School Grades..

[CharmedImmortal]

[size=1]Hello, I'm new here in this site and I hope I am welcome to be here. ^_^

So here i go with the topic...

I started school on August 26, and ya, since school starts I was very busy. I got new teachers, friends, heavy books to carry, and stuffs. But even though i met new people, I never want to talk to them. I just want to be alone for a while until I got my first report card. The only thing that worries me is what I'm going to get in my report card when they start sending it to us.

To me, U.S. History is difficult, especially the teacher is trying to be difficult with lessons and projects. But the good thing about class is that you get to do the same thing every single day. It's not a really good thing, but a boring one too. The teacher makes you take notes everyday in this section and that chapter, blah blah blah...whatever! I got sick of it! and tired of it! But at least I participate, and never once say a word to anyone excpet when the teacher talks to me. So I guess I was the most quiet one in class.

After a month, the school starts sending our report cards, and I was excited and worried about it. I can't sleep at night, can't think, can't eat, and all that. I don't know why, but i think because I was worried that I might get a lower grade. But so what? i really don't care whether it's low or whatever it is, average, or high. I just want to know what my grades are.

Yesterday afternoon, I finally received my report card. And guess what? I got a A for English Literature, another A for Math, an A for Science, and a B for Physical Education, and none for Service (They don't give you a grade in Service and that's kool!). P.E. was okay that I got a B on it, it's just that I can't run too much laps that they tell us. But whatever, it's just P.E. and all you gotta do was exercise and all that stuffs.

My U.S. History grade was HORROR! Yea..it was. -.-
That teacher gave me a C and a low participation. o.O
How did I get a low participation if I never talk to my classmates?
All my grades in my quizzes are high enough to achieve an A for my report card. God! what's wrong with this teacher..-.-,

Ever had this problem in life? If so, share it by posting in this thread.
( I'm sorry for making this long. ^_^;..It's just that I'm used to this. Thnx. ) [/size]

[Bio]

Your teacher is being harsh, but some of them make class paticipation a big part, which I don't think should be leagal. A lot of shy people are incredibly smart, and they don't deserve a C because they are new, or just plain shy. Why don't you ask your teacher how much class participation reflects on your grade. If it is only a low percentage, then ask why you got a C. If you can't get a good answer from him/her, and he/she just doesn't understand how misjudged you have been, take it up with another teacher, or a guidance counselor.

[Dagger]

Yes, as Arch said, the best thing to do is to talk to the teacher, even if you don't like him or her. Do you take part in class discussions? Teachers often get to know their students through what they talk about in class.... so even if you're well-behaved, not speaking up may end up counting against you.

~Dagger~

[Baron Samedi]

I'd front up to them.

'Why did you give me a C? All my quizzes point towards a higher grade than this, so whats up with this?'

If they don't give you a satisfactory answer, complain to the principal. Ask them what you could have done to lift your mark and improve for your next report. If you need to talk to classmates, then do it. I know what you mean about being quiet in class though. Thats a ditto for me.

Welcome to OB. Glad to see a new member who can post well, and spell correctly. I am pleased.

[Ninjaman]

I'd say talk to your teacher and get the answers from him/her. If I'm failing a class, I'd like to know why.

Well right now I'm failing my AP US History class, but that's because of our quizzes. We have to read about 10 to 25 pages from the book and the next day we have a quiz with 10 questions based on the readings. Don't get me wrong, I read the pages(though, when it's about 20 pages, i read [i]most[/i] of it), but I'm just not getting the material stuck in my head. The grades I get on the quizzes are actually quite random, like, I get a 40 on one quiz, but I manage a 90 on another. I think it depends on how much pages there are for me to read. We've had two tests so far. The first one I failed pretty badly (let's just say I made below a 50) and the second one I barely passed (in the upper 70's). It was mainly the essays that screwed me up on those tests. Looks like I'm gonna have to study a lot harder and maybe read more than once through the pages we have to read.

I'm kinda close to failing my Chemistry class. I did kinda bad in the beginning because I wasn't really understanding the metric conversions. Boy did I hated that. >_< As of right now I'm doing better. We had a test two days ago and I think I did pretty good, it's just I didn't understand about two or three problems.

I'm doing pretty good in my other classes, which are holding above an 85 or an 87, I forget. So that's good.

[Gohan Egret]

For starters, you need to relax about the grades. Here is some advice my religion teacher (Mr. Dufficy) gave to me my sophomore year in high school:

If you know you did a good job on your work, if you know that you put effort into your work, if you know that what you did was quality, then there is no reason to worry about your grades.

Honestly, I was pretty similar to your mindset 3 years ago. I would still eat though (the stomach wants what it wants) and sleep and all, but I would be very nervous and anxious for my report card and mid-quarter reports. But, every time (well, not EVERY time; about 98% of the time) I would have an A or B.

After my teacher gave me that advice, my grades remained high, but a large amount of stress was lifted from my shoulders. High school is tough enough; your grades will remain high as long as you do good work.

As for the teacher, it does seem odd that you have a C even though you did participate and (I assume) did all of your work. As it was recommended, talk to teacher and find out what caused the given grade. Here is some more advice:

The vast majority of teachers are not offended if you ask them about your grade and/or if you find a mistake/prove a point in the procedures used in issuing a grade.

Find out what you did well and what you lack in order to improve your grade. Afterward, if you feel you have done everything that teacher has asked of you, kindly and calmly (do NOT blow up) explain your position and talk it over.

Courtesy, respect, and communication sure go a long way. ;)

[Sara]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Baron Samedi [/i]
[B]I'd front up to them.

'Why did you give me a C? All my quizzes point towards a higher grade than this, so whats up with this?'

If they don't give you a satisfactory answer, complain to the principal.[/B][/QUOTE] [FONT=arial]You're probably not going to get a satisfactory answer if you ask like that.

Welcome to the world of diplomacy.

Were I in your situation, I would definitely look into it. If you have friends in the class (although your post implies you don't) I would talk to them and compare grades. If you don't really know anyone, this is actually a pretty decent opportunity to talk to someone. "What did you get in this class?" makes for an okay conversation starter, believe it or not. ^_~

Failing that, I would talk to the teacher--[i]politely[/i]. Trust me, being polite goes a long way. (Even if you can't stand the person you're talking with, especially if they're in a position of authority, it helps to be quiet and firm instead of accusing.) It's always a good thing to have the law on your side. (Well, you know what I mean.)

If you demand to know "what's up" with your grade, you're not giving the teacher any reason to change it in your favor--if anything, he's likely to note you as a trouble-maker or disrespectful, and you're going to have problems all year long.

So, yes, be civil when you're talking to him. Don't confront him during class either, because it takes a pretty firm case (and a solid argument) to be able to do that, and it's really only a good idea if you're [i]already[/i] on someone's list.

I'd go up to talk with him after class, saying something like, "I just wanted to ask about my grade." Ask what constitues [i]good[/i] participation, and ask him in what ways you weren't up to his standards. At this point, you'll either discover that he didn't mark you fairly (in which case you could talk to another teacher....it's probably a good idea to talk to one of your favorite teachers or something about this, as they're likely to be able to give you advice and/or information on the teacher in question) or you'll at least know what you have to do for next marking period.

[/FONT]

[Baron Samedi]

Uuh. Yeh. Sorry Sara, that was quite a rude way for me to put it. But then again, it depends what kind of tone you use for it. I would use a m ore questiong tone- this makes it more casual. Not in an accusingmanner, but a questioning manner. Maybe thats just how I am with my teachers. I'm not rude though, don't worry ~_^

[Krademon]

I personaly don't get worked up too much about grades. Sure I'd love to get an 'A' in every class but I don't think that is going to happen. I love life too much to forget my inner child, infact I think he's on the utside most of the time. I don't do as well as I hope in math but that's ok. I'm still in the 2nd highest math class in the school so yay for that. And why so downer about a B? thats like 70% to 80%. Not too shabby. As for the 'C' don't sweat it if you can pick it up in later terms\semesters. At least you did't fail huh.

[Mitch]

[size=1] I also had a C in my History class a la midterms. But I checked my grade again today (since we have this thing where we can check grades) and it went up to a B.

Listen to what Sara has said mainly; I'd end up saying the exact same thing to you...but I don't feel it needs to be repeated.

Basically, to do good in a class, you have to adapt to the teacher's teaching style and just overall the way the class is. For my history class I absolutely love my history teacher. His name is Mr. Schimdt, he's in his 20s, and it's just great to have a younger teacher over a more older one because he isn't all strict and fogey really. He tells you the class like it is.

At the beginning of the year he said the only thing that needs to be done to pass the class was to read the book, take notes, and that was about all; and he told the truth. Not all teachers are like this, though. You just have to play it by either hard-learned lessons, or by talking to the teacher--and if that's needed, I'd talk to the teacher as Sara said: politely, after class if possible.

Adapting to a class means either listening right to the teacher the first day and doing what he says, or learning the hard way, getting a low grade on a test or quiz or whatever, and then seeing what you did wrong and fixing it.

I hadn't been taking good enough notes--one quizzes, it's open note, and they're good for studying--so then for this next chapter I sat down last weekend and just got all the notes down and this worksheet done. I was really satisfied with the results, too. This is the main reason my grade went up to a B.

We had a quiz this Thursday, and most people still hadn't gotten good enough notes to do well on it. But I got 21/20 on my quiz since I'd taken notes. I only got one wrong, and that's because the question was about how people realized the spoil system wasn't working; I put down a tornado instead of a hurricane. But I got two bonus right so thus I got 21/20. The test itself for this chapter is Monday...

I've learned that the tests are the hardest part of this class. So due to this, I have found that I need to study my notes, maybe skim through the chapter. On my first test I got like 30/50. Then on the second one we had a while ago I only got 3 wrong. Hopefully this next one I will improve even more.

So as I said it's all about adapting to the teacher's teaching methods. It's also a lot of finding out--with the way the class is run and all--and using your own methods that work personally for you.[/size]

[Krademon]

I had a really good teacher for my language and literature class last semester. She really had some good Ideas and I got an 'A' for th class. Now I have an ok teacher and I'm not enjoying it so much (I suppose the topic is skrewey too, who wants to study alcoholism, rape, anger, abuse and domestic voilence. It's just depressing).
And Is suppose the topic or contents affect yuour grade as much as a teacher might. We did turboC++ (old version of C++) in my programming class. Now were doing VB (Visual Basic) and it's not bad but it's so repedative so I'm not enjoying it so much. And the teacher is a bit of a prick too. He didn't mark a question properly by not looking at half the answer and giving me 3\12 for it, and saying I probably earned it...:(. He's making it again these holidays so it should be right:)

[FartMaster745]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by CharmedImmortal [/i]
[B][size=1]Ever had this problem in life? If so, share it by posting in this thread.
( I'm sorry for making this long. ^_^;..It's just that I'm used to this. Thnx. ) [/size] [/B][/QUOTE]
[size=1]
This isn't long. Its actually decent.

The complete opposite has happened to me in the 4th grade. I never paid attention, did very little homework, goofed around a lot and still got good grades.

I have had pretty much good grades all through the years. Last year in World History I had a 77 on my first marking period. It was weird, I only missed 2 homework papers and got an 88 on one quiz. I went to talk to the teacher. It was no surprise in what he said. "Effort counts too you know". So that was settled.

I love my electronics related class.
"Effort counts 50% of your grade. As long as you show 100% effort, I will not fail you. Even if you get zeros in all of your papers. As long as you show 100% effort, I promise you I will give you that 60 you need to pass..."

I'd say effort is a biggy when it comes to grades.

You said that you got A's in all of your quizzes and still got a C, eh. Well theres not much I can say about that when much has already been said by everyone else. Talk to your teacher, you deserve a better grade ^_^[/size]

[Ravenstorture]

[color=darkgreen][font=gothic]I find that the way to a teacher's heart (if s/he actually cares about what they're doing) is to get the message across that you're not just there to fill in your lines. If you are unhappy about the grade, you should tell them. "Excuse me, I was wondering if you could give me a few pointers on how to improve in this class." will be impressive, because it's not always obvious. And in my experience, teachers are always happy to pile on the work. More work is terrible to deal with, but I find that the angrier your workload makes you, the better you turn out in the end.

When I started highschool a while ago, in year 8, my mother would punish me when I did something wrong by making me ask for more homework. Year 8 was the only year I ever did any homework, and I've been in the top 2% of my grade for three years now. I'm starting to do a bt more homework now, but that's because we're getting dangerously close to things that actually count. And my grades have fallen... but that's just the jump from year 10 to 11. (I'm in Queensland, remember, highschool's from 8-12, same people, same place, whole way through.)
They say it's bigger than the jump from year 12 to university.

What was I talking about? Oh yeah. Well, last semester, I got my very first C ever. It was a C10, a very high C, bordering on a B, but it tore me apart inside. Fortunately my teacher knew me very well and she talked to me about it after class, telling me it was about time I started struggling, here's a new chapter of the textbook you need finished by the holidays. Thanks a lot, miss. But I'm more confident now.

As for the participation thing, you probably need to speak up more. Quiet people aren't seen as 'participators'. If you know the answer, volunteer it, if you don't, put your hand up and take it easy if you get it wrong. It's humiliating as all hell, but your teacher will appreciate you trying. Unless they're a bad teacher, of course, which is always possible.

Well, I don't know if any of this can help you because you're in america, but I'm generally known as an outstanding student by the teachers at my school, and that's even after a history of inappropriate sarcasm in essays, public displays of affection with my significant other, and various illegal piercings. Oh, and I hate catholics, and go to a catholic school. So I'm not completely without use in this area.

PS If all else fails, take some naked photos of yourself in various poses and stick them in your teacher's message box at school. Chances are your marks will either improve significantly, or you'll never see them again.
[/color][/font]

[Ares]

Right, I agree, talk to the teacher about your grade, ask him about it. Maybe you weren't participating in class well enough? Well, you need to just ask him what's up, and then he has to tell you. His job is to help you.

[outlawstar69]

Well, all of these ideas are likely to work. It depends on what kind of people you and your teacher are. Since everyone is offering what they would do, I may as well join in. When it comes to classes at my school this year, I'm glad to say I only have three. English, Math and Visual Basics 2 (we're learning C++ though..). For my major classes though, it is with the same group of people, about 13 or so girls. I don't know why all the advanced classes for my grade are mostly taken by girls, maybe it was the well water that year. Anyway, to my point, I am a guy who has learned by being with this group of people since 9th grade how to be quiet. (I can still shout out anything I feel that needs heard, but you know what they say: go with the flow.) If a teacher asks a question in any of these classes, you will not find a quieter group of people. You practicly have to wait a minute or two before someone raises their hands to venture forth an answer. We know the answers, it's just that no one wants to say anything. Out of all of us, there is one girl who always raises her hand with an answer. She's an outcast, by the way. Our teachers understand; no one has gotten their grades cut because they were quiet. (Thank god.. or we would all flunk). I like the diplomatic approach, by the way. You usually won't fail with a nice approach. Go talk to him, if you are naturaly a shy or quit person then tell him this, and ask how you can improve your grade with out making you feel uncomfortable.

[HetepKa]

Yes it also happened to me , and it also was a C but not in history, but in attitude, since my school has a grade in attitude...I'm a quiet loner, I don't participate in class becuase it's boring and I also got a C...I was really mad:mad: :mad: :mad: :flaming: :flaming: :flaming: :devil: :devil: , because I'm a straight A student and it was very frustrating to get thatCbecause I'm always kind and calm with everyone, soo I did what my few friends told me I talked to the teachers, did an effort to participate more in class and the next report card I got an A:D :D :toothy:

[Fate]

[color=teal]My family pushes me too hard to be perfect. I hate it.

My grades so far:

Chemistry: A

English: A

History: A

Art: A+

Math: A-

Okay, so math is my worst subject. I hate it. I'm not really trying to boast, so don't take it that way! To my family anything lower than an A is like, "Oh my God! Kitty got a B! She must be sick!"

I feel like punching everyone.[/color]

[eleanor]

[size=1] Yeah, teacher can be like that. But, if you ask a teacher to print out all the grades you've earned this year, they pretty much have to do it here in Georgia, especially if your parents write a note. Just go to your teacher at the beginning of class and arrange a time as to when you guys can discuss your grades. [b]Always[/b] remember to be polite, or your teacher won't like you. It's very simple, really. Being rude and insolent will only get you in trouble. ^_~ Being nice will get to everywhere in school.

Fate: Dude, you have an A in chemistry. When my sister took it [my sister, the freaking PERFECT student], she had a B. Don't freak. To may family, anything under a B means I'm failing school horribly and I must be given an extremely long, [i]angry[/i], lecture, and a good ole' spanking. >_<

I'm not kidding or anything.

Be grateful that your parents don't think that a low B is failing and a low A is bad as well. Be grateful that you're not in eigth grade, taking SAT tutoring three hours a week AND *passes out* So anyways, just be grateful for what you've got..or don't have. ^_^;;[/size]

[Fate]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by maladjusted [/i]
[B][size=1] Fate: Dude, you have an A in chemistry. When my sister took it [my sister, the freaking PERFECT student], she had a B. Don't freak. To may family, anything under a B means I'm failing school horribly and I must be given an extremely long, [i]angry[/i], lecture, and a good ole' spanking. >_<

Be grateful that your parents don't think that a low B is failing and a low A is bad as well. Be grateful that you're not in eigth grade, taking SAT tutoring three hours a week AND *passes out* So anyways, just be grateful for what you've got..or don't have. ^_^;;[/size] [/B][/QUOTE]

[color=teal]It's really hard being an emotional girly-girl when the whole world seems to be falling down. My mother stares "murder" when she sees me getting below an A. It's emotionally devastating.

And I took SATs. Don't be so hard on yourself; it's easy stuff. Like, really.[/color]

[eleanor]

[size=1] ^_~ So did I, in seventh grade. It's good to know someone who knows what it's like to have paranoid parents, grade-wise. Lol...

I really just learned to get used to it. I don't mind so much now, but it will anger me once in a while. [/size]

[outlawstar69]

I, for one, am glad that my mom doesn't get emotional about my grades. She's never made an issue about it, and I'm also glad that she hasn't needed to either. (Hey, whatever happened to the person who started this thread? I want to know if the problem got resolved. MAybe I should send a PM...) Oh yeah, to all those worried about the SATs - don't worry about it. Should you get a bad score, you can always take them again. And again. Or as many times as need be. Eck. I'm glad I only needed to take them once; I liked my score :) .

[Fate]

[color=teal]You're lucky. It's very stressful to have parents that care about grades more than yourself.

*sigh, once again*[/color]

[terra]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by maladjusted [/i]
[size=1]It's good to know someone who knows what it's like to have paranoid parents, grade-wise. Lol...[/size][/QUOTE]
Heh. My parents were rather paranoid about grades as well. I did fine throughout middle school and high school, and they didn't comment as long as I did well. Then senior year I got a 4 on the E&M section of my Physics AP, and my dad got annoyed. I got annoyed too, because I thought it was pretty damn good as I hate E&M, not to mention the other AP grades that I got back that year, all of which were also good.

... Guess that story had no point. Still makes me mad. :p (The max score on an AP is a 5, by the way. And my dad was a physics major for undergrad, which is probably why he was upset about it.)

Anyway, now that I'm in college they're much nicer about it, especially since my older brother had one really bad semester and I haven't had any semester as bad as his so far. :D

The original question has been answered several times, and very well, so I don't feel too guilty about that rant ...

[Sara]

[size=1]I wasn't really aware you could [i]take[/i] the SAT as a seventh grader, heh.

My parents don't really care about my grades. Well, that's not exactly true. They're pleased that I do well, and I sometimes talk with one of them if I'm stressing about a particular subject. They're very rational about school, which is wonderful. Sometimes I really need someone to remind me that the world doesn't end at a C- test in trig class.

(Gah, I hated trig.)[/size]

[Carr]

Grades, heh. I don't think I do too badly: I have a 3.6 (on a 4.0 scale)and I took the hardest classes I could, but my parents think I should be top of the top. Everytime I sit down to do scholorship stuff or fill out college applications, they ask why my grades weren't better, why my ACT score wasn't better, or why I can't raise my class rank.

I don't want to worry about it because the grades I have will get me into the college I want to go to: UM Twin Cities.

It just is real frusterating when your best isn't good enough.