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Dear Dish-it: I'm Scared of Failing

Dear Dish-it,

I’m going into Grade 6 when school starts again, and it’s really, really, really hard. I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to flunk, and I don’t want my parents to be disappointed in me. I’m freaking out!!! What should I do???

hardstuff

Prepping for School

Dear hardstuff,

When school starts again in September, your first step should be to talk to a teacher or a counselor whose job it is to make sure that you’re doing well academically. If you’re struggling with your homework or want to get your grades up, they will be able to offer suggestions that can help.

There are also plenty of things you can do to get your grades up. Study hard, always do your homework and make sure to give yourself plenty of time to complete projects and assignments. In class, don’t be afraid to ask questions if there’s anything you don’t understand. If you do your best work on your own, set up a quiet space in your room or somewhere in your house to do your homework. Make sure there are no distractions! Or, ask your parents about hiring a private tutor who will be able to help you with your work.

On the other hand, you may be the type of person who learns best with other people around. If so, ask a bunch of your friends to form a study group or a homework club. Get together once a week and go over all your assignments. There’s a good chance that if you don’t get something, someone else in your group will be able to explain it to you!

Meantime, there’s lots you can do over the summer to prep for Grade 6. Crack open your old textbooks and review the things you found hard last year. Go online and check out study and homework websites – I bet you can even find some that will go over stuff most kids learn about in Grade 6. I’m not sure if this is a possibility, but you could even try finding out what you’ll be learning about in school next year, maybe from a friend, family member or neighbor that’s older than you. Maybe that person will even have some old Grade 6 textbooks or notes that you could borrow to review before school starts.