Last Sunday I watched Formula 1 happening at Sochi. If you are a fan, you know that last weekend Norris,Sainz and Russell were at the front to start the race off. All the 3 drivers are young , somewhat new (not much experience at that position) and driving less powerful machines than Redbull and Mercedes.
Sochi had been a mess on Saturday due to the rain and was expected to be on Sunday particularly towards the end of the race. At the 51st lap, the rain poured. Mercedes (Hamilton)decided to change their tyres. Norris who had been leading throughout the race and was expected to win was asked by the team if he'd wanted to pit stop and change the tyres. The excitement of winning the race and the fear of missing this one golden opportunity couldn't allow him to pit stop. He refused to pit stop. It was a mistake that cost him the win and left him & the team/fans devastated. The team should not have left that decision for him.
How is this narration relevant to parents and their children when it comes to academics ? Recently, parents are leaving their children to make decisions about their academics. Not all such decisions should be left to the students to make. A recent case in point is. Student A hasn't been doing well at school. The parent wants to sign him up for after school tutoring and weekend classes. Student A doesn't want to go for tuition. He promises the parent that he will work on improving his grades. Student A doesn't come up with a strategy neither does he put in extra work.
By the time the parent realises, it's too late. The main exam is in a few weeks and very little can be done at that point. The student sits for the exam , results are out and most of the grades are Ungraded. The student will have to resit the exam the following year.
Unfortunately as an educator, I believe this kind of a situation can be avoided to save on time,energy and money. The student shouldn't have been left to make this particular decision just like Norris. Our call to parents is not to fear offending their children by insisting on the right strategy when it comes to academics
Wow that's awesome i like it