5 answers
Sherode
Student
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Question
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What can I do to motivate myself and make sure I do my best In High School?
I am a freshman in High School looking to do better than I am right now. My current grade is a C.
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5 answers
Karen Kitchel
Community Volunteer
345
Answers
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Updated
Karen’s Answer
Set a goal to raise your grades to a B within four months. If uncertain what will make that happen, ask to speak to your teachers about what it will take and let them know of your goal. They will be impressed with your desire to improve.
Additional goals could be to spend a certain amount of time studying each day (identify what time you are at your best), or join study groups. Keep your goals in a very visible spot where you see them each day, and when you reach a goal, reward yourself with something like a movie, or your favorite food.
With every good wish.
Additional goals could be to spend a certain amount of time studying each day (identify what time you are at your best), or join study groups. Keep your goals in a very visible spot where you see them each day, and when you reach a goal, reward yourself with something like a movie, or your favorite food.
With every good wish.
Briana Pelle, MS, CCC-SLP
Speech language pathology
149
Answers
Nashville, Tennessee
Updated
Briana’s Answer
Sherode,
Kim gave some great advice already. I'd just like to add to it.
Doing "well" in high school can mean different things depending on your life goals. Sometimes, a C (still a passing grade!) is what you need to achieve your goals. Sometimes you need more than that. Determine what your post-high school goal is.
Do you want to attend college full time? Attend college part time? Go directly into the work force with a high school diploma? Attend trade school? Get a technical certification? This long term goal really determines what your short term goals in high school should be.
If you want to attend a 4-year college, you will likely need to improve your grades and overall GPA. Community colleges are much more likely to accept students with lower GPAs. Trade schools or technical certifications typically only require a high school diploma and don't consider GPA, though a higher GPA can help if you're looking for scholarships or discounted course costs.
Maybe you're interested in a career field that you can begin preparing for in high school. Check to see if your school offers:
-ROTC (if you're interested in joining the armed forces)
-welding or woodworking (if you're interested in attending trade school)
-health sciences (if you're interested in getting a technical certification or college degree to work in health care)
Talk with your school guidance counselor or a trusted teacher about these options to see what works best for you. A guidance counselor can also put you on the right track to find things like tutors or study groups to help you improve your grades.
Take this quick survey to give you an idea of careers that fit your interests and what level of training they require:https://www.mynextmove.org/explore/ip
Kim gave some great advice already. I'd just like to add to it.
Doing "well" in high school can mean different things depending on your life goals. Sometimes, a C (still a passing grade!) is what you need to achieve your goals. Sometimes you need more than that. Determine what your post-high school goal is.
Do you want to attend college full time? Attend college part time? Go directly into the work force with a high school diploma? Attend trade school? Get a technical certification? This long term goal really determines what your short term goals in high school should be.
If you want to attend a 4-year college, you will likely need to improve your grades and overall GPA. Community colleges are much more likely to accept students with lower GPAs. Trade schools or technical certifications typically only require a high school diploma and don't consider GPA, though a higher GPA can help if you're looking for scholarships or discounted course costs.
Maybe you're interested in a career field that you can begin preparing for in high school. Check to see if your school offers:
-ROTC (if you're interested in joining the armed forces)
-welding or woodworking (if you're interested in attending trade school)
-health sciences (if you're interested in getting a technical certification or college degree to work in health care)
Talk with your school guidance counselor or a trusted teacher about these options to see what works best for you. A guidance counselor can also put you on the right track to find things like tutors or study groups to help you improve your grades.
Briana recommends the following next steps:
Kim Igleheart
Career Counselor | Police Officer
1738
Answers
San Antonio, Texas
Updated
Kim’s Answer
Sherode,
Ask yourself, why are your grades only a C? Are you trying hard, struggling, but having a hard time? Are you just doing enough to get by without applying yourself to your work? Are there outside distractions - dating, family, work, sports? Do you have a learning disability? First order of business is to figure this out!
If you are bored, or, struggling, either one, might I suggest, trying to figure out what makes learning easy for you? If you needed to learn how to use a new smart phone that was totally different than anything you'd ever used before, would you want someone to lecture you on how to use it? Probably not. Most of us do not learn by listening. That is fact! Yet, teachers keep lecturing. Would you want to watch a video? Or sort of walk through a hands-on tutorial?
Now, knowing how you learn, sometimes it is up to us to make learning more fun and interesting for ourselves. Can you write a song about a history lesson, or science lesson? Write a comic book about it? Create a google doodle? Or find an on-line video that explains it better than the text book? We have to learn a lot of stuff in HS that we think we will never use again, and, sometimes we think it is pointless. However, some of your classes build on the previous classes, so it's important to do well in all of them! And, HS grades can influence scholarship opportunities and acceptance into college, something you may not be thinking about now, but, if you change your mind later, it's too late to go back and get better grades.
If this does not help you, I suggest you discuss it with a guidance counselor. If you truly want to do better but are unable to, perhaps they can help you with other ideas. You are to be commended for taking an early interest in trying to bring up your grades!
Ask yourself, why are your grades only a C? Are you trying hard, struggling, but having a hard time? Are you just doing enough to get by without applying yourself to your work? Are there outside distractions - dating, family, work, sports? Do you have a learning disability? First order of business is to figure this out!
If you are bored, or, struggling, either one, might I suggest, trying to figure out what makes learning easy for you? If you needed to learn how to use a new smart phone that was totally different than anything you'd ever used before, would you want someone to lecture you on how to use it? Probably not. Most of us do not learn by listening. That is fact! Yet, teachers keep lecturing. Would you want to watch a video? Or sort of walk through a hands-on tutorial?
Now, knowing how you learn, sometimes it is up to us to make learning more fun and interesting for ourselves. Can you write a song about a history lesson, or science lesson? Write a comic book about it? Create a google doodle? Or find an on-line video that explains it better than the text book? We have to learn a lot of stuff in HS that we think we will never use again, and, sometimes we think it is pointless. However, some of your classes build on the previous classes, so it's important to do well in all of them! And, HS grades can influence scholarship opportunities and acceptance into college, something you may not be thinking about now, but, if you change your mind later, it's too late to go back and get better grades.
If this does not help you, I suggest you discuss it with a guidance counselor. If you truly want to do better but are unable to, perhaps they can help you with other ideas. You are to be commended for taking an early interest in trying to bring up your grades!
Steven Young
Business Owner
29
Answers
Glen Cove, New York
Updated
Steven’s Answer
Remember that you want to do better than Cs. Do it because you want to be proud of yourself! You do need to figure out why you're doing C grade work. It could be caused by a learning issue, family or personal issues, not doing assignments or handing them in late, not studying hard enough or being distracted by electronics while studying, or poor attendance.
If you are truly STUDYING your hardest and not cramming it's possible you need help grasping some of the material. Get any help that's available. Use sites like the ones I listed below (only) to help you learn. Take all electronics away or study in a different room, if distractions are a problem. Talk to your guidance counselor, a trusted teacher, your doctor, or a relative if you're struggling emotionally If you think it might be a learning issue have it checked by your doctor. Make sure you attend all classes unless you have a great reason not to.
https://www.familyeducation.com/school/top-10-free-homework-help-websites
Figure out why you're struggling
Take action to eliminate that as a barrier to doing better
Do everything else that you can to make better grades more likely
If you are truly STUDYING your hardest and not cramming it's possible you need help grasping some of the material. Get any help that's available. Use sites like the ones I listed below (only) to help you learn. Take all electronics away or study in a different room, if distractions are a problem. Talk to your guidance counselor, a trusted teacher, your doctor, or a relative if you're struggling emotionally If you think it might be a learning issue have it checked by your doctor. Make sure you attend all classes unless you have a great reason not to.
https://www.familyeducation.com/school/top-10-free-homework-help-websites
Steven recommends the following next steps:
Nicole Pell
Accounting
11
Answers
New York, New York
Updated
Nicole’s Answer
Hi there,
I think a great way of motivation is setting goals for yourself. This can be something written where you write the types of things you want to achieve and try to give yourself a date of when to check back. With setting goals, you can then use such goals to guide you to the resources. You can find different type of ways to take action, even if it only achieving the smallest thing each day. Each day small improvement leads to progress.
I think a great way of motivation is setting goals for yourself. This can be something written where you write the types of things you want to achieve and try to give yourself a date of when to check back. With setting goals, you can then use such goals to guide you to the resources. You can find different type of ways to take action, even if it only achieving the smallest thing each day. Each day small improvement leads to progress.