We all have those times when we are not keeping up. Singapore’s education system is extremely fast-paced and once you are not focused during a lesson, you could find yourself very lost and it might quickly reflect in your grades.
It is very common for students to lag behind. You could be facing some problems, feeling burnt out, or just not feeling your best.
At times like these, you might feel anxious or worried about the gap becoming bigger — but how can you help yourself?
Talk to your teachers/tutors
Teachers/tutors are responsible for your learning and you shouldn’t feel ashamed to ask them for help in your academics.
Most of the time, teachers have many students to take care of and they may not notice that you’re struggling or stressed. It is your responsibility as a student to approach your teachers if you require extra help.
Gather your mistakes and doubts and ask your teachers for more consultations, or ask your tutor to go through papers that you did not do very well in.
All it takes is your initiative, and your teacher/tutor should be able to help you out.
Ask friends for help
Sometimes, it might be difficult for you to ask your teacher as they could be busy or you may feel shy approaching them.
If it’s just a concept that you need help with, try asking a friend who seems to be coping well. When your friend helps you, they are reinforcing their learning as well, so it is beneficial both ways.
You can ask your friends a question or two, but you shouldn’t fully rely on your friend to pull you back up as they will have their own academics to manage too.
Ask your parents for tuition
Tuition is very common among Singaporean students because of the competitive and stressful education system.
Every student’s learning pace is different and because Singapore still mainly adopts a one-size-fits-all approach to cater for large class sizes, many students require extra help in order to be on par, and there is no shame in that.
Tuition can provide you with the extra help that you need aside from the short lessons and big classes that you have in school. There are group tuitions with small groups or even private one-to-one classes in which you will have undivided attention from your tutor.
If you feel that you can benefit from a tutor, reach out to your parents and discuss it with them.
Conclusion
It is an anxiety-inducing feeling to feel like you’re lagging behind. However, recognise that everyone is on their own path and it’s okay to fall behind sometimes, as long as you make the effort to catch up.
Ultimately, you have to take the first step to want to help yourself and work harder.
Want to know how else you can deal with your stress? Read our articles here:
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