Thursday, November 02, 2006
How Can I Get Straight A's?
Dear Guidance Guy,
I am a 14 year old boy who spends as much time as possible trying to get straight A's. The problem is that no matter how much time I spend doing my homework, studying, and reading over my notes each day, I get B's in most of my classes.For instance, this last quater at school was the chance for me to start out doing my best. When I entered the year I was doing very well but then my grades started to drop and before I knew it, I had a B in 3 of my 7 subjects, one of them being AP European History and another one of them being Honors Chemistry. I know these classes boost up your GPA but I still prefer getting above a 4.0. So throughout the quarter I worked extremely hard. I put in the effort, I would seclude myself in my room with nothing in there but my desk and my bed so I can focus on my work and only my work.
Eventually I started going to the local college library all day on Sundays so I could get a lot of studying done. This did work but not as much as I thought it would. I had boosted up my AP grade to an A right before the end of the quarter but because of one assignment it went down to just .4 percent below the A. I raised my grade for chemistry up to an A which due to my last test dropped me down to an 88, my math grade went down to a 88.2 percent, and my Spanish grade (at this point I had gotten four B's at the very end) was a depressing 85 percent. And thoughout the quarter I kept going to my teachers for help.I am really trying my hardest and I am trying to think of what it could be that is causing this to happen. I know it isn't burn out because in the evenings I relax after a full day's work.Could you please give me tips on how to study so I can get straight A's for my semester grade, what could be causing me to not get straight A's? Any way you can help with will be highly appreciated.
Thank you,
Muy Estudioso.
P.S.: The thing I dont understand is people I know who don't work hard at all are getting straight A's and they are in the same classes as I am. How is this possible?
*** *** ***
Dear Muy Estudioso,
The first thing I noticed when I read your letter is that you're 14 years old and taking some very challenging classes. Most people don't take any advanced placement courses until they're at least 15...usually older. And most don't take chemistry until 11th grade. So if you're in ninth and taking chemistry, you're way ahead of the game.
And this might be part of the issue you're having. You're very young to take the courses you're in. I wonder how much background you have for these courses. Have you taken Algebra I and Geometry, and are you taking a second Algebra course now? It may be more difficult for you to get A's now, but easier if you were to take these courses later in your schooling.
I don't think there's anything wrong with doing your best and coming up with B's. I always tell my students to not focus so much on the grade, but how much they're learning. (Of course if they are failing, I tell them to be concerned with the grade.) As you get out of high school you'll discover people don't measure you by your test scores. I know lots of people who didn't do very well in their grades but learned lots of stuff anyway. I was one of them!
What you can do however, is focus on the types of tests you're taking and prepare specifically for them. If you're getting essay questions, focus on how well you answer the questions. If it's multiple choice, focus on the facts of what you're learning. And when you go for extra help from teachers, ask them how they think you can improve on the types of tests you take.
I sure as you get older and have more background in these subjects, your grades will come up. But you should be very proud of what you've already accomplished.
All The Best,
The Guidance Guy
I am a 14 year old boy who spends as much time as possible trying to get straight A's. The problem is that no matter how much time I spend doing my homework, studying, and reading over my notes each day, I get B's in most of my classes.For instance, this last quater at school was the chance for me to start out doing my best. When I entered the year I was doing very well but then my grades started to drop and before I knew it, I had a B in 3 of my 7 subjects, one of them being AP European History and another one of them being Honors Chemistry. I know these classes boost up your GPA but I still prefer getting above a 4.0. So throughout the quarter I worked extremely hard. I put in the effort, I would seclude myself in my room with nothing in there but my desk and my bed so I can focus on my work and only my work.
Eventually I started going to the local college library all day on Sundays so I could get a lot of studying done. This did work but not as much as I thought it would. I had boosted up my AP grade to an A right before the end of the quarter but because of one assignment it went down to just .4 percent below the A. I raised my grade for chemistry up to an A which due to my last test dropped me down to an 88, my math grade went down to a 88.2 percent, and my Spanish grade (at this point I had gotten four B's at the very end) was a depressing 85 percent. And thoughout the quarter I kept going to my teachers for help.I am really trying my hardest and I am trying to think of what it could be that is causing this to happen. I know it isn't burn out because in the evenings I relax after a full day's work.Could you please give me tips on how to study so I can get straight A's for my semester grade, what could be causing me to not get straight A's? Any way you can help with will be highly appreciated.
Thank you,
Muy Estudioso.
P.S.: The thing I dont understand is people I know who don't work hard at all are getting straight A's and they are in the same classes as I am. How is this possible?
*** *** ***
Dear Muy Estudioso,
The first thing I noticed when I read your letter is that you're 14 years old and taking some very challenging classes. Most people don't take any advanced placement courses until they're at least 15...usually older. And most don't take chemistry until 11th grade. So if you're in ninth and taking chemistry, you're way ahead of the game.
And this might be part of the issue you're having. You're very young to take the courses you're in. I wonder how much background you have for these courses. Have you taken Algebra I and Geometry, and are you taking a second Algebra course now? It may be more difficult for you to get A's now, but easier if you were to take these courses later in your schooling.
I don't think there's anything wrong with doing your best and coming up with B's. I always tell my students to not focus so much on the grade, but how much they're learning. (Of course if they are failing, I tell them to be concerned with the grade.) As you get out of high school you'll discover people don't measure you by your test scores. I know lots of people who didn't do very well in their grades but learned lots of stuff anyway. I was one of them!
What you can do however, is focus on the types of tests you're taking and prepare specifically for them. If you're getting essay questions, focus on how well you answer the questions. If it's multiple choice, focus on the facts of what you're learning. And when you go for extra help from teachers, ask them how they think you can improve on the types of tests you take.
I sure as you get older and have more background in these subjects, your grades will come up. But you should be very proud of what you've already accomplished.
All The Best,
The Guidance Guy
# posted by Larry Hochman : 1:07 PM
