I usually don't have to worry too much about Joey's academics because she is quite a self-motivated girl who can follow what her teacher's teaching in class. Her only problem was that she's very careless when it comes to Maths.
I often wonder if carelessness is hereditary because for many years, my teacher's remarks in my report book were always "Good & pleasant girl, but can afford to be more careful in her work." Whenever I chide Joey for being careless nowadays, I feel like I was preaching to the "me" 30 years ago.
And so, starting this year, Joey's Form Teacher has been giving surprise Maths tests in class once a week. That certainly didn't bode so well for Joey because the first few papers, she came home with borderline passes. I got very worried indeed and almost didn't know how to respond because she had always done well in her work the last two years.
A look through her papers made me very upset though! 80% were careless mistakes that were unpardonable for P3 students. (Think 4-2= 1?! I nearly fainted at that one!)
If she had checked through her paper before submitting, she would have gotten a near full marks! I mean, I can definitely emphathize if she didn't know how to do the paper - At least I could send her for tuition or something. But carelessness cannot be cured with tuition! Apart from nagging at her to check through her work all the time, I needed to do something to motivate her.
So I told her that if she could get a 80% marks for her next paper, I would buy her a new storybook. Her eyes lit up when she heard that. Of course, books are her favorite!
The next few surprise tests, she started to get higher and higher marks even though there were still some careless mistakes here and there. The most recent one she just showed me - She got full marks! (Totally deserve a big ice-cream treat, I know!)
It's amazing how incentives can work magic! I seriously don't mind buying truckloads of books for her as long as it motivates her to check her work carefully. Hopefully, it will become a good habit eventually! *fingers crossed*
