The child is signaling with a weak report card...
The semester break is approaching, and there are only a few days left until the interim report cards are received. Stating that the report card is an evaluation of the child's development process, experts say, "The responsibility for broken grades is not only the child's. Problems take time to develop, the child and his/her grades have given these signals until the poor report card."
Üsküdar University NP Feneryolu Medical Center Specialist Clinical Psychologist Aynur Sayım reminded that with the upcoming semester break, students will take a two-week break from education and receive their report cards.
Stating that the report card is an evaluation of the child's development, Specialist Clinical Psychologist Aynur Sayım said, "It is an indicator of genetic characteristics and psychosocial factors. It is a concrete indicator of the child's learning, emotional and social development and adaptation during the semester. Every child has an innate intelligence, attention and learning capacity."
There are three reasons for a poor report card
Stating that there are three reasons for poor report cards, Specialist Clinical Psychologist Aynur Sayım listed them as "reasons originating from the child himself, reasons originating from the family and reasons originating from the school-environment".
Psychiatric disorders affect success
Stating that the first of the reasons affecting academic success is some psychiatric disorders and learning capacity of the child, Specialist Clinical Psychologist Aynur Sayım said, "Factors such as intellectual disability, borderline or high intelligence, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), special learning disability, conduct disorder, social phobia, physical disability can affect the academic success of the child."
Family problems also affect success
Stating that another factor that may be effective in poor grades is family-related reasons, Aynur Sayım said, "Situations such as family communication problems, divorce, loss, trauma, reproductive diseases in the family, birth of a sibling, problems with the sibling, home-city-school change and bankruptcy can affect the child's success."
Insufficient school-family cooperation may be effective
Noting that school-environmental reasons are also among the causes of poor report cards, Aynır Sayım pointed out that factors such as school change, lack of guidance for the individual differences of the child, insufficient school-family cooperation, teacher-related reasons, trauma experiences also affect school success.
Only the child should not be blamed
Emphasizing that failure cannot be attributed only to the child when these reasons are taken into account, Specialist Clinical Psychologist Aynur Sayım said, "The report card is not only the evaluation of the child, the report card is the evaluation of both the child, the family and the school. Therefore, the responsibility is not only the performance of the child, but also the performance of the child, family and school."
The child is signaling
Specialist Clinical Psychologist Aynur Sayım said, "It takes time for problems to occur, the child and his/her grades have given these signals until the poor report card. It is our preference to get help before reaching this stage. But there is always a solution in every way. The help of a child-adolescent psychiatrist and a psychologist working in the field of child-adolescent should be sought and a program should be made."
Stating that families have important duties at this stage, Aynur Sayım listed her suggestions as follows:
"The responsibility for broken grades is not only the child's.
Punishing, judging and comparing the child for a bad report card will not solve the problem and will make the solution more difficult.
This situation requires a family assessment.
The family should cooperate with the school and the teacher.
If there is a problem, it is wrong to wait for a year, measures should be taken immediately. A child-adolescent psychiatrist's evaluation is necessary.
If the solution is delayed, the child may have other behavioral problems and psychiatric and psychological conditions accompanying the picture. Depression, bedwetting, introversion, aggression, adjustment problems, sleep-appetite problems and school refusal.
Do not force your child on vacation
The child's intelligence and attention should be evaluated, personality analysis should be made and family attitudes should be examined.
A child cannot achieve in a two-week vacation what he/she has not achieved in a semester. The best approach would be not to force the child, but to take action towards a solution. It may be appropriate not to expect the child to follow a strict study program during the holiday, but if there is a situation that needs to be supported by special education, additional work under the guidance of an educator may be appropriate."
What should be done at school to solve these problems?
Stating that the school also has responsibilities in the academic failure of the child, Aynur Sayım made the following recommendations:
"Child-family-school cooperation should be carried out regularly and interactively, joint decisions and approach should be adopted.
If there are school-related problems, the problem should be solved by working with the administration and guidance counselor.
If the child is a mainstreaming student (a student requiring a special approach and program), the child should be supported and followed up with an individual program.
Informative seminars and training programs for teachers should be enriched."