By Janet Brooks
My sister, don’t panic. You can still catch up.”
Let’s be honest. Sometimes school can just become too much.
Maybe you missed some classes because you were sick. Maybe you had to help at home with cooking, cleaning, taking care of your younger brothers and sisters, or going to church activities. Maybe your teacher has already moved to a new topic while you’re still trying to understand the old one.
Or maybe you’re looking at your notebook right now and thinking:
“Wait… when did we reach this part?”
If that sounds like you, my sister, you’re not alone. Falling behind in a subject doesn’t mean you’re not smart. It means you have some catching up to do.
Here are five things you can do to get yourself back on track.
1. First, Find Out Exactly What You Missed
Don’t just say, “I’m behind in Math.”
You need to know where you’re behind.
Take your Math notebook, textbook, class notes, or assignment book and check the topics your teacher has covered.
For example, maybe your class has moved to quadratic equations, but you never really understood factorization.
That means you shouldn’t jump straight into quadratic equations and start confusing yourself. Go back and work on the part you missed first.
You can also ask a trusted classmate:
“My sister, please help me. What topics did I miss?”
Don’t be ashamed to ask. Today you may need somebody’s notes, and tomorrow somebody may need yours.
2. Ask Your Teacher for Help
Sometimes we girls are too shy to tell our teacher:
“Sir/Ma, I don’t understand this.”
We just sit down, copy everything from the board and hope somehow our brain will understand it later.
But my sister, copying the notes is not the same as understanding the lesson.
If you’re confused, approach your teacher after class or during a free period and explain that you fell behind.
You can say:
“Ma, I missed this topic and I’m having difficulty understanding it. Can you please explain it to me again?”
You don’t have to be embarrassed.
Teachers are there to teach you. Asking for help shows that you actually want to improve.
3. Create a Small Catch-Up Plan
Don’t look at all the work you missed and say:
“Oh gosh, how will I ever finish all this?”
If you think about everything at once, you may become discouraged before you even start.
Instead, break it down.
If you have three topics to catch up on, you could work on one topic each day.
For example:
Monday: Review the first topic
Tuesday: Practice questions
Wednesday: Review the second topic
Thursday: Practice questions
Friday: Go over what you still don’t understand
Even 30 minutes of focused studying can help.
And if your house is noisy, don’t feel like you need some fancy study room to succeed.
You can study at a quiet corner of the house, outside when it’s peaceful, at school before classes begin, or under a tree with your study group.
Sometimes in Liberia, you’re trying to study while somebody is playing music, children are running around, and somebody is calling:
“Janet! Come and help me with something!”
So use the quiet moments you can find.
4. Find a Study Sister
You don’t have to catch up alone.
Find one or two girls in your class who understand the subject and study with them.
You can form a small study group and meet after school, during break, or somewhere quiet in your community.
One person can explain something she understands while another person helps with questions.
And please, don’t let your study group turn into gossip headquarters.
You know how it goes:
“Let’s just study for 20 minutes.”
Next thing, you’ve spent one hour talking about somebody’s relationship, school wahala, or what happened during lunch.
Keep each other focused.
If data is expensive or you don’t always have internet, you can also share notes, textbooks, past questions, and downloaded lessons instead of depending on being online all the time.
5. Don’t Give Up Just Because You’re Behind
This one is important, my sister.
Sometimes the biggest problem isn’t the missed lessons.
It’s the thought:
“I’m already behind, so what’s the point?”
No.
Your classmates may already be ahead of you, but your journey is still your journey.
Maybe you struggled with Chemistry this term. Maybe Math has been giving you serious wahala. Maybe you didn’t do well on your last test.
That result is not the end of your story.
Start from where you are.
Study one topic.
Ask one question.
Solve one problem.
Review one page.
Then do it again tomorrow.
Before you know it, the topic that once looked scary will start making sense.
My Sister, You Can Still Catch Up
Falling behind in a subject can happen to any student. Life happens. Family responsibilities happen. School gets busy. Sometimes the teacher moves fast, and sometimes you simply need more time to understand something.
Don’t beat yourself up.
Find what you missed, ask for help, make a simple plan, study with people who encourage you, and keep going.
You may be behind today, but that doesn’t mean you have to stay behind.
One topic at a time, my sister. You got this.
