How important are child's school grades?

How important are child's school grades?

How important is it for your child(ren) to get good grades in school?

Are good grades an indicator of hard work and good character? Do they show diligence and perseverence?

Or do they not matter? Are they man made indicators that are artificial and not an indicator of godly traits?

What do you think?
 
Mark it depends on the child, mostly I will say yes. I am home schooling two teenagers right now. One can finish a weeks curriculum in in a matter of hours. The other stays ahead but struggles in some areas. For one it is a breeze, for the other it is a real testimony to his determination.
When it comes to a good job a good education cannot be beaten. Particularly high school grades can mean a good deal as far as scholarship and other opportunities.
With all that being said I am most pleased when my kids are putting forth a real effort no matter how well it comes out. Each child has different gifts and each should know that they have love and support no matter what.
 
I'm not a parent, but I think this:

Grades can be a definite indicator of success, but they are not everything.

If a child is getting low grades, they may in fact be doing poorly, but not always does the blame fall on them. The teacher may be doing a poor job in helping the student understand, or they may simply be unmotivated. Sometimes the student just isn't good at something. Certain people are good at thinking through math problems, others have a natural sense of grammar. It's just the way God made us.

In the end, education is very important, but all we can ask is they try their best. Ultimately, we can't place judgment. If children are well behaved and God-loving, and truly trying hard, then we can ask nothing more of them.
 
A key ingrediant for sucess is to have the parent get involved in their childs education. A simple review will show problem areas. After finding these trouble spots the parent can either help or find suitable tutoring. It is very important to find these areas before your child gets to far behind.
 
Ansel Adams,Clint Black,Michael Bolton,Richard Branson.....self-made billionaire,Agatha Christie,Liz Claiborne,Samuel L. Clemens ("Mark Twain"),Jackie Cochran.....pioneering American female aviation pilot, Diana........Princess of Wales.,Charles Dickins.....best-selling British author,Joe DiMaggio,Celine Dion,James B. Eads......early American engineer; bridge builder; inventor of the diving bell,George Eastman......self-made multimillionaire American inventor-founder of the "Kodak" roll film camera and corporation.
Thomas Edison.......self-made multimillionaire American inventor; electrical power usage pioneer; filmmaker; Congressional Gold Medal recipient; knighted (France: first bestowed the rank of Chevalier [Knight], then later upgraded to Officer, then Commander; Commander [or Cmdr.] Thomas Edison) (elementary school dropout).,James Ellroy........best-selling American author.,Scott Fischer......world-class mountain climber-guide; expedition business owner.,Carl G. Fisher......self-made multimillionaire American businessman; land developer; original developer of Miami Beach, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, etc. (elementary school dropout).,Henry Ford..........self-made multimillionaire American businessman; auto manufacturing pioneer; founder of the "Ford Motor Company."
George Foreman......Olympic Gold Medal boxer; best-selling American author; businessman.,Benjamin Franklin....American politician-diplomat-author-printer-publisher-scientist-inventor; co-author and co-signer of the U.S. Declaration of Independence; one of the founders of The United States of America; face is pictured on the U.S. one-hundred dollar bill (little formal education [less than two years]; home schooling/life experience).
Joe Frazier........Olympic Gold Medal boxer; American author.,Henry George......best-selling American author; economist,George Gershwin....Oscar-nominated American songwriter-composer; Congressional Gold Medal recipient.
Amadeo Peter Giannini....American-born founder of "Bank of America.",Jay Gould......self-made multimillionaire American financier and railroad builder.

The list goes on and on.........
All the above were school dropouts~


My humble opinion~ The only thing that should be graded is EFFORT.
 
Those things are true but there are many fields which require a degree nowadays- and there are many places that will pick a college grad over a high school student for a job
 
It is important later in line, but not as ultimately important as the knowledge that it supposedly represent. Don't strive for the grade itself, but the understanding of the concepts. The grades themselves should come naturally if you apply your mind.
 
Yes, Brothers Larry and Ban~
You are both right.
Home schoolers can go to college.
Also, I have found that every child has their strengths and interests and you cannot force either on a person~

 
Violet,

There is hope for school dropouts. Unfortunately, we could not fit all the names of those who dropped out and lived very "unsuccessful lives" as many would measure.

It would be very meaningless if we only measured effort. Many Christian schools do measure effort as one of the grades. However, most businesses are not interested in effort alone. I bet your kids would not be very tolerant of "effort" on the eveniing meal unless that effort resulted in to goal being reached - a meal!

One point - we do need to love and accept all children as God made them. However, does that mean that they should not be measured? Some measurments are important. We need to measure your child's feet to get the right shoe size. We need to measure his ability to get direction for the right career.
 
No,no, Mark......I was referring to grades when I mentioned effort.
Let's say I had 5 children draw a picture of a horse.
One of the children who is gifted in art whips out a beautiful drawing in 5 minutes. His drawing, his gift, is very much appreciated and admired.
But then there is the child who spends 20 minutes working fervently only to produce a scribbled picture of something that looks more like a dinosaur.
That child has given his genuine effort to his work and is just as proud of his picture.

Yes, end results should be praised but effort is what matters to me.
I am very much against competition.

Every child has his gifts and strengths and WILL discover them, with encouragement.

 
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