Show Me That It’s Done.
In order to keep current with his contract, Dylan is trying to get all of his work done during school. He is not actually doing it – but he is trying.
As a result, Dylan has been doing his math homework while his teacher is walking around checking to see if his homework is done. As a result, Dylan gets lots of E’s on homework – half credit – which brings down his quarter grade by 10%.
This has been going on for three quarters. He got so many E’s in math last quarter that he ended up with a C. Other than homework, his math grades are fairly good. (They have not always been fairly good, especially in math, so I am thrilled about the upward trend.)
Now it is the fourth quarter, and I have been getting emails from his teacher, outlining the homework for the week, so that I have a record of what’s due – and can share that with him. He can no longer say, “I don’t know what the homework is,” because his math teacher emails me directly.
But he is still doing his homework at – or really, after – the last possible second. This means, of course, that he is still getting E’s because it’s not actually done.
So I have started asking Dylan to show me his completed homework. I said, “Hey, I need to know that it’s done. Show me that it’s done.”
The first time I asked, he moaned and complained and whined. Then he took it out and did it. Then he showed me.
This was the desired result.
The homework was actually done and, when she checked it the next day, Dylan got an A. But after four days of showing me his homework, and getting A’s, he started to complain that he shouldn’t be treated like a little kid, that he shouldn’t have to show me his work, that his teacher should be the only one who checks it.
Dylan even complained to his teacher because he thought it was her idea for me to check his homework. (She had agreed that it was a good idea, since it seemed to be working, but it was definitely my idea.)
And since Dylan is 17, I agree. It is his responsibility, so it would be nice if he would actually be responsible and do the work.
I said, “Okay, Dylan, for the next week, you show me your finished homework without my asking for it. And after a week, if you show me every night, I will stop checking it.”
But on Day 1 of the New Plan, Dylan didn’t show me his homework.
And the very next day, this is the email I got from the teacher:
“The homework from last night was about half done (he was trying to do it under his desk while I was walking around checking it).”
I simply don’t know where to go from here. If he won’t do it without me checking it, and he won’t do it for himself, the logical conclusion is that Dylan actually wants to get E’s on homework.