How to Uplift Underperforming Students? Tips for Parents and Teachers

If an eagle is brought up with ducks, it would spend its entire life believing that it cannot fly. This is what happens when your ward is on the losing end and thinks that you are mad at them. Students need motivation from time to time in order to excel in their academics. A lot of factors influence the all round development of students and here is how each of them can do their bit of encouragement to nurture the positive side of underperforming students.

For Parents

As a parent, you might have sacrificed your career to take care of your child. But are you channelising your energy the right way? Here are a set of dos and dont for you to follow to get your children in the track and make them successful:

Donts

• Do not yell at them for their mistakes. It can make them angry than sorry.
• Do not divert them into other part time jobs when they need to focus on their studies
• Do not compare them with others
• Do not punish them severely

Dos

• Explain to them why it is wrong to do something that they should not have done. Children will be more than willing to follow something when they understand about it.
• Help them get into a routine. Draw a timetable or a study chart for them to follow and monitor if things are done on schedule. Initially, they might be reluctant to obey. But you can introduce incentives like an outing or their favourite dish and ensure they feel positive about doing what you want them to do. Stay update about their study activities and teach them how to plan and execute their targets.
• Talk to them about successful people and their life struggles. Get them inspired to devise a career ambition and get them working towards it. Let them believe in the power of dreams.

Also Read: How To Stay As A Motivated Student? 4 Tips For You

When things go awry, there has to be a way for you to tell them that underperformance is not going to be rewarded. You know its your child and they should not be punished hard. But there are some subtle ways through which you could express your dissatisfaction and let them make up for it.

Here are some ideas:

• For a week or so, let them not watch their favourite TV show or be forbid from playing their favourite game.
• Let them not be taken out in the same regular intervals and instead be made to study.
• Cut their play hours for few days.

Now, when you do all this chances are that they might get upset and fight for their luxuries instead of feeling sorry. But talk them into it and explain how undergoing this would change them and give them the reassurance that when they work on their performance, things will be manifold better.

Note:

Dont keep the duration of the punishment longer or make it stringent as an underperforming student might lose self esteem quickly. Make it light but felt and monitor on the change. If this doesn't work, strategise some other plan.

For Teachers:

Have you noticed that students who dont study well for some time continue to be the same way and on the other hand those who score well for some time, keep attaining the high schievers rank in class? Why is this happening? Is this an individual's nature to study and not study and that losers will always remain losers? If that was your conception all this while, its a big NO.

Young Scientist Scores 75% in +2, Designs Satellite for NASA

So, why is this happening? You have corporal punishments for students who do not obey, you give stars for good marks and yet the same thing keeps happening. Whats wrong? Whats wrong is that, if you keep doing the same thing, you will keep getting the same result. Here are some dos and dont for teachers to make their students achieve in academics:

Donts:

• Never abuse students. Verbal abuse and corporal punishments usually suck out the self esteem of students and make them believe that they are unfit for the tasks assigned.
• Do not compare them with their classmates. This could spark hatred, rivalry and ragging. Every cloud has a silver lining. Every student has her strengths and weaknesses and no one is alike.
• Do not gossip about them to other teachers. This spreads a negative idea about them with other teachers who would look down on the student, making them lose their confidence.
• Do not keep pointing bad things about them always. Yes, eventhough he or she is a bad student, they dont deserve to be put down forever. This would only make them become weaker and never strong.

Dos:

• Appreciate the underperformers for even small acts of regularity. This could be rain in their dry soil and help them grow a fruitful tree
• Help them make friends around by giving them group activities to do. Apart from academics, also group them together in sports teams and other fun activities so that they get to show their brighter side too to others.
• Give them the benefit of proving their talent in other subjects and keep mum about their underperformance to other teachers.

Quick tip:

Once the students recognise your kind and just ways, they will become your loyal fans and will naturally excel in your subject. So do good and get good!

None of your kindness could mean that you could be taken for granted. In case that happens, you could threaten them of taking them to the Principal or calling their parents or telling them in direct that you are unhappy.

How to Empower School Students Through Education?