Good, Bad, Other

"Yes, yes, yes." my son repeats during my little talk. I usually translate his yesing into 'I am just saying yes but I am not really listening', but this time it does seem like a actual response. "You have to decide.." I say, trying to be serious, "...which side of the fence you want to be on, the good work side or the not-good work side".

My son, taking an ambitious path, decided to finish a project during a study period and hand it in early, which I commend him on. The downside is that he did not fully understand the material and handed in sloppy and incomplete work, resulting in a marginal grade. I explained to him the importance of letting someone look it over or better yet, showing it to the teacher and ask for guidance before submitting an assignment. I want to show him that while his intentions are good, his planning was poor. I am stuck in the middle of a balancing act between showing the new age relaxed parental guidance, and the old school drill sergeant approach. 

I am finding more and more that a combination of the two work best...