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Discussion of the 11 Plus

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perplexed
Posts: 490
Joined: Wed Jan 02, 2008 1:18 pm
Location: kent

Post by perplexed »

Sounds good. Good luck with it.

How about adding some educational tasks which just require fast thinking without any competition or time limits e.g. a regular mental arithmetic test where you read out the questions and he has to write the answers down, an English dictation which you read out and he writes down etc.

My nephew was a dawdler -- not so much in educational tasks, they are just done last minute and relatively fast (he is very able); more so in every day tasks e.g. getting into the car for school. He would always be 5 mins later than everyone else and hop to the car with his shoes in his hands. He always took 1000 years in the bathroom. He would do GCSE coursework on the last night and then my sister would have to stay up if the printer needed fixing.

It's easy for me to say as I am not his mother, but he was never allowed to suffer the consequences of being slow e.g. being left behind, missing GCSE coursework deadlines etc, getting detentions for being late to school etc.

He has just graduated now and is only looking for jobs with large amounts of encouragement from his mum.

Nature versus nurture. His sister is quite different in nature, but I have always wondered if with slightly different nurture for him the outcome may have been different.

Hopefully it is just an annoying phase and one he will eventually be teased out of by teachers, friends etc.

But a word of warning, speed is part of the "ability" assessment. I am sure you can train him to speed up on 11+ papers where he is just being a dolly day dream, but if his "mental processing" is actually slower than is needed to be in the top 25% of the population, then don't hit your head on a brick wall. Also this is something that could change massively for him during adolesence.
Glos_Mum
Posts: 660
Joined: Sun Mar 30, 2008 11:05 pm

Post by Glos_Mum »

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Last edited by Glos_Mum on Fri Aug 16, 2013 12:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
Sally-Anne
Posts: 9235
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 8:10 pm
Location: Buckinghamshire

Post by Sally-Anne »

Hi Glos_Mum

Glad to hear that bribery is helping, at least for today. Long may it continue.

Boys of this age sometimes remind me of donkeys - carrots, sticks and, when all else fails, the occasional firm kick to get them moving regardless! (Bring on the Donkey Protection Society! :lol: )

I agree with the teacher - choose all your battles wisely at his age.

Sally-Anne
Glos_Mum
Posts: 660
Joined: Sun Mar 30, 2008 11:05 pm

Post by Glos_Mum »

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Last edited by Glos_Mum on Fri Aug 16, 2013 12:17 am, edited 1 time in total.
reddebs
Posts: 187
Joined: Thu Oct 11, 2007 10:21 pm
Location: Medway/Kent

Post by reddebs »

Hi
Glad it seems to be working - keep setting realistic but challenging targets and don't forget to reward. it is easy to forget but he is bright enough to know, so keep the pace up and him 'in charge'
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