Refusing Extracurriculars to Under-Achievers
There's a certain middle schooler in my life, who shall remain nameless but I will tell you she's related to me, who is sweet, funny, generous, kind and bright, a standout gymnast and altogether great kid with big dreams that include college.
One problem: She's performing really poorly in school -- extremely poorly -- and no one seems to be able to adequately impress upon her the fact that solid academics now will position her to actually achieve that university fantasy down the road.
And so this New York Times story today especially intrigued me. It's about a middle school in upstate New York that is experimenting with a unique new strategy for dealing with students like my niece. Any kid whose grade in any class falls below 65 percent, or who shows a noticeable lack of effort, is being, the paper reports, "excluded from all aspects of extracurricular life, including athletic contests, academic clubs, dances and plays, unless they demonstrate improvement on weekly progress reports filled out by their teachers."
Interesting, oui? Can't wait for the follow-up story to hear how well it did, or didn't work.