Ask for Help!
Hi again, welcome back to this month’s edition of Confessions of a Teacher! Today is all about asking for help.
Picture this, you’re sitting in class doing a maths equation and don’t have a breeze how to answer it. Or you’ve just been given homework for History and haven’t a clue about what you’re being asked to do. Or maybe you just feel totally lost in Home Ec and don’t know how you’ll ever get up to speed. What do you do?
Who do I ask?
Some of you will ask your friend or a family member. That’s ok! Others will sit and do nothing, telling their teacher they “forgot their homework” or create some grand excuse for not having their work completed. Is that the best approach? You know it’s not!
In these cases your teacher might be really annoyed with you as they feel as though you haven’t made an effort. But what would it be like to ask your teacher for help? To stay back at the end of class and say you don’t understand the homework or even send them an email to say you’re struggling.
What do teachers think?
In my experience the students who do well in subjects, are those who aren’t afraid to admit when they feel like a ship lost at sea. Contrary to popular belief, most of your teachers didn’t choose their career on the basis of the holidays! They chose it because of two things: the love of their subject AND students like YOU. We genuinely mean it when we say that we care. We want you to succeed. Yet, when I was a form tutor, so many students would tell me they were “scared” to ask certain teachers for help. That should never be the case. If there is a genuine reason to be scared of a teacher, then you need to go to a member of senior staff and let them know. But most of the time, students are simply afraid of the unknown. They’ve never asked them for help before and think their teacher will snap at them or make them feel bad. But in 9/10 cases that won’t happen! Helping you is the entire purpose of a teacher’s career.
I know I was always grateful to the students who came to speak to me if they didn’t understand. It shows that a student cares and wants to do well. Give your teacher a chance. Make a genuine effort to let them know that you’re struggling and go from there. What have you got to lose? Literally nothing!
Asking for Help
My top tip is to ask for help before and not after work is due. That way your teacher will know that you’re genuinely confused.com and not just trying to get away with not doing work.
In my experience, the best news on JC and LC results day, is not that the high fliers have achieved their expected 90% and above. It’s seeing those who struggle, work hard and succeed. Knowing that you have helped a student to reach their full potential, is 100% the most rewarding feeling a teacher can have! So go on, ask the question!
