And one more thing (see above):
This low self-esteem thing in children is blown WAY out of proportion. MANY children feel low self-esteem when they are at the lower end of the totem pole in a certain category. It is 100% normal. The remedy is not to tell them that its ok that they are failing and make them feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Our job is to take their feelings seriously and help them change themselves by giving them what they need to succeed( encouraging effort, tutoring, rewards…) .
Children are extremely perceptive. Sometimes when they are doing poorly they merely want you to stand up and say “Its not ok. How can we help you? Lets do much better on the next test”. Parents need to get MUCH more involved in doing homework with the children and being on top of their work. As a teacher, I am horrified at how few parents actually know what their son has for homework, when he has a test, etc…The kids know that you dont know what they are up to and if you dont get involved actively, they wont involve you-they will simply coast the year through. BE ON TOP OF YOUR KIDS! Its not the teachers responsibility. Its the parents’.