The thread where we are proud of our average but extremely hard working DCs

I have one! Has some processing problems and OCD and is at a private school. Is working so very hard and all teachers comment on her fab work ethic. She is improving all the time and we are both starting to raise our expectations of what she might be capable of in the future

My son goes to Wymondham High. He is a hard worker but has had his confidence crushed because he has been passed over in favour of the G and T kids several times. The teachers say he is a lovely lad to be around and never gets into any trouble, but this does not stop him feeling like a failure.

So glad to have found this thread, get rather intimated by all those parents eagerly awaiting As - I shall just be glad if my daughter SURVIVES the next few exams and manages to get the grades she has worked so hard for. She was diagnosed with Post Viral Fatigue at the end of year 9 and was very poorly for about 3 months. We discussed the possibility of a reduced timetable, but to her absolute credit she has kept going despite several 'blips' and teh onset of extreme panic attacks which have been expertly managed through CAMHS. All this has been very draining for the whole family as each day is a battle for her in different ways. The end is in sight now, and for some to get AS it means others have to get lower grades, and they have worked just as hard, even harder. Personally I feel that Mr GOve's new GCSES, a return to exams only should have a component related to effort, attitude, consistency and determination - these qualities way outweigh the ability to remember information... and are probably qualities employers would value more. Good luck to all our children :O

Kids who have to work for things do way better in the long term as they learn a work ethic. Bright kids who just 'get it', often give up as soon as they encounter something that they can't do straight away as they think of their success in terms of being bright, and not in terms of hard work / persistence.

Yay for the tortoises who may well go on to do better than the hares!

DD had english lang the week before half-term - said it was 'quite easy'. maths today (1st of 3) and she is totally not confident. plus she forgot her calculator, so I had to do a mercy dash up to school this am...

school is being fab tho, and this year's ones are treated very much as 'serious practice', no pressure just the opportunity to have a go and dont worry just do your best.

good luck to all the other average hard-workers who are doing GCSEs in Y10 or Y11 this summer!

What a lovely thread. I read somewhere that average children who work hard do far bette rin life over all (better jobs, more income etc) than those for whom it comes naturally.

Fascinating that the thread is dominated by DDs, I don't have any of them, so can't comment. I have a wonderful, hardworking DS3 who is exactly as described in the OP. Throughout secondary school he was criticised for what he didn't do (despite having a statement - I think he tried so hard they thought it must be a fake!). He couldn't wait to leave & is now loving college, where he scraped onto a level 3 vocational qualification. Ironically, most of his friends, who are still at school & doing AS levels, want to leave & go to college in September.

brigit mine actually like each other too - doesnt stop them fighting like cats at times though!

DD1 sat an english mock the week before last (the one she came home in floods from) and was 2 marks off a C. she did another paper at home (timed) and was 1 mark off a B! so proud of her for that.

I heard on the news this morning that the govt are to look at maths teaching again as apparently it is not being taught right and therefore we are not going to get a future generation of engineers. oh, and maths GCSE is too easy. Hollow laughter from me at this point... I wish they would stop saying stuff like this.

good for her woollybacks! that's brilliant.

does anyone else get quite frightened by the emphasis that everyone seems to put on academic achievement? I sometimes wonder what my 15 yo DD1 will be able to do with her life, but then I have to pull myself together and remember her emotional intelligence and social skills and tell myself she will be OK.

and yes to whoever mentioned the brainier younger sibling - DD2 is much more of a natural than DD1; interestingly though, she works away quietly behind the scenes, never makes a big thing about working (although is on target for her grades and gets mostly 1 for effort) - I used to think she was bone idle, but it appears that she IS working. I think it may be that she sees how hard DD1 has to work and doesnt want to rub her nose in it. which is a considerable leap in her emotional intelligence from just a couple of years ago actually.

also really lovely to hear from teachers on this thread that they 'like' the average ones just as much if not more than the academic superstars - thank you.

My DD1 did her GCSEs two years ago at a very academic school. They were good results for her and really reflected the hard work she put into her revision. However, compared to some of her peers they were pretty average (and some of them let her know it ).

She stayed on for A levels and the work ethic she developed for GCSEs seems to be paying off. She is able to concentrate on 3 subjects that she LOVES and is on track to be off to Uni in the Autumn. Her UCAS reference from school brought tears to my eyes - it was a real ego boost to read that other people saw the same qualities in my beautiful girl. It must have been good as she had 5 offers to choose from.

your poor dd mrs I hope she's feeling a bit more relaxed now? Mine came home really stressy after her english mock last week, floods of tears, but I think it is sorted now and her teacher has been really brilliant with her.

I really feel for our 'average' kids - the media is full of all the ones that get 15 A* but at the same time says exams are easier than ever - it can only make the ones who struggle feel even worse in my view. and fwiw, looking through the GCSE maths revision, there is no way on god's earth I would get even a D I think!

I have a dd15 with severe ocd and anxiety, who was like a rabbit caught in headlights with a GcSE last week. She ran away after school

She works so hard, is a pleasure to teach and will probably get a few C's.
Maybe a B for English and Drama.
Ds is a different kettle of fish...Mr Brainy...which is hard for her.

My DD1 is one of these kids - she really struggles and has to work so hard to just get what comes easily to others. she is also dyslexic, but contrary to popular myth not all dyslexics are Einstein...

we had Y10 parents evening last week, and without exception every teacher commented on her fabulous work ethic and that she is a lovely girl and making progress.

I think she will struggle to get Cs in English and Maths (more so maths) but she so deserves to!

and I too get fed up hearing about how exceptionally bright all MN kids are - they cant all be, surely?!

She sounds wonderful.

I do tire of some of the 'G&T' posts on MN!

Ah, that is so lovely ... one day GCSEs will be forgotten and who she is/what you have made her will be more important.

Brigitbigknickers well if they don't want her, I'll have her! Best of luck to her in her exams. :)

great thread
a good work ethic is the most important thing IMO

can I post on behalf of my niece? she is in y7 and not an academic highflier but works so hard. She puts enormous amounts of effort into every bit of homework and was extremely conscientious about revising for her Y7 exams - she thoroughly deserves every decent mark she gets. However the sad thing is she'll never get as good marks as ds2 who's in the same school and breezes through academic stuff without ever breaking into a sweat and did zero revision

On the other hand she beats ds hands down when it comes to emotional intelligence - she's very mature, thoughtful and kind and I suspect she's going to find adult life a lot easier even though she probably won't get as good results on paper.