I still expect things to come easily for me, giving up too quickly or losing my temper when they don't.

Eh, even if you'd been just one of many Smart Kids (I say, as the slacker in my group of Sooper Genius Smartasses), that's a hard habit to get out of, especially once you're no longer in school and there's less motivation to do something about it.

I'm very proud of my high school friends who wound up doing great things and applying themselves, but that's just not who or what I am. I'm bone-lazy, unless it's something that actually holds my interest, good enough to get kudos while sliding, and selfish enough to resent things that take away from what I want.

Sadly, I don't have the eccentric billionare relative who died and made that a viable lifestyle choice.

It is a good thing that the kids are in a huge public school system in many ways. The gifted and magnet programs are awesome, as are the teachers. Although Brendon is Mr. Smartypants he does have plenty of kids around him that are as smart and often smarter. He enjoys the company and is competitive by nature.

When my schedule burden eases some I will happily go back to school and embrace the homework. Granted, when I was in college I suffered over my grades and was a maniac with the studying. Still, I prefer the effort/reward ratio in school over the "real" life ratio.

I did most of my homework - just less of the boreing stuff.

My friend M had a daughter and a son. the daughter she could motivate by putting homework and social things as a do your homework or stay home. She never found a motivation for her son.

I was thinking about the difference between school and college. Dh was another that did not do well ( high school) , but hit the ground running in college. The over structured part of high school - and the unwillingness of anyone ( in this case I am includeing his parents) to notice that 1) he was really smart and 2) really in need of a challange just killed his desire to do well. Honestly, the structured super rules school goes on too long.

one of my friends here is a teacher. Her daughter didi well, but her son had a lot of problems in high school. as in flunking english( when he liked the class) - as well as others - a lot of it haveing to do with the way classes were in high school. Insead of haveing him take the very lame summer school class - she sent him to the local community college to see what a class was like. ( she actually made him register himself - and when he forgot - he had the choice of talking himself into the class or...) He loved it. So she was able to convince him that he only had a year left to play the high school game and get to the point where he could have some control of what he learned - and when.

Eh, even if you'd been just one of many Smart Kids (I say, as the slacker in my group of Sooper Genius Smartasses), that's a hard habit to get out of, especially once you're no longer in school and there's less motivation to do something about it.

Probably true. And while it's easy to second-guess my childhood and think, "If only I'd had X everything would've been so much better," I kept coasting academically when I got to college, even though I enjoyed having a whole crowd of Super Genius Smartasses to hang out with and getting to take interesting classes.

I do wish I'd imbibed a little less arrogance along the way, though. It's not a pleasant trait, to say the least, and I think it clouds my judgment. F'rinstance, I'm having a hard time judging my level of writing skill and how much attention I should pay to all the writing advice that's out there, because while I think I have a strong voice that I shouldn't muck with by paying too much attention to all the latest fads for How To Sell Your Romance Novel, what if that's just the arrogance talking, and I'd be published if I'd just stop being so damned stubborn and embrace deep POV and the Goal-Motivation-Conflict system for structuring a novel?

I never learned good study habits. I learned how to learn things quickly; I learned how to write exceptionally well; I learned how to use those two abilities to coast at every opportunity. And it's been a bitch of a thing.

I do wish I'd imbibed a little less arrogance along the way, though. It's not a pleasant trait, to say the least, and I think it clouds my judgment.

I know it can cloud mine when allowed full flower. Which is why I should talk to my father more often. He has a way of deflating any over-inflation of my ego with one or two pointed questions and/or musing on high level math stuff that's light years beyond me.

Hey! I should loan him to Emily. She's having a horrible week, and Dad could talk math at her and make things all better! Plus he'd have someone to talk to who understands what he's talking about!

Hey! I should loan him to Emily. She's having a horrible week, and Dad could talk math at her and make things all better! Plus he'd have someone to talk to who understands what he's talking about!

Heh. Nothing like living with a very smart, mathy person to keep things in perspective!

He has a way of deflating any over-inflation of my ego with one or two pointed questions and/or musing on high level math stuff that's light years beyond me.

That'd certainly deflate me nicely. t Barbie Math is hard! t /Barbie

I did my homework because my mother was a teacher in the school system and the fear that my teachers would snitch on me was enough of a motivation. By the time I got to college and tried to goof-off, I found the guilt to be ingrained.

A friend in law school dubbed me the "hardest working lazy person" he knew.

I learn most things easily, but when I run across something that takes a little effort, I'm nearly offended by it.

This is me, and I think I am just learning how to study now because of it. I never developed study skills in grade school because I never have to. I never read the textbooks because I learned that I was only going to be tested on the lectures. This was not an advantage to me at all when I started college.