Learning to Ask Questions

Being a good student is not easy, but very important, and coming to school as many days as possible helps in order to keep up with the homework and the different assignments that the teachers may give out. There will be many assignments, but I must try hard not to get too far behind. It will be very hard to catch up. It’s not easy to have to keep starting over by waiting for the next six weeks to begin again. To be a good student, I had to ask for help from my teachers and the social workers. When I first decided to finish school it was very hard. I was ashamed at first to ask a question, but now I ask for help if I have a problem with a particular subject. That was the struggle I overcame.

I had to work in order to help take care of my children. Then, I had to manage a home and go to school, that’s three jobs! It was not easy being away from my family when I was working. However, I needed money, and I needed my education. I have started and stopped many times, because of work or family problems. I had to start learning all over again in order to read, write and do math problems. My academic struggles with math, even though it was not easy, in the end made me more confident about learning. One particular problem was renaming fractions. Renaming fractions have many different steps in order to solve the problem. I had to do it many times before I understood it. In addition, I had lots of help from my teachers. My teacher, Mr. Nathan, asked me to show him on the board step by step the way to do the problem of renaming fractions, so that he would know whether I understood it. I showed him that I could do the problem and he said, “That’s good.”  What I learned about a lot of problems solving, be it math, writing or any other academic problem, and was that sometimes the subject must be repeated many times. I learned that if I asked for help when I needed, I would get the help I need.

I continued to try. Each time I started again it was hard, but I also noticed that my academic struggle had gotten lighter. The help that I received from my teachers and social workers has helped me to continue. Asking my teacher more about the subjects that I need to learn has changed my habits from the way I used to learn. My desire for learning is much stronger. Right now, I am dealing with learning how to write better, like doing book reports and writing assays on different subjects. The struggle goes on in the academic field of learning. I will have to muster up some strength in order to get my GED.

In conclusion, to be a better student you cannot be ashamed to ask the teacher or the social workers for help with the problems you may have. If you are patient, your teachers will help; that’s what they’re there for. If you have a personal problem the social workers will help you with that, they are there to listen. Finishing assignments, coming to school on time, and doing your homework will help with being a good student.

Annie