| I too was the middle kid. Here's my own anecdotal advice: I started slacking in school from about 3rd-9th grade. I found programming between 9th-10th grade during the summer through pretty much sheer dumb luck, timing, and being in the perfect environment. After that, my grades improved, confidence improved, everything improved. The school system may not be able to offer your kid the opportunity they need to really find the inspiration that can kick them into drive. Maybe try to expose them to as many things as you can, and see what clicks? Another thing is how they learn. I learned through modding video games and could see instant results, via changing just a few variables, of what programming could do, and would share these with my friends. This instant gratification and social "confirmation" from my friends, as well as the communities I joined, really pushed me forward. Plus, I really enjoyed it. Shortly after modding video games, I tried getting into creating websites but didn't quite see the instant gratification or have the social "confirmation" to push me as hard as I did with modding video games. |