I can't get my teenager to take school seriously, do homework, etc...?
The battle started in the 4th grade. About the middle of the year we found out that she hadn't been turning in her homework. Either she lost it, forgot it or simply didn't do it (telling us that she either had done or didn't have any.) We grounded her and began weekly check-ins with the teacher. The battle continued in the 5th grade. Same over all scenario, except it started the first card marking. Ditto in the sixth grade, however in sixth grade, she started middle school and couldn't just make up missing assignments. She ended up with a D in both math and science (the classes she likes the least), but even her better subjects suffered. Last year was worse. D- in math, D in science, C in English (her best subject), C in social studies... We have talked to her teachers. She doesn't turn in her work and gets poor test grades. Last year she was grounded all year (again.) I picked her up from school so she could bring every book home at night, assuring that there would be no "I left my homework in my locker" excuse. We availed outselves of the after-school homework help program. But instead of getting better, her grades have actually gotten worse. She isn't learning disabled or emotionally disabled or anything like that. She is bright and capable of doing the work, which she proved to me over the summer when I tried to catch her up on her math. But even for me, it was the same result. She simply refused to do the work. She has been grounded from every activity she enjoys and then some. I am open to any suggestions that anyone has on how to get her motivated enough to care about school.
Why can't I force myself to do my homework?
You shouldn't try to force yourself to do homework. The problem lies in how you are interpreting the task in your mind. I can sympathize with you because I also used to be misguided. The issue here is that you are fixated on a particular way of thinking. People usually delay tasks for three reasons: (1) They don't know how to do (2) They don't know how to get started (3) They don't want to do it If you're always seeking for an A or want your work to be 'perfect' you'll usually not know how to start your work. You delay your work until it's necessary for you to do (i.e. 2 am). If you don't do this you don't know how to utilize the time to get perfect results, so you rather waste time and put yourself in a position where you have to settle for adequate because that's all that time permits. If you seek adequate from the start and work on refining the work after it's done -- you'll be much better off. You don't want to do your work (3) because you are trying to force yourself and thinking about the consequences. It sounds cliche 'learning for its own sake', but it is really powerful. What's the point of learning if you can't enjoy it and apply the material in your everyday life? Granted -- some tasks you just have to suck up and do, but creative people find ways to make the most boring tasks fun. And if you do encounter a homework problem in which you don't know how to do (1) your weakness in area (2) and (3) will cause you stress out and think low of yourself. As you get more sleep deprived it worsens and it's really a vicious cycle. It's not easy to change a brand of thinking you've had for years, overnight. But small steps can help you. So take a couple of minutes to reflect your priorities, why you go to school, why you learn, and why you shouldn't impose your parent's standard on yourself.
Can a teacher make it mandatory for you to go to school on Saturday?
I have an art history teacher who seems to think we need to dedicate our lives to her class, and her class alone. She assigns an insane amount of daily homework, reading and research, but we do it without complaint. She wants us to stay after school and watch videos for her class, she wants us to spend lunches in her room studying, to go to museums on weekends, and join her club to do further studying. It's an AP class, so the school holds an exam review on Saturday. All AP classes hold them on Saturday, but they're supposed to be optional. She's now making it mandatory for us to attend the Saturday AP review, and says she's making it our 9 weeks exam grade to attend. It's also the same day as the SAT, but she just says we need to try and get our money back (you can't). Can she do this?