Sylvan Online - "Acting Out" of Frustration

Warning Sign: Behavior Problems

You worried about your child's poor grades. Now you're alarmed about his behavior — chatting during class and ignoring his teacher, starting fights, acting-out. Behavior problems often mask skills problems. Your child is saying, "pay attention to me — not my poor grades." Sylvan Online fixes behavior problems by getting at the root cause — Skill Gaps — weaknesses in fundamental skills. When your child achieves in school, he won't need to act out. He'll be recognized for academic excellence, not childish antics.

Your well-mannered child starts a fight, your shy kid interrupts the class with chatter. The teacher says he daydreams in class. He's sent to the principal's office for talking back to his teacher. How was his last report card? Are his grades as poor as his behavior?

Grades Matter Plenty
Behavior problems in students who are struggling in school are usually just a cover-up for their lack of confidence. If the lesson is over her head, she becomes frustrated, bored, and anxious. She masks her anxiety over poor academic performance with negative behavior. A bored child daydreams. Aggressive behavior says, "I'm angry, frustrated." She's saying, "Pay attention to my behavior, not my poor grades." But if you don't pay attention to poor grades, you can bet your child won't! At Sylvan Online, we tell parents, "Fix the grades and the behavior problems will disappear."

Bad Behavior Is A Call for Help
It's rare to see a "straight A" student shooting spitballs or passing notes during class. There's a simple explanation: he's engaged — too busy learning to act out. But struggling students disengage, because they don't understand what's going on. This translates to frustration, boredom, and isolation. The child wants to "fit in" and relate to the rest of his classmates. But he can't do it academically. Who gets more attention than the class clown? And a spitball flying through the air works just as well to get a laugh as it did when we were kids!

Sylvan Online Substitutes Academic Achievement For Acting Out
If your child's poor behavior is taking attention away from her poor grades, it's time to take charge. Your child's poor behaviors are a cry for help. Listen to your child! The skills she's missing make it hard for her to fit in and learn. Find out more about how Sylvan Online can uncover the Skill Gaps that fuel your child's bad behavior. Instead of shooting spitballs, we'll have your child shooting for straight A's.