Many children are failing at school and not getting the grades they could achieve or that they deserve to achieve. Are they to blame or is the system letting them down? John Holt in his book “How Children Fail” says that children fail “because they are afraid, bored and confused.”

Fear
Fear and stress do not promote learning. Children cannot learn in a stressful environment where failure of any kind is disapproved of. Children become afraid to ask questions and embarrassed to ask for help when they do not understand. They are scared to try new things and worry constantly about test results. They are afraid to do things wrong. Children cannot learn when they are afraid and stressed.

Boredom
Education is designed for the masses and not for the individual. Children who are verbal learners do well with traditional education because teachers tend to teach in a verbal way and expect students to take notes. Children with different styles of learning will get bored and switch off their brain. The style of teaching is not relevant to them and they do not learn. Discovery and exploration do not seem to be part of the modern education system.

Confusion
Children are taught concepts at home and in school by discovery and exploration. When they are little they learn by using construction toys and puzzles. They is why they are confused when they’re faced with an education system which does not educate in this way. Parents tell their children to ask if they do not understand a concept and yet teachers and other students embarrass them if they do this. A confused mind does not learn.

No wonder parents are taking education into their own hands. Online tutoring can help children who are being failed by their schools and need help with math homework help.