How do you get a middle schooler on the right track?
336242
One things that I know about middle schoolers is that they are all in a funk.  Especially 7th graders.  They are just in a place in their lives that where they are trying to discover themselves and sometimes school falls by the wayside.  \n\nMy advice to you:  Pull him to the side and let him know that you have noticed that he is in a funk.  Let him know that we all have been there.  Don't put any pressure on him, but just let him know that you recognize that he has not been himself and that if needs someone to talk to you are there.  \n\nI have found that kids sometimes just want you to notice them.  It will make him feel much better when he knows that you have noticed his behavior and that he has you an advocate.\n\nGood Luck!
293739
1. best option, find out what's wrong at school... it could be anything from social problems (such as bullies or romance) or educational (like being behind in math, or haveing trouble remembering history dates) possibly, although we hope not... a learning or behaviorial disability... or worse, it could be the case of a abusive teacher or administrator whom is not fit for their job.\n\nthe trick is to talk to your teenager and find out what is wrong in school then work with them, let them know you want to help them solve those issues, try real hard to keep the teen responsible without pulling too many authority cards...\n\n2. second best option: start to drive them to and from school everyday, and ask the teachers to monitor behavior... then if you catch the teen ditching ground em with a day for every hour school missed \n\n3. my personal fav but not a good or official option, smack the kid on the bottom and tell em you shouldnt have to watch after em like some lil kid ha ha ha ha ha ha (but i dont recomend this one, since i was on the receiving end... the personal fav part was sarcasm)
840931
The best way to get help for your son is to get someone who can truly give him individualized attention with the assignments he is specifically struggling with. The problem with these learning centers (and yes - I took my son to one when he was in 6th grade) is that they just give your son more work instead of specifically going over HIS work to help him understand what he needs to do to understand the actual work he is getting at school.\n\nCall your local college or university -- many college students are extremely happy to help tutor kids, and are appreciative of the extra income.
649532
Capture their interest.  Enrapt students learn more than you can ever force upon them.  Have fun together.  Field trips.  Hands-on.  Wake them up with a joke that fits engineering and/or is about engineers.  Act like a friend, interested in their success.  Still, be just aloof enough to command professional control and respect.\n\nMeet with some teachers who love their job and their students.  Let them tell you how they succeed.
103445
set goals and keep to them. try to think before making drastic decicsions ya dig. everythings gonna be cool. u is tha mother they gonna love u regaurdless. its cool that you know when your wrong. this parent thang aint easy. go wit tha flow be responsible they gots to come first. make them #1 priority. everything will be fine take your time changes dont come overnight dont think about tha past everydays a new one while yesterday was a throw away. we cant rewind back to fix tha shi* we did that was wrong and wack. you will get there i promise every thing will be alright. keep your head up. you know whats right instill tha same morles you got as a kid. tha only teachers we have on raising kids is our parents. you might want to consult them if ever you have a doubt you dig. be cool youll be straight.
488453
try to motivate this child, for example every time he or she does something right give praise. If that does not work, put him in a slower class.
1055068
All of the answers that you have been given so far are good!!  I am an elementary teacher and one thing that I would ask is that you teach your child how to follow directions. You would be suprised how many children have a hard time listening and following simple directions.
195077
oh my!!\n please please try this: instead of taking things away from him make him earn things.  reward him when he has good behaivor.  create a behavior system. \n\nA good example would be make a chart of the things that he would like to do or go.  And tell him he has to have good behaivor and not get into trouble at school for a specific number of day before he will be able to do that.  I can give you many more ideas if you are interested.  just email me at teddybear_1829@yahoo.com\n\nBut the one thing I can tell you is that it will never get better if you make it seem to him that you are just taking things away from him.
87378
Try his classmates. There's bound to be one who's nice enough to help him. Also, YOU could try doing it.
285937
Well, I don't know how to motivate you too much, maybe try taking to a friend or parent, maybe the teacher. Ask them to help you stay on track. But remember that even if you are not motivated, you have to do it. Once you start doing, that usually helps with the motivation. And keep in mind that it's ok to get a bad grade every once in a while.
1131923
Find a private school that meets your needs.  Send the children there.  If they are "not the norm," maybe they shouldn't be in the same school with common folks.
117162
get involved with the students and know them beyond the teacher/student relationship.  is there anything that they're dealing with at school?  perhaps a school event?  talk with them about things other than books and problems.  i don't know what grade level you're talking about and i'm not a teacher, just a student.  perhaps have activities that can show the students that it's not all about homework and tests.  how to do this?  not so sure.  but these are my suggestions.
228029
try talking to the teacher and see if they will prvide you with the appropriate material or at least point you in the right direction.
634084
tell everybody what you need to learn.  then make them read from the textbook and give project options to show you that they learned it.   say they can choose to write a summary, show you notes they took, draw a diagram, etc.  then move on to the next grade while the others work independently.  and have a good discipline system and keep it in place, even when it's tough.  if you let them get away withit it will be worse later.
102057
I did track in middle school also.  Try to remember that people join track to have fun and do events they like.  So the first thing is to make shure you are having fun doing what your doing.  Second, is dedication.  Work hard during practice and practice even when you dont have to.  Get some friends together and do some laps or have your only little long jump compotition.  Hope those tips help.
252779
There is an excellent program that works very well with middle school students.  It is called Cooperative Discipline.  Cooperative Discipline is a research-based, classroom and school reform model that builds on shared responsibility for learning and classroom organization between teachers and students.  The program provides sustained messages to children about what it means to be self-disciplined. Messages that are changed every year or are inconsistent for every classroom diminish discipline and achievement.\n\nI have seen this model used very successfully in a number of schools.  I have attached websites for you to check it out.  There is a inexpensive book you can get - cost is about $20 I think, but you can probably get started with just what you can find on the INternet.  Courses and workshops are also available.  Just do a search for Cooperative Discipline and you'll get lots of links.\n\nYou might also want to check out Richard Curwin's book "Discipline with Dignity".\n\nI hope this helps.  Good luck with it.
1090039
Just tell her that it is important she does well in school because then she can get into advanced classes in high school, which ultimatly will help her with college. Also tell her that in middle school, girls are very mean. It is probably the meanest age for girls. Just keep reminding her she is beautiful and smart and not to deal with mean people. (Watch the movie Mean Girls) Good luck!