Put Responsibility on the Student for Schoolwork

Here we are close to the end of the school year, and my sixth-grader is really falling behind in his schoolwork. It's not because he doesn't understand the work. He just dillydallies around until his assignments become homework. Then he doesn't bring this work home.
We've tried every kind of reward and punishment system. Nothing works. I'm afraid our constant nagging will damage his self-esteem. What else can we do? Should we just let him suffer the consequences of fooling around in school? I have no idea what else we can try. Incidentally, the teacher thinks he is a terrific kid. - Disappointed
Answer: When a teacher says your son is a terrific kid, it means that he must be doing some things right in the classroom. This is a definite plus. Back off from the nagging; it just doesn't work, as you have already discovered, and it can be damaging to good parent-child relationships.
We advise you to bow out of this situation. Put the responsibility where it belongs, on your son and the teacher. Surely the teacher has an idea of why your son is not doing his assignments in class. Possible reasons include: boredom, inability to do the work, classroom distractions, poor organizational skills and even no need to complete assignments to do well in school. The teacher should meet with your son and talk over ways this situation can be turned around. Request that this be done so your son will learn that he cannot avoid doing routine classroom assignments.
Assuming that you are right and your son can do the work, we wonder why the teacher has not done more than turn assignments into homework. Surely the teacher could have him stay in during recess or the lunch hour or even after school to get his work completed. This certainly should motivate him to get on task in the classroom.