Grade Shocks, Need Advice...now *die*

First you have to look at your study method in order to see if the problem is coming from how you organize your time. Bad grades can have multiple sources and you have to try to figure out what is causing them. Is it that you aren’t spending enough time re-vising and doing your homework? Is your method for taking notes not complete enough? Is the teacher hard to understand? Are personal affairs taking up too much of your time and energy? Are you working to many hours outside of school? Do you have a good, clam study place? It helps to make a schedule in order to see how you spend your time and where you might want to add more time for school work. Also, finding a friend or friends to study with can really help a lot when you have a hard time disciplining yourself or a hard time understanding the subject. Don’t be afraid to ask questions to the teacher and friends when you don’t understand. If your shy about doing it in the classroom (though experience has taught me when I had a question most everyone else had the same question were just too shy to ask) ask the teacher afterclass. Try to join study groups or take extra hours with an older student that can help you to understand. You can complete your notes by photocopying someone elses and then comparing them to see what you missed. Learn to abrreviate words (ex.:by symbols) when taking notes so your notes will be more complete. Try to do excercise regularly to stay fit and eat well. Have a fun social life to blow off extra tension but don’t tire yourself out by staying up all night or getting involved in energy depleting relationships. If you have to work, try to work less without putting yourself into financial trouble and talk to your boss about better working hours around your school schedule. And always choose a quiet place to study like the library or your room, take breaks every once in a while (ex.:strech, a little walk) to make sure that you are at your best and concentrated. Remember studying EVERY DAY even for an hour is better then staying up all night before an exam…this usualy tires you out and makes you forget the answers to questions. If you are doing all these things and still aren’t getting better grades then you might also want to try to get help from school staff. Social workers or orientation poeple should be a good support. As for your Dad, if you are doing your very best, then you should show and tell him. He wants to encourage you by not settling for C’s, ask for his help. Tell him your really trying, maybe he can even help you study or help you out some other way (ex.:pay for your rent so you work less). Work with him so that he sees and feels that you are doing all that you can and that way he won’t be so hard on you.