to be proud of. It was hard at first, but she now says that it was worth it. It got to the point that she was on the verge of a nervious breakdown. Her attitude has completely changed. And now she wants to do well in school.

Answer 2

School is like heavy metal music you either hate it or love it. At the age of nine I was ready to go to school everyday and LEARN. You need to take your son to a jail or a place of employment that hires low wage workers and tell him this is your future if you he doesn't shape up.

Answer 3

Maybe the subject matter doesn't interest him. The problem with public schools is, they expect all children to fit into one mold, and it just doesn't work.

Find out what his likes and dislikes are and go from there.