The secret to raising an academic child

[mrz]

www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/9458290/Teaching-toddlers-to-pay-attention-is-the-key-to-academic-success.html

Gawd - there's not much hope for ds then - king of the flitters when he was pre-school

Ds2 had undiagnosed coeliac at 1 year.
Just when he'd started pulling himself up and getting mobile he lost the energy to be active. Instead he concentrated on things he could do without moving eg playing with ds1's Lego.
He's now very dexterous and has good concentration skills and never regained the active side even after going gluten free fixed his energy levels. I think it has steered him in a different direction, but I'm not sure I'd advocate getting ill as a method of doing so

"Why is it that, when children play, some behave like butterflies, flitting around among the flowers of the activities on offer, landing for a moment before moving on to the next attractive flower (activity) while others behave with the single minded concentration of bees?"

www.amazon.co.uk/Like-Bees-Not-Butterflies-Child-initiated/dp/1906029768

The secret of raising an academic child is to have a child who enjoys concentrating on and chooses to concentrate on academic subjects.... What a surprise. Sarcastic .

If your child chooses to concentrate on wood carving, they will become very good at that, but won't be considered academic. If they concentrate on playing several musical instruments, they probably will become very good at that (but won't be considered academic, funnily enough they will be considered musical instead)...

Maybe you could trick your child into becoming academic, by developing their powers of concentration playing games they enjoy and focusing on whatever they find most interesting, then when they reach a certain age, tell them that they will now use their powers of concentration to study maths and English, instead, whether they like it or not.

This is always assuming that everyone aspires to their children being academic and going off to university. Yes I went, so did my DH and all my DCs are bright, but I want them to be able to get a career they love, relationships where they can communicate and lives where they will have a go at anything and not be limited by lack of imagination. Academia alone does not guarantee this.
I have 3 very different DCs A bee, a butterfly and a 'depends on the activity', but I talk with them, we share ideas, go out and about, try new things (many only once!).
Life is worth living, it's too short to sit and play snap!

Shockingly rabbitstew the research suggests the ability to concentrate on woodcarving and music is transferable to other learning ...

Read a Times article at the weekend that said self-control is very important, but according to Angela Duckworth the really successful (not necessarily academic) have the capacity for sustained effort in the face of setbacks - to insulate children from failure made them less likely to succeed.

gritscale

There is also a test one for children.

Yes, but if you want to do woodcarving, why become an academic?

Angela Duckworth

This isn't the article I read since you have to pay, but similar article here

Hmmm....DS1 has always had brilliant concentration + is a visual learner = top of the class.

DS2 and DD are very different. their minds are here, there and everywhere, constantly asking questions, and trying to find things out. I wouldn't say less "bright" but at primary level they certainly less "academic" and aren't top of the class. I guess learning to focus on one thing at a time is a major thing they learn at school, rather than flitting like they often do at home when not directed by an adult during an activity.

hm. My most academic child is far worse at concentrating than my other two, and always has been.

But I am charmed to hear that ability in woodcarving might translate, eventually, into academic achievement. All 3 of my dc are particularly good at woodcarving. When might this kick in, do you think?

I don't think it is all to do with concentration. Obviously concentration is essential, but I have one ds who will concentrate fiercely on everything he does and will not accept that he can't do anything he sets his mind to and I have another ds who knows what he is comfortable doing and can concentrate for hours doing that, but does not like to go outside his comfort zone. One has the makings of someone who could be very successful generally, the other needs to learn more resilience and perserverance to make effective use of his ability to concentrate - otherwise his powers of concentration will just enable him to be far better than average at doing repetitive tasks that other people find boring (a useful skill in many areas of work, but not one that on its own makes someone an academic).

randomfennel - it will kick in when they learn they have to start paying for their own wood and chisels.

Hmmm. First it's all relative. I think my 4 yr old ds has the attention span of a knat but his preschool said he has great concentration.
Second in terms of how you encourage concentration I do think that helping dd1 with her maths regularly over time has taught her to persist and work hard even though we 'forced' her to do it. Also now she finds maths easier at school, is keen to please and used to knuckling down. Her teacher is amazed by the amount of work she can do in a lesson (now voluntarily) while we smile wryly thinking of the amount we have expected her to do at home in the past... Because she is good at it she enjoys it and she is used to working hard so thinks nothing of it. So I do think concentration can be improved with practice and that doesn't have to be voluntary. Its great to build on a child's interests but Im not convinced that this voluntary concentration is the only sort that can turn into later self motivation.

Well...I don't think you can say that a child who can concentrate well is necessarily more clever than a child who can't. But you can probably say that a child who can concentrate well will ultimately perform better in an academic environment.

I always wondered what on earth private schools could be assessing at those 3+ assessments. I mean can a teacher actually spot intelligence. But I guess what they're looking out for is concentration. Which is more likley to mean teachability. Which is more likely to mean academic sucess?

Actually being able to concentrate well is important for a heap of things in life, not just academic success and should be encouraged in children for that reason.

I think DD is doomed then. She can't concentrate on anything. As for the TV, if only she'll look at it.

Both of mine concentrate, but I don't know that I have "taught" or encouraged it. Maybe I have. My slightly hippy theory is that the kids learn from their parents. So, you take your two year old to a toddler music session. You pay attention- they pay attention. You play lego or shop with your 1 or 2 year old, you pay attention, they pay attention. As they get older they no longer need you there. Mind you I remember DD playing on the beach by herself "concentrating" at 7 months old. Think that may just be the way she was wired.