Warning Signs of Impending Failures
Some middle school students learn bad habits early in their life. Consider the students who do not have a clinically diagnosed learning disability and are otherwise considered normal. They jump from one activity to another leaving a trail of partially completed work behind them. Students, who rush through their homework, make mistakes, turn in incomplete assignments, and do not comprehend the material.
Mathematical homework, for example, requires student concentration and time to understand the instructions in order to analyze and solve the problems. Students, who do not pay enough attention during the in-class-lectures, are not going to be able to work at home and follow the step-by-step procedures necessary to calculate the correct answers. Mathematics, as all academic knowledge, is a successive process. One error among the several steps in a math problem creates a wrong answer. A typical assignment that should be finished in one hour could become a multi-hour torturous experience.
Each homework assignment needs its own slice of time. Typically, the time the students use for homework, actually, does not produce any completed assignments. The students are interrupted almost religiously. Small time-bandits such as, cell phone calls, internet chatting, television, video games, sports activities, and more contribute to the situation. Before the students realize, it is almost bedtime. They should be preparing for the next school day, but the reality is they are exhausted, and the homework is still incomplete.
However, if the student’s decision is to go back and try to complete the assignment at this late hour, he or she will waste even more time. They will need to review what they have completed so far and try to discover what they need to do to complete the assignment. Nevertheless, failures are inevitable because students do not have new knowledge or time available. This leads to frustration and the...