Do you place a lot of importance on your child being on the school's honor roll?

[Pop Daddy]

if I did I would allways be dissapointed

 

[KimR]

I expect my DDs to do their best and live up to their potential, which, for my DDs at this point, means straight A's. However, I don't want to put so much emphasis on grades that they are reluctant to stretch themselves and take more difficult classes for fear of making that dreaded 'B'. I'd much rather have them take a more challenging class that they actually get something out of and get a B or even a C than take a class that they can get an A in with little or no work. We try to emphasise hard work and learning more so than grades. But we always expect them to do their best regardless.

 

[luvflorida]

I expect my DDs to do their best and live up to their potential, which, for my DDs at this point, means straight A's. However, I don't want to put so much emphasis on grades that they are reluctant to stretch themselves and take more difficult classes for fear of making that dreaded 'B'. I'd much rather have them take a more challenging class that they actually get something out of and get a B or even a C than take a class that they can get an A in with little or no work. We try to emphasise hard work and learning more so than grades. But we always expect them to do their best regardless.

Yes! I agree with what you are saying! The hard part is watching your daughter get "Bs" in honors or AP classes, while other kids, who are just as smart, decide to take non-honors classes and get A's. I've seen kids do this and they end up graduating with high honors and a good class ranking, while those who chose the tougher classes graduate with less "status".

I know in the end, college and knowledge-wise, the child who took the tougher and more challenging courses will be better of. It just seems as if there should be a better system to recognize the kids in high school who really put in the extra effort.

 

[Gupsmom]

Yes! I agree with what you are saying! The hard part is watching your daughter get "Bs" in honors or AP classes, while other kids, who are just as smart, decide to take non-honors classes and get A's. I've seen kids do this and they end up graduating with high honors and a good class ranking, while those who chose the tougher classes graduate with less "status".

I know in the end, college and knowledge-wise, the child who took the tougher and more challenging courses will be better of. It just seems as if there should be a better system to recognize the kids in high school who really put in the extra effort.

The high school I attended (my kids will go the the same one) uses a weighted average to solve this problem. AP classes are given the most weight followed by honors classes...right down the line. It definately isn't fair to determine class rank without taking course difficulty into account.

Jess

 

[Sandy V.]

luvflorida, we're in a similar situation.

We always tell our kids that we expect 100% EFFORT, but that we don't expect perfection in the results.

That being said, our oldest DD 17 is a junior and is ranked #1 in a class of 450. She is the most driven person that I know and expects nothing less of herself than a 98-99% average in all classes. My husband and I say NOTHING to her about homework because no one could put the type of pressure on this kid that she puts upon herself.

Our DS 14 is a freshman and is every bit as intelligent as his sister, but he is much more of an "out of the box" thinker. His approach to life is so creative and non-traditional that he blows me away (positive thing). He gets A's and B's thus far, but I honestly don't think he would have done this well had my DH and I not paid contant attention to his homework status. He's not a "detail" person and needs a perpetual reminder that he is EXPECTED to always put maximum effort into his schoolwork ALL of the time, not just for the classes or assignments that he likes.

So I do a lot of talking to him about his homework and tests, and I check his grades online every other day. We don't compare the two kids to each other whenever either is around because they are SO different.

We also have a straight 4.0 system with no weighted averages for AP courses, so that's a pet peeve of mine too. To be valedictorian, you have to have taken at least 1 year long AP course, so there are a few kids who figure out how to manipulate the system to find the "easiest" AP course and take only that one. In our school, it's AP Statistics.

I would agree that colleges look at the whole package of classes taken during high school.

 

[HollyJoy]

Yes, but only because I know that she's able to do so. They don't place Kindergarteners on the honor roll, so I don't worry too much about my yougest just yet. She's doing fine though. My oldest DD, who's in 2nd grade, has been on the Honor Roll or Principal's Honor Roll (all A's) every term since beginning First Grade.. So if she were not to make it, I'd be worried what was going on. I think having high expectations of your children is a good thing. But i would never more from my child then doing their best. You just have to be reasonable.

 

[TimeforMe]

My take is a little different on this.....I personally don't place much stock in the honor roll itself. There are just too many variable, IMO, for it to have much merit, i.e., the range of classes (lower level to honors to AP), special ed students, esl students, etc. Case in point, my daughter is a jr. in hs, my son a freshman. DD has always been an average student taking mid-level courses. Last semester she made the honor roll. DS is a freshman taking all honors courses, actively playing sports (on hs teams), etc. and did NOT make the honor roll. Yes, he is capable of doing it and his sister DID make it, but I felt there were too many variables for it to actually mean anything. Does this make sense?

I encourage them to do their best, accordingly.

edited to add: elementary school honor rolls vary greatly compared to hs honor rolls.

 

[CookieGVB]

I don't expect it, but I do encourage it. Middle school is tough enough for my older son without that kind of pressure from me. I'm more concerned that my son does what he's supposed to do, and keeps away from the troublemakers. That being said, he made the honor roll the first quarter, and was so proud of himself! It's something he's doing for himself - the fact that I'm proud of him, too is only secondary to him.

The younger one is still trying to be "cool" and as a result, is having trouble. Things used to come very easily to him, but now that he's in 6th grade, not so much. He'll get there, but he has to want it. Threats of decapitation haven't worked so far.