Praising Effort

Posted by AmyStults | 0 comments

One of my premier goals as a home educator is to have my son do more than just finish the task set before him.  Although diligence is a noble quality, it can be very easy to fall into the check-the-box mode. You know, where you have such a big list of things to do and assignments to complete, you lose sight of the big picture?  Where you question whether anything has really sunk in?  Well, I don’t want my little Superhero to just get by, I want him to excel!

I am one of those homeschoolers who doesn’t really believe in typical testing. I don’t think tests give an accurate reflection of my child’s knowledge and abilities. Or any child, for that matter. Some kids are exceptional test takers. Others panic.

When I was in school, it was easy for me to score a 100% on a test solely because I had an awesome short term memory. Yet today, I can’t remember half of what I learned in school! I could memorize a dozen formulas but that didn’t mean I understood what I was doing. Should I really have earned an A+ in algebra? Probably not. But I was taught to learn for the test. This is a good example of how outcome doesn’t necessarily imply true understanding.

So how can we look beyond just the outcome and see if our children have garnered true understanding?  See if they really get it?

We must learn to praise the effort instead of the outcome.

Honestly, I stopped telling my son he was smart. It was incredibly difficult for me to do, but I didn’t want to minimize the importance of effort.

That is one of the many reasons I don’t ever want to give him tests. How can I praise him for effort when I have to give him a poor grade on a test? All he will see is that number or letter grade. I don’t want him growing up thinking that the world is black and white and that there is a right or wrong answer to everything. One thing he is always asking us when watching movies is, “which one is the bad guy?” Sometimes we have to tell him neither one is. In their minds and in their hearts both sides think they are right. I hope to raise him to think outside of the box, to take all sides into consideration, and form his own opinions.

We are blessed to live in a state that gives us three options for year end evaluations. The child can take the standardized public school exam, he can be evaluated by a certified teacher, or we can turn in a portfolio showing the work we’ve completed throughout the year. I love the idea of a portfolio, because some learning can be measured, others cannot. A portfolio not only shows the end results of a school year, but the process and progress that was made from the beginning all the way to the end of the year.

As we begin the new year full of resolutions, have you looked back at this past year and the educational goals for your children?  Were you focused solely on the outcome and not the process?  I encourage you to slow down and look at the big picture… not just the end result but all the little accomplishments it took to get there. I think you’ll find any goal is attainable, just take it step by step.

Amy is a devoted wife, Classical homeschooling mom to a six-year-old Superhero and the co-owner of Heart of the Matter. She has a passion for genealogy and is aspiring to be a Proverbs 31 lady. Be sure to visit her blog at Milk and Cookies.