Extra help is one of those situations that requires extra time and effort on the part of all parties involved. The student ignoring an anticlimactic final dismissal bell because they know they are not going home yet, taking their personal time out of their day to ask questions, listen, and learn, long after they are tired from their long day at school. The teacher taking their personal time out of their day to discover the problem by listening, then reteach and demonstrate until the student understands, long after they are tired from their long day of planning, teaching, and marking. Finally, for those students who do not or cannot walk or take transit home after extra help, the parent having to wait later than usual, or interrupt their routine, to go pick up their child after they are tired from their long day at work, though proud or relieved that their child had the initiative or humility to go for extra help, hoping that it helps their child to progress.
How do students perceive extra help? Oftentimes, it seems students either feel they are inadequate or “stupid” if they need to see a teacher for extra help. That just might be pride whispering in their ear. If students knew how to get to the next level on their own, they would not need their parents, teachers, and coaches. Other students may be either lazy, scared, or unorganized to bother going for extra help.
I remember going for extra help for math when I was in grade 11. I hated math because I did not understand it and was not good at it. With my goal of attending post secondary in mind, I went for extra help. We traced the gaps in my learning back to elementary school. Math, like many disciplines, has foundations that build upon each other, and I was missing some of them since elementary school. This is why I was struggling. After a number of extra-help sessions, I started to understand; it was all making sense to me. As a result, my grades in that math class improved. Soon I was able to take a University-level math course, so I could apply to university. I was getting 70s in math, which may not sound great, but it felt like an “A” to me! In my final high school math course, OAC Finite Math, I went into the final exam with a 72 or 73 and came out with a 67. Not great, but I succeeded in getting a University-level math credit and was able to apply to university.
Keeping your goal in mind and working towards it is what will always get you through classes or situations you find difficult or unpleasant. Do I enjoy math or understand it as well anymore? Not a chance, but I knew that for what I wanted to pursue and where I wanted to go, I needed that University-level math to get there. It was a means to an end, and a necessary one. I definitely have an appreciation and understanding for the importance of math that I did not start out with, and I still need to use math in small, important ways each day, as we all do, but I will never need that level of math again.
If English class is like that for you, or any other subject that is required, remember to keep the situation and your goals in perspective. Everything is a process, and nothing worth doing or having is meant to come easily. That class you are struggling in only lasts a semester. That is only about five months! Do what you need to do to get yourself to the next level, to achieve your goals, and set yourself up to have the best and most options possible to succeed. Realize that your parents and teachers are on the same team as you and working towards the same goal; that is your development and success.
Is your development and success, in the long run, worth a comparatively small amount of time after school for extra help? How do you perceive extra help? Do you feel inadequate or “stupid”, or do you feel too proud to ask for help? Are you too scared or shy to ask, or too lazy or unorganized? I said to myself, if I ever became a teacher I would give extra help for time management and organizational skills, so I will gladly help you with that too, if you wish to book an appointment. Have you been to an extra-help session? What has that experience been like for you? Did it help? If so, how? If not, why? Share your experience with extra help. Remember that if there is anything you feel that you can improve upon, then ask for extra help.
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