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Kids don't have mature facilities for self-motivation; you can't expect them just to do math problems because it's good for them. Tell them they can't do X unti

Kids don't have mature facilities for self-motivation; you can't expect them just to do math problems because it's good for them. Tell them they can't do X until they finish 20 difficult math problems, and I guarantee they'll find a way to optimize their work habits.

dahart 7y ago
These days it only seems to work when X is have their iPhone back. ;)
swiley 7y ago
Sometimes they’ll find a way to optimize the work away. I still think it’s better to give them tests and show them that the only way to pass the test is by practicing before hand.
- TeMPOraL 7y ago
  > Sometimes they’ll find a way to optimize the work away. As would plenty of other adults, myself included. Whether that's evidence that children don't have much different self-motivation than adults, or that my self-motivation skills are still childish - that I'm not sure.
- viraptor 7y ago
  That may backfire. I remember my physics homework/tests and going to absurd levels to satisfy the requirements and not do the boring work. I did things like a freehand graph with important points marked and a curve labelled "parabola", because that's the information the teacher was after and spending time actually drawing it to scale and precisely was boring. (after 20th time or so) I actually lost interest in the subject around that time, even after scoring high enough in regional competition previously to get a free choice of any high school. So watch out, you may kill someone's enthusiasm by making them practice simple things the way you think is best to satisfy some silly rules. I ended up more happy not getting full marks on something I could do well than showing the work.
  - swiley 7y ago
    Yeah that's not really what I meant by "practice." I meant just give them the text book and tell them to make sure they understand how to do the problems without looking them up, and that the best way to do that is to do the "practice problems" that look difficult.

dahart 7y ago

These days it only seems to work when X is have their iPhone back. ;)

swiley 7y ago

Sometimes they’ll find a way to optimize the work away. I still think it’s better to give them tests and show them that the only way to pass the test is by practicing before hand.

TeMPOraL 7y ago
> Sometimes they’ll find a way to optimize the work away. As would plenty of other adults, myself included. Whether that's evidence that children don't have much different self-motivation than adults, or that my self-motivation skills are still childish - that I'm not sure.
viraptor 7y ago
That may backfire. I remember my physics homework/tests and going to absurd levels to satisfy the requirements and not do the boring work. I did things like a freehand graph with important points marked and a curve labelled "parabola", because that's the information the teacher was after and spending time actually drawing it to scale and precisely was boring. (after 20th time or so) I actually lost interest in the subject around that time, even after scoring high enough in regional competition previously to get a free choice of any high school. So watch out, you may kill someone's enthusiasm by making them practice simple things the way you think is best to satisfy some silly rules. I ended up more happy not getting full marks on something I could do well than showing the work.
- swiley 7y ago
  Yeah that's not really what I meant by "practice." I meant just give them the text book and tell them to make sure they understand how to do the problems without looking them up, and that the best way to do that is to do the "practice problems" that look difficult.