I guess we’ve all been students. There were times when we were weak in many exams, and even at certain periods of our lives, we were not very successful in lessons. In almost everyone’s class, there were people who did not like the lessons or who were always at the end of the class academically, no matter what their teacher said. Although years ago, this situation was ignored by the environment and even the teachers, and the word “he does not have to read every time” was pronounced more often, today there is no place for the child’s failure in the lesson in the ruthless new world order that many people admire. The child, who takes his place in the lane around the age of 5 like a race horse, continues to run for 20 years in front of him. And worst of all, it is impossible to stop, take a break, rest. Because everyone is running. For this reason, the complaint of the family who applied to many psychiatry centers today may be that the child only gets weak in the last exam.
Class failure is one of the most common reasons families apply to child psychiatry clinics. Often, the only complaint of the family may be that the child does not study or is reluctant about the lessons. Although it is seen as a separate problem by most families, psychiatric failure is a reflection of many different problems. Although course success can be negatively affected in all psychiatric disorders, psychiatric problems are not the most obvious reason for course failure. Psychiatric evaluations and psychological tests related to the child’s cognitive skills, perception and learning processes are often normal. The main problem is related to the child’s motivation to the lessons, that is, his will. Despite not having any psychiatric problems, the child is reluctant towards lessons. Although there are many different factors that can cause this process, the environment with 3 main influences always forms the basis; school, family and friends.
The Role of School in Lesson Failure
A child who was brought to my profession because of failing a lesson when I was just starting my profession said, “My class is 45 people. I’m sitting in the back. There is a constant hum in the classroom while the teacher is teaching the lesson. I can’t listen to the lecture so I can understand it,” he said. In fact, this reproach is the summary of many school-related problems. Differences brought by education systems, which are far from a concept such as equality, which is the right of every child, can sometimes be the main reason for the failure of the course. When we look at it from many perspectives, it would not be wrong to say that the main factor in a child’s study is the sense of responsibility he feels towards the teacher. Of course, in a class of 50 students, it may be an expected result that there are problems related to the time that the teacher allocates to his students and that he does not show enough attention. It is obvious that children experience inequality of opportunity in classes of 20, when compared to a school that can include students and where applied and interactive education methods are dominant. It may be a normal result that the child’s motivation decreases over time in education methods where the cause-effect relationship is not covered. To give an example from myself, although I was able to do derivative and integral calculations very easily during high school, I recently learned during a conversation in which areas it is used. For this reason, the school and especially the teachers have very heavy duties related to course failure.
Family-Related Factors in Lesson Failure
The child is the reflection of the family. Many different areas, from the family’s genetic predispositions to the educational perspective and the issues that the child’s education prioritizes, can affect the child’s academic success. The most obvious effect of the family is to create a model. It would be ridiculous for a parent who does not read a newspaper or a book to say that my child does not read a book. The child, who is a social being, tends to acquire his behavior by imitating the people around him in social areas. Particularly, the most obvious model around the child who grows up in a confined environment until the school period, in a limited environment, is family members. For this reason, it can be said that many factors related to course success continue throughout all developmental periods of the child, starting from the pre-school period. The best answer to the question of how parents should behave in relation to academic success would be to create a good model. The main duties of the family are to accustom the child to books from the pre-school period, to encourage them to learn new things, and to offer educational opportunities.
The Role of Friends in Lesson Failure
As mentioned before, children, who are social beings, tend to imitate the behaviors of the people around them in social environments. Although the people around him in the pre-school period are often family members, there will be many new friends to be gained during the school period. Although it becomes more evident during adolescence, it is possible to see the influence of the child’s friends not only in the classroom but also in many different areas. Friends who do not attach importance to course success and have negative behaviors may always result in the child imitating these behaviors. In this regard, the heaviest burden falls on families. Although many families sometimes think that the child’s negative behaviors are caused by the circle of friends, the interventions they make in this regard often result in the child’s opposition to the family rather than the benefit. The most correct approach to be taken in this regard is to structure the child’s environment by the family. “That friend of yours is evil. Instead of saying “don’t make friends with him”, it would be more beneficial to direct him to environments where he can establish positive friendships.
The Role of Psychiatric Disorders in Class Failure
Although families’ complaints about applying to a child and adolescent psychiatrist are often failures in the course, failing courses in psychiatric terms is a symptom of many different psychiatric disorders rather than a separate disease. When the prevalence of psychiatric disorders in children and adolescents is evaluated, it can be said that the problem most associated with academic failure is attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (click on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder link for detailed information). On the other hand, a young person with depression may show reluctance towards the lessons as well as their reluctance towards the whole life. Or, a decrease in exam success can be expected for a child who experiences anxiety in exams.
Suggestions for parents about school failure:
- Be constructive. Instead of blaming the child for the failure of the lesson, try to solve the problem
- Provide an educationally appropriate environment. Private lessons about weak subjects will be useful. Note that many courses, such as math or English, are areas that can build on the basics. If the foundation is weak, the child will not be able to achieve success without closing the missing subjects.
- Build a good model. Remember that the child is actually imitating you in many areas. It would be wrong to expect a child to read a book whose parents read a book.
- Encourage him to learn new things. Provide opportunities to apply the knowledge learned.
- Study with younger school age children. This can both increase your child’s motivation and enable you to better monitor their academic level.
- Get expert help. Seek help from a child and adolescent psychiatrist regarding psychiatric disorders that may cause course failure.
