Hi, I'm not an essay writer, so I'm not gonna make this an essay, just gonna explain things really simply.
I'm 17 years old, and I live in quebec canada. Here in quebec we have high school until 16 yrs old
17 years old you hit "CEGEP" where you basically start your calculus so if you need to compare where I'm at in my education use that.
I started my 1st semester and I am in a makeup program because I failed math twice and did not take physics or chemistry in high school.
I completed my first makeup math class this semester, which still means I have to do one more in order to be caught up and be doing calculus like everyone else.
I still have to do chem and physics to get into the science program.
Why do I want to go into science? Because like most people, I don't know what I want to do so I thought I'd "open all the doors"
So throughout the semester I made a big mistake. I started out okay, handed in everything and everything was going OK.
I had 6 classes. Math (makeup class) French, Humanities, English, some random program for people in makeup class and finally computer science class.
I took computer science because I wanted to get into the school and I thought I wouldn't get in if I applied in sciences due to the amount of people in the program.
So Basically I wasn't getting much sleep and getting up really early for french class made me angry, so I started skipping class. Every time.
So I failed french class.
Next is English. I ended up in a class about shakespear, and I was so angry to have to sit there and listen to something I had absolutely no interest in that I simply did not complete the assignments. I also did not complete the oral presentation because I did not want to ask anyone if I could be in their group because I'm an idiot.
So I failed that.
Next is that random program for makeup students..
I was passing it and then I just got angry again and decided not to hand in the final big assignment because at that point I thought:
Ok. I failed math and french already, so whatever, I'm going to do a trade. I'm obviously not fit to be a student in CEGEP because of how angry it makes me and how lazy I am.
I passed computer science and math as well as humanities because they were simple classes. Take an exam, and boom here's your grade. There were some papers to do for humanities but it was super easy because he didn't really care what was written on the paper, he just wanted to see the format and a complete piece of work handed in.
So I could technically continue CEGEP still because they give students a lot of chances but I would be forced to see a tutor or something and they would make sure I pass because I think you have to fail like 4 classes or more to get the boot.
The problem is, when I spoke to a guidance counselor, he basically told me that I had to get good grades in my science make up classes in order to have a chance to get into the science program because it is really packed at the moment and a lot of new students would be applying by the time I would be able to apply. I said why can't I simply apply elsewhere in a less packed school to get into science?
He told me all the schools around my area have packed science programs and it is going to be hard to get in. I really think he was being a real dick because even though he said I'm being honest with you, that is not the kind of thing you want to be telling people when they are making life decisions...but it is still my fault for ending up where I am, so whatever.
So I looked around for a good trade for a while but they all looked pretty boring, the only ones that really looked interesting were maybe something like an electrician.
You can call me a fuck up all you want because that's exactly what I am, but please enlighten me a bit on how the hell I'm supposed to proceed in this situation because I have no god damn clue.
Right now all I can think about is how I don't know what I want to do and I'm not motivated enough to work hard just to open some doors that I may never even go into...
you don't know what you want to do? sounds like pretty much everyone who is in high school/college (and a good amount of people that have graduated too). you failed your classes for a pretty dumb fucking reason (i've been there, had to retake a few classes when i was in hs). about being angry because the material doesn't interest you at all, you just need to chill. everyone has to take fucking gay classes that bore them, just deal with it and get it out of the way.
you outlined the two choices you have, go to trade school or continue your normal schooling. and since you said that pretty much all the trades seemed boring to you, you should try to get into a science program. you seem interested in the science program but discouraged by the effort it would take to get in. well guess what, sometimes you gotta work for things.
i was in a position a lot like yours a few years ago. get motivated and stay motivated (easier said than done)
nitrogen's signature is shockingly accurate in this case. You aren't in a good position, and the only way to get out of it is through ahrd work. Currently experiencing this with calculus, and there really is no feeling better than succeess after hard work.
If you really want to do science education put in time, put in effort, and just get the damn thing done.
Hard work.I had a similar situation where I skipped classes like hell and failed some of them.The way to fix them is to study harder and get up in the morning and go to every class no matter what.Make no excuses for getting up and going to the classes.
As a maths teacher I see so many kids with situations like yours: Smart kids who, for some reason (bad home environment, unsolved emotional issues, addictions etc) can't translate their intelligence into results.
A lot of people in this thread have basically said that you need to buckle down and put in the effort even if you are bored by the courses. This is of course correct, and I'm not going to waste time restating it.
What I want you to ask yourself is: What are your reasons for failing those classes? Was it really that you were angry because they bored you, or is that a rationalization that you use to avoid the real reason? (e.g. you are lazy, scared of success, have unrealistic expectations etc). Now I'm not saying that you do have any of those problems, but it's important to honestly ask yourself whether you do or not.
Now I live in Australia so I can't speak as to how the Canadian education system works, so I can't offer you advice there. I will however say that there is ALWAYS a road to college/tertiary education for an intelligent person. That road is easiest straight out of high school, but if you've missed that train then you can still make it. But it's time to work, and I want to offer a bit of advice I give students i see in your situation.
Figure out what stopped you working in 2011. Fucked around on the computer when you should have been studying? Ban yourself from your computer during weekdays (I did it myself a few years ago when I was still in uni, it wasn't easy to self regulate but it pulled my marks up). If you don't think you're strong enough to self regulate (a lot of people aren't) then set up some lock on your computer to stop you using it during certain times. If necessary, give your computer to a friend during the week and retrieve it every weekend.
Redesign the way you study: for the love of god don't study in the same room as your computer. If home has distractions, study at a library. Try to study with a studious friend who can help you (if they're distracting you then throw them out). Don't have more than 3 other people in your study group. I was never one for working to a study timetable, but it works well for lots of people, so at least give it a shot.
And finally: MAN THE FUCK UP. Everyone has to do subjects they hate, but if you want to succeed not just in school but in life in general you need to be willing to do things you dislike in return for a payoff down the road (sometimes years down the road). I remember when I was doing my science degree at uni, first year I had to do a statistics course. 4 lectures a week, all at 8am Mon thru Thurs. It's a 90min commute from my house to uni, so I had to get up at 5:45 every morning to get there. And I hated statistics (still do when I have to teach it), because it's everything I didn't like about maths. But you've gotta do what you gotta do man, you can't just fail a course because you found it boring or you had to get up early. DON'T say things like "I wish I had the motivation you do" cos I've heard that so many times from smart kids who are making excuses for themselves. Everyone has the ability to excel in whatever course they choose to pursue in life. If you make excuses for yourself, you'll never get there.
The vast majority of life is doing shit you don't want to do, in order to do the things you do want to do. I don't want to get up early. I don't want to study. I don't want to go to work. Blah blah blah blah blah.
That's pretty much all there is to it. Do it or don't, your choice.
The difference between high and low flyers is often the time in your life when you get motivated. Get motivated early and you get doors to open. Get motivated late and you get to open doors for others forever. This is more true in some places, less in others.
Make sure that you really want to get a degree in the sciences. To open all the doors is a common reason, but if you're going to slog through years of classes that bore you like nothing else, you're going to get little of use out of it and your grades are going to be poorer than other people that went for a degree that they liked. Not to mention the horrible time you're going to have and the impact it's going to have on your motivation.
It's true that science education is something specific and it gives you a depth of background knowledge that is difficult to obtain elsewhere, but be careful about that assumption that with a science degree you can go anywhere.
You should first speak to your counselor, or find another one that you trust. In particular, try to go with the objective of mapping out your general interests. From there on, it will be much easier for the counselor and yourself to work out what you need to do.
About your classes and motivation for each of them. This seems to be related to the fact that you really don't have an idea why you're aiming for science to begin with. The latter is fine, but you're letting that fuck up everything else in your academic life, which is a really bad idea.
One thing that you might find useful is to find out why you're taking those classes to begin with. If you see the relevance of the classes you're taking to where you want to go, it will be less of a chore. You could try by approaching your teachers for advice. Don't go to them with a sullen attitude of "why the fuck should I care about this". If they have some office time, talk to them about your problem. A great teacher can motivate you, but only with your help.
Some of the classes are probably going to be compulsory, even if you don't like them. Suck it up.
It sounds like you're just lazy and have social anxiety.
Unless there is a participation / attendance portion worth 50% of the final grade, skipping isn't a valid excuse for failing a course. This is just an excuse many use in place of the reasons why they actually failed, eg. laziness, social anxiety, ... Many people skip classes because they have other priorities to attend to and they can still end up with an A or at least a passing grade. Though not being able to discipline yourself to wake up at a certain time is a poor excuse for missing class, you can still make an effort to go see the teacher and make up the missed work or just ask someone from class about the work. Teachers are human too and they've been through this as well so most of them are very understanding. Don't be scared to approach them.
You don't need to have an interest to excel in a course. Just work hard in the stupid course so you can move onto a course that you actually have an interest in. This is how everything in life works. You don't start off with an executive position, you work your way up by getting an education and going through the shitty minimum wage and entry level jobs. You don't start off owning newbs, you start off as a newb as well. Obviously there's exceptions but this is generally how it is.
You need to interact with people to succeed in life. Forget about what others think and just fucking do it because everyone judges regardless of how you look or what you say, wear, or do. There's billions of people in this world and you aren't going to please every single one of them so its pointless to be scared of public speaking or interacting with others. You're never going to see most of the kids in high school ever again and they won't remember or care about you either so who really cares.
Many students don't know what they want to do until they are in their third or even forth year of post-secondary and some even go through several jobs until they find an interesting career. So I wouldn't worry about this stupid shit at such a young age.
Are you really going into the sciences because you want to open doors or is it because its what your parents want you to do? Don't let parents dictate your life.
I honestly don't know how you fix laziness because I just don't understand why someone would be lazy in the first place. If you don't want to be in school than drop out and find a job or do something worthwhile. There is no point in attending class if you aren't going to pass the class because you're just wasting your own time and everybody elses.
Social anxiety isn't easy to overcome and there's many ways to go about this. You can start slowly and go join clubs, talk to your neighbours, and talk to your classmates or you can go all out crazy and just go to a mall, bar, or some random place and start talking to random people.
Hey, I am currently in the ''science de la nature'' program at my local CEGEP and all I can say is that it's a lot of work, it's not that hard but it's definitely full of paper works and homeworks and that comes from someone who did all his strong maths, physics and chemistry at all school without even studying once or even doing homeworks. Also at CEGEP it's not a very good idea to skip classes because it seems that professors likes to give smalls tests during class that counts for a good amount of your grade (like 10-20% for all the little tests).
Right now I think you don't have a lot of options, basically it's either working like a madman to finish the science program, just giving everything up and take a boring job or change program for something like ''sciences humaines''. The last one would be my choice in your position. I think you don't want to become an engineer or even a doctor because those are a lot of work, and I think you would be more confortable aiming for something like countable, administration or even lawyer programs at university, also sciences humaines open you the doors to go trought these programs at university and you'll have a much easier time at the CEGEP.
Edit: I am in my final year or CEGEP and I have passed all my course so far.
I've gone trough a similar situation. I'm currently finishing my master in education in an Quebec university and I can tell you this much...
Doing 'Pure Science' based programs in CEGEP to 'open doors' is a terrible way to approach your formation. Often our parents will lead us to this choice thinking it's the best for us when in fact, we're not appealed by most of those openings.. We're pretty much losing our time instead of figuring what we really what to do; I've done it... it sure gave me a lot of knowledge.. but it delayed my actual formation.
Whoever tells you that Quebec Public University are packed out is pretty much full of sh*t. Only few prestigious University are 'saturated' in specific programs, but you can still find an University that will offer you the program you wish for. These prestigious programs cost WAY MORE (over 300%) to subscribe... even if our government legislated on this matter. So not only you need better grades to enter, but you also need a lot more money to apply in theses programs.
People tend to forget that Universities are business establishment with one main goal: make money. Therefore, you will always find an establishment that is willing to take your money, as long as you don't fail more than 50% of your classes (conditional) and sorry, there's no REFUND. Who really cares if your campus is in Montreal, Sherbrooke or Quebec. It's a great opportunity to start living on your own, away from your parents. What better place is there other than a campus filled with people your age to start living by yourself.
Be careful tough, one of the biggest misconception about University is that you'll get a more lucrative job if you go to University. This is quite wrong (other than a few specific programs) because the most accessible & lucrative jobs are gotten from a professional formation specific to a domain such as electrician or lab-technician. University want to make you believe that you'll have a more lucrative job because otherwise, why would you give them your money in the first place if its not to make more of it afterwards.
Don't get me wrong, University are a great establishment if you really know what you want to do for a living. Just don't fall into the 'average path of scholarship' just because you have no idea where you're headed. You will lose your time and make use of the public funds for absolutely nothing good.
There's no better person than you to know what you want to do... Guidance counselors can only do so much based on the personality/interests tests you did... and it's not like they can pin-point your dream job. To find out what are your interest, look what you spend your time on. Find jobs or constructive benevolent activities that stimulate those domain of interest and eventually you'll find what is easy for you to "wake up" for.
Good luck
Edit: Oh and btw, you're not an imbecile. An imbecile is more like this guy...
As you get older and more exposed to life, you'll find all kinds of ways to motivate yourself.
For instance, once you work a couple of really crappy jobs, you will have a strong incentive to never work a job like those again. (For myself, it was fish monger at minimum wage. For Kevin O'Leary it was in an ice-cream parlor working under a control freak)
What about basic amenities? It is far-fetched to bag a rich girlfriend unless you have money as well... so you are going to have to support yourself, no matter what. You are going to have to buy the net IPad, the bachelor pad, the car, the food, the wine, etc. (maybe those aren't "basic amenities", but I want em and they're expensive)
Or personal standards? What level of academic achievement do you need to feel proud about yourself? Have you even thought about it?
Honestly, I don't think our education system really permits you to "find your calling", nor is it necessary to do so to motivate yourself. What you do is strive for as high as possible, and then once you reach that height you get to pick and choose. If you do well in a science, you can get into law or business easily. Likewise, if you do well in business or law you can transition into a role in a tech company. However, the journey to a law degree, or an MBA, or a science masters, is so long that usually you figure it out on the way. And if you don't? Well, by obtaining one of those degrees you have developed a work ethic and other success habits that will help you in everything else.
The way you're going right now, you're gonna find yourself in a position similar to myself a few years ago: if you skip a lot of class and miss a lot of class you lack the fundamentals to compete with your classmates on even footing. Going to class and completing all the assignments to the best of your ability actually develop your abilities to complete assignments and tests as you progress down your educational path. However, since you are already behind the people who have been doing it since grade 5, you essentially just have to work harder than everyone else for a couple years until you can make up the lost ground. That means when your friends go partying 3 nights a week, you only go once. No excuses, work hard, git'er done!
It sounds like you're immature and unprepared. Take some time off, work some random jobs. Take some time in your off hours and learn some of the material you need to learn, at your own pace and with your own material. Academia is horrible. It's a thought-squandering, stressful, restrictive environment. You just need to get out of it so your brain can have room to breathe. I bet you'll not only be able to fully comprehend the material, but you'll learn it with less effort. Go back and get your certifications or whatever you need after you've had time away.
Most importantly, realize that school is not about learning. School is just an investment of your time and energy, so that you make more money later. Real education happens outside of a classroom. As soon as you learn to make that distinction it won't bother you if you struggle with school, because it's not because you're stupid or lazy necessarily.
That being said, I would seriously look into the electrician trade. It's a good trade to get into and can be fairly enjoyable depending on what you do. Also, there's an oversupply of academics and unless you're going to be an electrical engineer you're likely to be making a bad investment by trying to continue formal education.
And lastly, don't blow all your money on partying and socializing. Save it. Invest it. Stop smoking weed (and don't lie, because I know you do). Don't get drunk. Stop trying to find ways to have short term fun and you'll find yourself looking for ways to make good use of your time anyways.
It's kind of hard to make the right call here when everyone has a different suggestion to make, but pretty much everyone mentioned I should just stop being lazy and get through it. One person even said that I shouldn't go into sciences, but since I don't know what I want to do how should I know what I'm supposed to study?
I disagree with suggestions on taking time off because I just had a month to think about things during Christmas break and I still don't know what to do. Apparently, Cegep is really easy to pass and get through where as trades have long days with the same schedule year around, however maybe trades are more interesting since they have more concentration into one thing.
When I go to class in CEGEP, the reason I get mad is because I sit there and watch people participate and act like they are interested so that the teacher notices them and these same people probably meet with all their teachers frequently and do more of this so that the teacher believes they show interest and will be more likely to give them a better grade.
This whole system makes me so angry because everything is fake. Everything that happens in the classroom does not even feel like it is being done right. At one point, I wanted to become a teacher because of this rage I had against my own teachers. It feels like a teachers job is to wake up every morning and keep the focus of the entire class so that they are able to learn the material. I learn nothing when I try my very best to listen to everything the teacher is saying but my mind drifts away because of how bored I am.
I go home I feel like the teacher does not deserve my effort because they have failed at making things interesting.
I disagree with the fact that I have to sit through shit that I know nobody likes because it is part of life. Why the fuck does this system still exist? Who decides that these boring lame teachers are hired to teach ridiculous subjects that don't really teach us anything, but are only used to measure our ability to learn things and respond to them?
In my humanities class, we were told that we had to see a play to get 30 points of our grade. Nobody enjoyed the play and it was the most ridiculous thing I had ever seen. I didn't learn a thing, but I sure got those 30 points. The teacher was probably oblivious about the fact that nobody liked the play.
I've had teachers that made an effort, a real effort to make the class interesting. That was in high school. In CEGEP, you see the effort they put in, but they are too dumb to realise that their method isn't working.
Let me also say this : Every fucking year I have gone to school, there is always a fucking moron that reads a powerpoint slide every class. You call that a quality teacher? How do these people get hired? I can fucking read the powerpoint myself, why don't they just send it to us and stop wasting our time?
Anyway, you guys have a lot more life experience than me and I'm sure I sound like a whiny little bitch that is spoilt that does drugs and shit, but I have never touched drugs in my life. I don't drink and I don't even use facebook because I believe it is all a big joke. What do I do every night? I watch movies, I play starcraft, I eat, I go to the gym and I sleep. I don't hang out with many people.
Why no social interaction? Because people that go to my school are too busy spending their time on facebook rather than meeting people face to face except when there is fucking alcohol involved. They are all boring fucking people because they accept this fake system of how life works, about how they should lie to teachers about being interested with the class and spending all their money on clothes or cars so that people can look at them and think they are successful and happy.
What makes me so different? Nothing at all, I'm as boring as them, I'm as ridiculous as them minus the alcohol, but at least I am able to admit that there is a serious fucking problem with this whole school system and the people inside it.
Having monotone professors reading off a slide for hours is what happens in post-secondary so if you don't like it than you should forget about school and go get a job. Be glad you aren't paying thousands of dollars yet to have slides read to you. You can just skip the class if you don't like a professor's teaching method and just do the assignments / write the tests.
The useless shit that is part of the curriculum such as Shakespere and Calculus helps you acquire and improve analytical skills, critical thinking, and many other skills that are important in our everyday life. There's also universal themes in Shakespere's plays that are applicable to life regardless of time period, age, gender, race, and religion. It's not about the content...
The primary and secondary education system (at least in Ontario) is broken because As are being handed out for doing nothing. Not solely because of the curriculum. There's some awesome teachers, there's bad ones, and there's extremely terrible ones.That's life because not everyone is perfect or get their dream job. If you apply your logic to everything else than every system would be broken because there are idiots everywhere.
I don't use Facebook but I'm not sure why you hating on it. People spend time on it because they want to talk to their friends, see what they're doing, and plan gatherings with them. Not to mention it's easy to network with other people with similar interests as you. Before Facebook and online forum communities (such as Teamliquid) became big, you would just waste your time on MSN instead.. not a big difference.
Keep in mind that almost everyone in high school don't know what they want to do and have no motivation to study at all. No matter what I say now will motivate you because you yourself don't know what you want to do. But here is something you should keep in mind. Right now, you don't have to worry about clothes, food, shelter, etc. the basics of life because those things are provided for by your parents, but by the time you graduate, you will have to get those things you enjoy yourself by getting a job and working. I know you must feel lost now, but college will open your eyes, and it is important to have the opportunity to choose what you want, have the option to go any direction you want, by getting good grades and keeping all options available. So in essence, I am just telling you that if you don't want to fall behind, just do the best you can right now.
It doesn't matter what you want to do, you always have to put in some/hard work.
I also skipped ALOT of school when I was 15-19 years old, and I did basically nothing. It feels like you didn't ask anyone if you could be in their group because in the back of your head you didn't want to do anything anyway, at least that's how I handled things sometimes so it feels familiar.
Another problem is not knowing what to do in life right? Tell you what, there's alot of people at the age of 20-25 and older even who have a job currently and still don't know what they actually want, this sucks but it's common that you have no clue at 17, it's super lucky when someone knows that at ~17. But think about it this way, what do you do all day, is there something, some field that could be fun for you (and I tell you now, work is rarely fun^^) maybe... you would like to work behind the scenes of a starcraft tournament? lighting? sound? anything (I hear NASL could use a better sound guy D: ) yes ANYTHING. (just gonna assume you're interested in sc, this was random I know but it flies around in my head alot so that's where this comes from)
Finding the answer to that question is fricking hard I know.
Next thing, people in class pretending to be interested, which annoys you. Well let's say some are actually interested, and some just do what is needed to get through this "shit". No one in school notices a guy/girl sitting in the back thinking to himself "look at all these morons pretending to give a shit", and most don't care about these people I have experienced that myself. Bottom line: You're not helping yourself with that attitude and sometimes in life you have to pretend so you can end up somewhere good
and to end my post: stop being lazy, I know it get's boring to hear this phrase, but that's the main problem which is easily resolved if you find some motivation (for which you have to find goals in life I guess)
sorry if my sometimes poor english makes this post weird ^^
ps: I know I probably didn't write anything new here, but I had to write it also, I agree with most of what he said, esp. the last part: + Show Spoiler +
On January 01 2012 23:44 ManicMarine wrote: As a maths teacher I see so many kids with situations like yours: Smart kids who, for some reason (bad home environment, unsolved emotional issues, addictions etc) can't translate their intelligence into results.
A lot of people in this thread have basically said that you need to buckle down and put in the effort even if you are bored by the courses. This is of course correct, and I'm not going to waste time restating it.
What I want you to ask yourself is: What are your reasons for failing those classes? Was it really that you were angry because they bored you, or is that a rationalization that you use to avoid the real reason? (e.g. you are lazy, scared of success, have unrealistic expectations etc). Now I'm not saying that you do have any of those problems, but it's important to honestly ask yourself whether you do or not.
Now I live in Australia so I can't speak as to how the Canadian education system works, so I can't offer you advice there. I will however say that there is ALWAYS a road to college/tertiary education for an intelligent person. That road is easiest straight out of high school, but if you've missed that train then you can still make it. But it's time to work, and I want to offer a bit of advice I give students i see in your situation.
Figure out what stopped you working in 2011. Fucked around on the computer when you should have been studying? Ban yourself from your computer during weekdays (I did it myself a few years ago when I was still in uni, it wasn't easy to self regulate but it pulled my marks up). If you don't think you're strong enough to self regulate (a lot of people aren't) then set up some lock on your computer to stop you using it during certain times. If necessary, give your computer to a friend during the week and retrieve it every weekend.
Redesign the way you study: for the love of god don't study in the same room as your computer. If home has distractions, study at a library. Try to study with a studious friend who can help you (if they're distracting you then throw them out). Don't have more than 3 other people in your study group. I was never one for working to a study timetable, but it works well for lots of people, so at least give it a shot.
And finally: MAN THE FUCK UP. Everyone has to do subjects they hate, but if you want to succeed not just in school but in life in general you need to be willing to do things you dislike in return for a payoff down the road (sometimes years down the road). I remember when I was doing my science degree at uni, first year I had to do a statistics course. 4 lectures a week, all at 8am Mon thru Thurs. It's a 90min commute from my house to uni, so I had to get up at 5:45 every morning to get there. And I hated statistics (still do when I have to teach it), because it's everything I didn't like about maths. But you've gotta do what you gotta do man, you can't just fail a course because you found it boring or you had to get up early. DON'T say things like "I wish I had the motivation you do" cos I've heard that so many times from smart kids who are making excuses for themselves. Everyone has the ability to excel in whatever course they choose to pursue in life. If you make excuses for yourself, you'll never get there.