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Show Successful students work hard, pay attention, make an effort Teacher to. Parent 0 by Betty Condie Not all children can be Einsteins or Michelangelos or even straight-A students, but most children can be successful learners. Tommy was the smallest third-grader third-grader in my split third-fourth grade class. He also was the most successful suc-cessful student, even though half the kids were a year older and had been in school a year longer. Others in the class were Tommy's intellectual equals, but Tommy had more classroom success. Successful learners display certain cer-tain attitudes, skills and behaviors. For instance, they're well motivated. They accept much of the responsibility for their own learning. They understand that success depends on their own efforts and they work hard. Successful students have the ability abili-ty to pay attention. They're able to tune out distractions and concen- trate on their tasks. So important is the skill of paying attention, schools teach students listening skills. Successful students have the skills to understand most ideas they encounter en-counter and they get help if they have trouble understanding. Getting help often means asking questions. Successful students are very often curious students. Successful students can remember facts, ideas and concepts. con-cepts. In addition, successful students do all these things in a relatively relaxed relax-ed way. Although they want to do well and they are concerned about doing well, they don't create excessive ex-cessive pressures for themselves. Their parents usually display great support and concern, yet they aren't pushy. Patience, guidance and care are better tools for parents to use in helping their children perform as successfully as little Tommy. |