IN OUR country "parents live for their children". Each Family has fewer children these days. And all parents want their children to be better off than they are. so parents get frustrated and angry at them if they do not score high marks in school.

   In class, at least 20 per cent of the children get poor marks - they are 'scholastically backward'. The reasons for their poor performance are several : some of these children are actually bright but cannot get good marks in spite of their efforts. (The following pages of this website will tell you why). Some of these children have behavior problems and are not keen to make an effort to get good marks. Some children cannot make adequate effort because of their physical or neurological handicaps.

   Parents and teachers complain about these children - to each other or to their doctors - about this 'symptom' of poor marks in class.

  Poor marks as a 'symptom'

   If a child gets poor marks we brand him/her 'lazy' or 'stupid'! It should be realized that, no child wants to be lazy or careless. Every child loves to stand up and be counted . If he gets poor marks it is because he suffers from a learning problem. Therefore, poor school performance observed in young children should be seen as a symptom reflecting on a larger underlying problem.

   We should scientifically analyze this symptom, discover its underlying cause and find a remedy to enable the child to perform better.

  Finding out what the child cannot do, and why

   Poor performance in school in a child may be present from the beginning of education, or it may occur (later say, when the child has reached 8th or 9th standard) . It may be because of causes in the child, or due to disturbances in the environment such as home and school.

   Finding out why the child is not able to perform involves looking for causes in the child or in the environment, or both.

  1.Causes in the child

   If a child performs poorly in class the reason may be physical, intellectual or behavioral.

 a. Physical problems

   Maya, a 3rd standard student, was faring poorly in class. Her teacher had been complaining that the girl would not copy what was written on the black board and would not complete her notes. By a stroke of luck one day, Maya's mother discovered that the little one could not read letters on the screen clearly. The eye specialist whom they consulted prescribed glasses for her short sight and Maya bounced to excellent academic performance in a few months.

   Like Maya, some children have partial deficits in vision, or hearing. They do not realize it because they may feel  this is the way everyone sees or hears.

 b. Poor intelligence

   All children are not created equal. Some of them are slow to stand, to walk, to run, to talk. Such children with delayed 'milestones of development' may have inadequate brain development and therefore, may have only below average intelligence. If the intelligence is low, learning will be slow, and marks will be poor.

   It is possible for clinical or educational psychologists to asses intelligence. IQ (Intelligence Quotient) tests will tell us what the child can learn or cannot learn in school.

 c. Dyslexia (Learning Disability)

   Some children doing poorly at school are actually intelligent. Their brain growth is normal, but miniscule brain areas concerned with skills of reading, writing, spelling, language or arithmetic have not developed adequately. This is called Specific Delay in Development.

   The  result is that although this intelligent child understands what he is taught, he is unable to express in writing because of his deficits in reading/writing or spelling. So he gets poor marks.

   Currently about 10 per cent of young children suffer from this handicap called Dyslexia or Learning Disability. That is , in a school of 1,000 children at least 100 could be Dyslexic!.

 d. Other neurological disorders causing learning problems

   Jerry is a bright six-year old. He is quick to understand things, quick to respond. But he is a problem child at school: persistently restless, walking around the class, nudging the next child in assembly or breaking something all the time. He is impulsive and unable to sit still.

   He has Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). If he cannot hold his attention, he cannot concentrate, and therefore he cannot learn

 e. Emotional disorders

   Children who are intelligent may not all be emotionally stable because of various reasons. If so unstable, they may do badly at school. Some children may lose motivation and interest to study because of anxiety or depression. Some Children turn out to be bullies.

  2.Causes in environment

   No child can do well in a deprived or discordant environment either at home or school, broken homes or fighting parents, are disturbances that lead to poor scholastic performance.

 Conclusion

   The objective of this article was to spell out the various causes for poor scholastic performance in a child. When you deal with a child doing poorly in school, think of the above causes before blaming him or punishing him.

   By logical analysis, pinpoint the cause of the child's poor performance in school, Correct the causes; that's how you can help the child.