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I've got an 11 year old girl in my life who is really struggling in school and doesn't want to do the hard work she needs to to get good grades. She wants to be a veterinarian when she grows up. Would it be motivating for her to take her to an actual vet who can talk to her about his/her work and what they had to do to become a vet? Or is she just too young for this to be of any help.
She's experienced a lot of chaos in her life in the last couple of years, so I know that's a complicating factor, but things are starting to calm down and I really want to help her get a grip on how important her education is.
The future from her point of view is what's on TV tonight and can she have Mac-n-Cheese or PIZZA for dinner...My advise is get INVOLVED in her education and let her see it is important to you and that you VALUE her efforts.
I really doubt any reasoning or rational discussion is going to motivate her. But if anything might work, the old One for the Gipper speech might be the one.
I certainly intend to do that. We have completely revised her class schedule and incorporated one-on-one attention and tutoring as well as exploring different ways of learning that should help her bring her skills up to her grade level. We are hoping to achieve some small victories from which she can build larger victories. Her self esteem is so low, we can only go up from here. Fortunately we have some dedicated and passionate education professionals that are heavily invested in her success.
Curses on the drug addicted/alcoholic "parents" who brought her to this state. She is bright and beautiful but has no clue what her potential is.
How wonderful she has you in her life! It sounds like you are doing significant things to put positive structure in her education. Give this time to work. If you can get her up to grade level, even if its not exactly excelling then she can make the decision in high school about how hard she wants to work to achieve her goals. I hope she turns into a success story.
Motivating an 11 year old for future life goals? Really? At 11 years old most kids are just exploring life. However, if this child is one of the lucky ones who knows what he/she wants to do with his/her life, how about encouraging him/her to volunteer at an animal shelter or vets office?
This way the child can gain valuable experience and learn what is really needed in the field. Also, he/she can get an idea of what happens in this profession, and decide, based on experience if he/ she wants to pursue this field.
Motivating an 11 year old for future life goals? Really? At 11 years old most kids are just exploring life. However, if this child is one of the lucky ones who knows what he/she wants to do with his/her life, how about encouraging him/her to volunteer at an animal shelter or vets office?
This way the child can gain valuable experience and learn what is really needed in the field. Also, he/she can get an idea of what happens in this profession, and decide, based on experience if he/ she wants to pursue this field.
I would suggest this also. Many, many animal shelters welcome volunteer dog walkers to help socialize and train the dogs so that they are more easily adopted. Volunteer agencies such as riding programs for the handicapped also welcome volunteers. Working with animals has been proven over and over again to raise the self-esteem of children and adults who have been steam-rolled by the circumstances of their lives. A residential school for children with numerous behavior issues in a neighboring town has long had a riding program for just this reason.
Linda, funny thing is when humans with no hope connects with animals and learn to work with them begans to see hope and can turn their lives around. When lives turn to service, there is no stopping them. My hope is that some day, we will all realize that we are all in this world together and must support each other.
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