The Scarlet Number?

[BunsenBurner]

<p>How could a parent “motivate” their child to get his grades up? This mom came up with a rather unusual solution:</p>

<p>[Tampa</a> mom makes son wear sign announcing 1.22 GPA](<a href=“http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2014289637_apusflastudentsign.html]Tampa”>http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2014289637_apusflastudentsign.html)</p>

<p>

A Tampa mother is defending her decision to stick her teenage son on a street corner with a sign that says, among other things, “GPA 1.22 … honk if I need education.”</p>

<p>Ronda Holder says she and the boy’s father have tried everything to get their 15-year-old to shape up academically. They’ve offered help, asked to see homework, grounded, lectured him and confiscated his cell phone. James Mond III’s indifference at a school meeting last week was the final straw. The next day, Holder made the sign and made her son wear it for nearly four hours.</p>

<p>Experts criticized the move as humiliating and ineffective, and someone reported Holder to the Department of Children and Families.</p>

<p>Holder insists she’s fighting for her child’s education.

</p>

<p>:eek:</p>

[Got2BeGreen]

<p>I always told my daughter that if she ever skipped school, I’d go with her the next day and sit beside her in every class to make sure that she was there. She learned early on that I don’t issue idle threats, and I’ve never gotten a call from the school that she was truant.</p>

<p>I commend the parents for trying, but I have to wonder if they were consistent in their discipline habits from the beginning. Parents always say they’ve tried everything . . . and often they have . . . but they haven’t tried anything consistently.</p>

[VeryHappy]

<p>Maybe the kid has a learning disability. May he’s not very bright. It’s not always due to lack of motivation.</p>

[roshke]

<p>I saw no mention about having him thoroughly tested, or taken for counseling, in that list of “all the things” they have done. Unfortunately, schools do not always do or recommend all that is necessary and it becomes crucial for parents to be effective advocates for their child.</p>

[HisGraceFillsMe]

<p>Wow…seems like that has to be some kind of emotional abuse. Maybe the kid really does have some kind of learning disability.</p>

[Novelisto]

<p>Yeah, 'cause shame is a great motivator…for a kid to run away from home.</p>

[starbright]

<p>Doesn’t it seem odd that a kid who won’t ‘listen’ to do better in school is nonetheless willing to stand at a corner in humilation just because his parents said so? </p>

<p>It hints that maybe the problem is not motivation or willingness to please his parents, but perhaps something like ADD, another learning disability or simply inability! Neither of his parents finished highschool, so he is not exactly coming to school armed with strong resources under his belt. </p>

<p>I appreciate the parents desire for him, and frustration at not being able to help him realize their dreams. Still, what else have they done beyond nagging, threats and punishments? Did they read to him every night before bed? Did they enroll to get their GED part-time and serve as role models? Do they go to all the parent-teacher meetings? Take him to the library? And so on. Wishful, abstract desires are simply not enough! I realize this might be beyond their own abilities as parents, but it seems such a shame they’ve had to stoop to shaming.</p>

[ebeeeee]

<p>In the article the parents say they have tried everything and there is a short list. sensational journalism strikes again. I don’t feel that I have enough information to comment on this one.</p>