Why Bright Kids Get Poor Grades And What You Can Do About It

by Rimm, Sylvia B.

• ISBN13: 9780910707879
• ISBN10: 0910707871
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-05-01
• Publisher: Great Potential Pr Inc

Summary

Millions of gifted children are failing to reach their potential¿something Dr. Sylvia Rimm calls underachievement syndrome. Drawing on both clinical research and years of experience counseling families, Dr. Rimm has developed a ¿Trifocal Model¿ to help parents and teachers work together to get students back on track. It is effective for a wide range of students, from preschool through college. Dr. Rimm¿s practical, six-step program provides everything you need to know to turn your child or student¿s underachievement into success.

Author Biography

Sylvia Rimm, Ph.D., is a best-selling author who was a contributing correspondent for nine years on NBC's Today Show and who hosts a nationally broadcast radio programùFamily Talk with Sylvia Rimm. Dr. Rimm is a psychologist who specializes in working with gifted children and is the director of the Family Achievement Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio. She also writes a syndicated newspaper column on parenting.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. xv
Preface	p. xvii
Rimm's Laws of Achievement	p. xxi
How to Get the Most Out of This Book	p. xxiii
Why Bright Kids Get Poor Grades	p. 1
What Is Underachievement?	p. 3
What Do Underachievers Look Like?	p. 10
Categories of Underachievement	p. 11
Perfectionist Pearl	p. 11
Poor Polly	p. 12
Passive Paul	p. 12
Sick Sam	p. 13
Taunted Terris	p. 14
Depressed Donna	p. 15
Torn Tomas	p. 16
Jock Jack, Social Shaundra, and Dramatic Dan	p. 17
Academic Alice	p. 18
Manipulative Maria	p. 19
Creative Chris	p. 20
Rebellious Rebecca	p. 22
Hyperactive Harry	p. 23
Bully Bob	p. 24
How to Determine if Your Child Has Underachievement Syndrome	p. 24
Early Risks	p. 27
The Too Soon Child	p. 27
The Overwelcome Child	p. 28
Early Health Problems	p. 30
Gender Issues	p. 32
Particular Sibling Combinations	p. 35
Specific Parenting Relationships	p. 39
The Gifted Child	p. 41
Conclusion: Dependence and Dominance	p. 42
Parents as Role Models	p. 45
Positive and Negative Models	p. 46
I Didn't Like School Either	p. 47
The Disorganized Home	p. 48
Passive-Aggressive Parenting	p. 49
Overworked Parents	p. 51
Post-Divorce Parents	p. 52
Cross-Gender Identification	p. 56
Parent Rivalry	p. 59
Combinations of the Rituals	p. 70
Dependency and Dominance	p. 75
Counteridentification	p. 75
Fostering Dependency	p. 77
Fostering Dominance	p. 82
Summary	p. 88
School Causes of Underachievement Syndrome	p. 91
Structure	p. 91
Competition	p. 93
Labeling	p. 95
Negative Attention	p. 99
Boredom	p. 103
Peer Pressure	p. 107
What You Can Do about It	p. 109
Parenting toward Achievement	p. 111
Modeling Achievement	p. 111
Power and Control	p. 114
Giving Clear, Positive Messages	p. 115
Reasonable Praise	p. 116
Consistency between Parents	p. 117
Consistency within a Parent	p. 119
"Beat the System" Messages	p. 121
Referential Speaking	p. 121
Competition-Winning and Losing	p. 124
Organization	p. 126
Homework and Study Habits	p. 128
Grades and Rewards	p. 129
The Indulgence Traps	p. 130
Family Structure Considerations	p. 133
After Divorce	p. 133
Single Parenting	p. 134
The Blended Family	p. 136
The Visitation Family	p. 138
Teaching toward Achievement	p. 141
Differentiated Curriculum	p. 141
Building Task Value	p. 147
Teaching Healthy Competition	p. 148
Teaching to the Emotional Needs of Students	p. 152
Competitiveness	p. 155
Boyfriend Worries	p. 155
Power and Peer Issues	p. 155
Finishing the ALLIANCE Acrostic	p. 156
How You Can Reverse Underachievement Syndrome Using the Trifocal Model-Step One: Assessment	p. 159
Adapting the Trifocal Model for Disadvantaged Students	p. 161
Assessment	p. 161
Formal Assessment	p. 164
Informal Assessment	p. 169
Determining the Next Step	p. 184
Step Two: Communication between Teachers, Parents, and Students	p. 187
Teacher-Initiated Communication	p. 187
Parent-Initiated Communication	p. 191
Tracking Student Progress	p. 195
The Next Three Steps: Expectations, Role Models, and Deficiencies	p. 201
Changing Expectations	p. 201
Personal Expectations	p. 201
Parent Expectations	p. 204
Sibling Expectations	p. 206
Teacher Expectations	p. 207
Peer Expectations	p. 209
Role Model Identification	p. 213
Sources of Models	p. 214
Process for Encouraging Identification	p. 219
Correcting Deficiencies	p. 221
Anxieties and Special Skill Deficits	p. 222
The Last Step	p. 225
What You Can Do for Dependent Children	p. 227
What You Can Do as Parents	p. 227
Vote of Confidence	p. 228
The Place of Shelter	p. 231
Encouraging Same-Gender Identification for Boys	p. 232
Expressing Feelings	p. 233
Organizational Skills	p. 235
Teaching Competition	p. 238
Teaching Social Skills	p. 239
Encouraging Activities with Intrinsic Interest	p. 240
Easing Perfectionism	p. 241
Teaching Deferred Judgment	p. 245
Independent Homework	p. 248
Incomplete Schoolwork or Homework	p. 255
Teaching Concentration	p. 258
Extra-Credit Work	p. 260
Goal-Directed Tutoring	p. 260
Keeping Children in the Mainstream	p. 261
What You Can Do as a Teacher	p. 263
Vote of Confidence	p. 263
Multiple Methods for Giving Instructions	p. 264
Completing Classwork and Homework	p. 265
Teaching a Growth Mindset	p. 267
Building Resilience through Biography	p. 267
Focusing Attention	p. 267
Teaching Goal Setting	p. 269
Teaching Organizational Strategies	p. 273
Test Anxiety	p. 276
Social Rewards	p. 277
Teaching Other Children	p. 278
Punishment	p. 278
Creative Problem Solving	p. 280
What You Can Do for Dominant Conforming Underachievers	p. 283
What You Can Do as Parents	p. 284
Monitoring Counteridentification	p. 285
Competition	p. 286
Intrinsic Motivation	p. 287
Parent Messages	p. 288
Sensitivity	p. 290
Acceptance of Criticism	p. 292
What You Can Do as a Teacher	p. 294
Keeping Academics Central	p. 294
Acceleration or Grade Skipping	p. 295
Acceptance of Criticism	p. 296
Intrinsic Motivation	p. 298
Biographical Study	p. 299
Preparation for College	p. 300
What You Can Do for Dominant Nonconforming Children	p. 305
What You Can Do as Parents	p. 307
Reversing Early Childhood Dominance	p. 307
Wish, Want, Work, Wait	p. 311
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder	p. 312
Avoiding Confrontations	p. 315
Emotional Ups and Downs	p. 319
Encouraging Time Alone	p. 326
Maintaining the Positive	p. 326
United Parenting	p. 330
Communicating about Achievement	p. 332
Communicating with Schools	p. 334
Changing Peer Environments	p. 336
Getting Professional Help	p. 338
What You Can Do as a Teacher	p. 339
Forming a Teacher-Student Alliance	p. 339
Behavior Problems and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder	p. 341
Anti-Arguing Instructions	p. 345
Giving Them Power and an Audience	p. 347
Avoiding Student Manipulation	p. 349
Changing Academic Grouping	p. 351
Providing a Sanctuary	p. 352
Helping Students Find Balance	p. 354
Appealing to Altruism	p. 354
Alcohol and Drug Abuse	p. 355
Maintaining Open Doors	p. 356
Overview	p. 357
The Why	p. 357
Essential Elements of Underachievement Syndrome	p. 357
Social Changes	p. 362
Interaction between Underachievement Factors and Social Changes	p. 364
The What	p. 365
Rimm's Laws of Achievement	p. 366
Reversal of an Epidemic?	p. 370
Resources	p. 371
References	p. 373
Endnotes	p. 377
Index	p. 381
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