<p>Thanks to all who responded. Obviously, there is no easy answer to my question. Per people’s responses, and my own perceptions, there are many factors that come into play (heredity, environment, personality, varying interests, birth order, etc.). I think the thread got off subject, but that happens most of the time, here in CC. </p>
<p>A few random thoughts..</p>
<p>Priorities; some students (for whatever reasons) have placed academics higher in their priorities - than other students. </p>
<p>Maturity; is it a sign of maturity, that a student places academics higher in their priorities? Maybe yes, maybe no. It might just be a matter of personal choice, and not necessarily maturity. Probably the student (and the parents of the student) who place a higher priority in academics might argue ‘yes’ - that those students are more mature. I don’t know. </p>
<p>Maturity-2; is it reasonable to expect that our children (especially in early high school) should place academics near the top of their priorities. (I know that I would like our son and daughter to place it high on the list). Is is ‘reasonable’, especially when we realize that they are going through the stages of maturation, including puberty, with all the social implications, trying to figure out who they are, which friends are important, why some people treat them with disrespect, why some teachers are jerks, and the life long issue of self worth. Please don’t take what I am saying the wrong way. I am not of the school of thought that schools and parents should make sure that our students “feel good” - at the expense of a good education. I am just thinking out loud, and am asking myself, if I am giving my own children enough consideration to their natural stages of maturation. </p>
<p>Discipline; to what degree does the disciplinary involvement of parents in the upbringing of their children affect the results of their children? No easy answer on that one either. One could argue that poor parental discipline may contribute to poor motivation of the child. And this could come from both ends of the spectrum. On the one extreme, over-bearing parents may cause a child to ‘shutdown’. On the flip side, lax parents with little or no discipline, may cause (or contribute to) a child having no discipline himself or herself).</p>
<p>I will pose this question; what are the pros and cons of the following?</p>
<p>random child #1 with innate intelligence, probable moderate to high IQ, who does not have to put much effort into studying, and typically gets things the first time, does not require tutoring, and typically scores high on tests (including placement exams). But whose motivation level is average, at best. </p>
<p>random child #2, average intelligence, has to put a lot of effort, and many hours, into studying, often requires tutoring, reads subject matter twice to get the salient points, scores well but not high on most tests. Yet, this person is highly motivated. He/she willingly puts the extra hours into studying; willingly seeks out a tutor, and is able to bring grades up to a decent level.</p>
<p>To summarize, child #1 has a GPA of higher than 4.0, but average to low motivation. Child #2 has a GPA of 2.75-3.0, but is highly motivated. </p>
<p>I made up the profiles of both children. But surely there are millions of children who fit both profiles. (My kids are closer to child #1 example than child #2, but they do not fit the profile #1 exactly). </p>
<p>I guess the bottomline is that each child is unique, and should be loved for their uniqueness. Maybe, depending upon their profile, their traits, their personality, their abilities, their motivations, their interests, - then they need to be treated according to those factors.</p>