To worry I'm not pushy enough

[cherrycrumblecustard]

I had very pushy parents and I always vowed I wouldn't be the same, but I'm worried I might be setting my DC up to underachieve or fail.

I don't insist on homework being done, and I don't really ask/fuss about levels or anything like that. I guess that's okay for primary but should I try to get more involved as secondary looms closer?

It's also about the life skills school and homework teach you.
Education isnt just about learning your abc but what are your children learning by not doing their homework..... that's it's not important. That they can pick and choose what tasks they do, they have no responsibility etc
How will that help when they go into the working world?
Yes qualifications aren't the be all and end all but you still need to have a work ethic to be able to apply yourself, whether that's applying yourself to being a cleaner or the next Steve jobs.

I know a lot of people with mediocre GCSEs who ultimately ended up doing very well for themselves

I think the world has changed in this respect though. I know someone who became a successful lawyer without having a university degree - I'm pretty sure that wouldn't be possible these days. Happy to be corrected if I'm wrong!

Yes Hid that's what I found. I am academically able and am quite highly educated. But organising my life, finding the motivation to complete tasks I don't want to do - I found that very difficult to learn after a childhood / adolescence of coasting.

An important one is doing a personal tax return. Consider if a child is encouraged not to believe in homework, they may well end up without many qualifications and thus one of those much lauded entrepreneurs. And then they have to organise their own admin and tax. And it's a shitter, tedious and boring. So they put it off and put it off and end up in serious trouble with HMRC.

That's the kind of ramifications not learning basic life skills of organisation and applying yourself can lead to, and yes I have seen it first hand.

"I know a lot of people with mediocre GCSEs who ultimately ended up doing very well for themselves"

That was then. This is now - 2017. The world has moved on. Even the most basic office jobs require GCSEs in English and maths, and to do A levels most 6th form require at least 5 GCSEs including English and maths.

At DD's school they need at least a B in English to do an essay subject at A level, and Bs in the subjects they want to do an A level in. On results day there was a lot of shuffling around A level subjects due to students not getting a B in English. And if you don't get at least a C in both English and maths you can't stay on at 6th form at her school. They don't offer GCSE resits.

Also AS levels are not part of the A level course and aren't externally marked. Universities are increasingly looking at GCSE results on which to base their offers on.

DD came home from school today with most of her AS level mock results. She got As and Bs. Her friend who doesn't do her homework got Ds and Us.