Friday, June 1, 2012

Feeling Overwhelmed

Juliette, my twin sister, is feeling overwhelmed. She's been having a rough time since arriving in Les États-Unis, the United States. When she's not in the dance studio, she spends much of her time crying. I even caught her cutting herself! I didn't think she'd stoop to self-mutilation. When I confronted her about it, she confessed to receiving a failing grade on a Math exam. She's horrified at the thought that she's failed at something, especially a subject that doesn't even require knowledge of the English language. It's not just Math, though. Juliette's a quiet girl, and she's always been hesitant about speaking French, let alone English. Her grades are suffering because she's just not sure of herself when it comes to English comprehension. She's much less confident than I was when I first started studying here.

I finally convinced Juliette to go see the guidance counselor today. She agreed to go only if I went with her for moral support, which I readily agreed to. By the end of the session, the guidance counselor had suggested that Juliette begin tutoring. She'll start with going to after-school tutoring, but since school is almost out for the year, she will continue the tutoring sessions into the summer. She agreed to give it a go - as long as the tutoring didn't interfere with the summer ballet intensives she's signed up for.

Later, Juliette and I met up with Chiara, Anya, Maura, and Nathalie over at The Copper Horse Pub & Eatery. After much persuading on my part, Juliette revealed her recent academic struggles to our friends. Contrary to what she'd thought, none of them laughed. Some of them even agreed to help tutor her!



Hopefully Juliette will be in good form academically by the next school year. She does have a good support system behind her!

Have any of you ever felt overwhelmed when it comes to doing schoolwork? How did you feel when you got a bad grade on something? Have you ever had to be tutored?

~Sophie

7 comments:

Emily said...

Sophie,

I have a tutor for math. It didn't really bother me a lot to get a bad grade, but my mom didn't like seeing me struggle for hours on homework. I love my math tutor and I actually like math now! I'm glad your sister is getting help.

Emily

Madeline said...

I don't have a tutor, but if you ask me I need one. Since I don't have an older sister, I'll teach myself (like I do with most things ;p) during the summer.
~Madeline

Violet said...

Hello Sophie! I feel horrible for Juliette! My english isn't... Spectacular? My mom is always edting my posts and comments, because I don't speak correct english yet. I'm homeschooled so I only embarss myself infront of my Mama or Papa.

~Aprie

Lovely Lanie said...

I like having tutors, you can work as fast or slow as you like, within reason, it is way better than just at school. I find that the questions are answered better.

sophiaandemma said...

Juliette is so lucky to have an amazing sister like you to have her back

Susie said...

Oh, Juliette (and Sophie)! Don't worry, everything will be okay. I get bad grades, too, sometimes. And sometimes for dumb reasons like not paying attention or forgetting my homework at home...

I don't have a tutor but sometimes my friends or my parents tell me to talk to my teachers about my low grade. And my parents and my friends help me sometimes (Marina likes to make sure I do my homework when we study together and she'll usually check it after and make me redo anything that's wrong).

Math is my least favorite subject. I'm not good with some fraction homework...

It sounds like you've got a great group of friends who've got your back. And there's nothing wrong with needing moral support when seeing a teacher or other adult. I'm always asking a friend for moral support-I get wicked nervous around my teachers. I'm afraid I'll be laughed at if I say something stupid (like get a question wrong) or that my teachers will be mad at me...even though I'm pretty sure they won't...but that feeling doesn't seem to want to go away :/

I hope your tutor is a nice and I hope you get your grades back up. You've taken a good step by going for help. My friend, Mischa, said that she's learning that "your toughest competition is usually yourself." We all have bad days, but there will always be good ones, too.

*BIG HUGS*
~Susie

Anonymous said...

What a rough time you are having Juliette, so sorry, things are difficult when you move anywhere, I know I have only been here a short while too. I struggled with school at first and did not have the difficulty of a different language.

I am sooooo glad that you have your sister and friends support that will help you a lot. Just learn to lean on them and allow them to lean on you, friendship is one of the best things that can span any barriers.

Take care,
Hugs,
Brya

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