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Saturday, October 09, 2010

Persuasion and the Eleven Plus

Some parents may sometimes feel that their attempts to persuade their child to feel a little more confident are falling on deaf ears. Naturally by the time their child has reached ten years old, parents have a pretty fair idea of how their child will react to most situations. Some parents may feel, on occasions, the need to be slightly heavy handed in their persuasive methods.

The eleven plus, however, because it is such a demanding examination, may sometimes throw up apparently childish perversity and utterly unpredictable behaviour. Some parents may also feel that their conventional methods of persuasion are being treated with some degree of suspicion.

One problem that some children may fear is that the dialogue with their parents is heavily weighted on the side of the parents. Their parents are urging them to respond in a particular way – but the children may not offer the hoped for response.

Able and articulate eleven plus children are probably good at more than just answering multiple choice questions. Combinations of sport, dance, drama and chess could be part of the makeup of the after school life of the eleven plus child. Work and study may need to fitted into a busy academic and social life.

We have a boy who comes to us for an evening lesson – and he has already done two after school activities.

Somehow some eleven plus children may feel they need a balance in their lives. Missing the odd lesson or exercise because of fatigue or overload is not going to upset the final balance of marks in the examination.

Some children may need to feel that they are keeping their parents pacified. These children may want their parents to be easy, thoughtful and appreciative. Persuasion, under these conditions, may be less consuming.

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