Finals week can be very difficult and terrifiying for many students that are struggling in school. They know they have to perform well on these important tests, but worry and stress about grades if they perform poorly. 

Finals week can be a very tough and intense week for any student. First, the test is a huge part of the overall grade, which brings extra test anxiety to students. Next, students may have 2 or 3 major tests each day! How is a student supposed to study for three tests in one night!!

I was only in middle school when I first learned the benefit of challenging my teacher. 

I was in seventh grade pre-Algebra. My math teacher, Mrs. K, had just handed back our quizzes to the class. I had gotten only 1 wrong, but 4 out of 5 is an 80%, and I was not happy that I had gotten a C.

Math was supposed to be my strong suite. I was pretty good at it, and numbers just made sense to me. So if this was supposed to be the class I was good at, I would not settle for any grade besides an A for the class. And getting a C on a quiz was not going to work for me. 

I waited till after class to talk to my math teacher. She sat down with me to work this problem out together. The only problem was, she was wrong.

She showed me how to solve this problem, and I showed her how to CORRECTLY solve the problem. We went back and forth in disagreement for a long while. (We could not agree which step in PEMDAS was the correct starting point). 

We argued for SO LONG that she finally got so frustrated she shouted "Rachael, what do you want?!"

Every parent must face the difficult decision of whether to send their kids to public or private school, or to attempt to home school. I am finding this decision to be more difficult than I thought.

But as my own little ones are beginning to enter preschool age, I am now left questioning which education is best for my family. Even though I am homeschooling my daughters preschool right now, there is a huge difference between singing the ABC's and homeschooling my child 3 to 5 hours a day. (I'm not sure I'm cut out for it, but I would home school if I thought it was the best decision for my family). 

Plus my daughter is an extreme extrovert, and flourishes in group settings. Which is funny to me because I am an almost-extreme introvert. So I am trying to weigh all the options of which is best for her. 

As a tutor, I have only had experience with tutoring teens in public schools, and have most of my experience in the education system from private and public schools, which is why I write heavily about public school help and support. 

Test taking can be a real struggle for many high school students. Even after studying for hours the night before, many students will have test anxiety during test time. 

Students become stressed and anxious, and become so worried about doing well on the test, that they can not remember what they studied prior to the test. 

Studying for a test is only half the battle! Taking the test and doing well is also very important, but for some, can be much harder. 

Test taking is a skill that students need to learn! Since every class has tests, test taking is an important skill that all students need for academic success. 

And students CAN learn this skill, with just a little bit of practice. 

Many parents whose teens are struggling in school try many different ways to help their child. They spend hours doing homework, stay up late studying, and even do the work FOR them. 

One of the first steps many parents take in trying to help their teen is to reach out to the teacher to find out what the problem is with their child's learning and grades, and how to help them moving forward. 

Many teachers are used to working with parents in a positive and supporting way to help support learning outside the classroom. But, in some instances, teachers don't seem all that supportive or helpful. 

So what can a parent do to help their child in school, when dealing with a difficult teacher?

First, lets discuss WHY your child's teacher is being so difficult.

For many many years, I have been a tutor. I have held plenty of different full time jobs, but always came back to tutoring as my side hustle, because I enjoy it. 

For me, tutoring has always been fun because I love working one-on-one with a student, and seeing them have excitement over learning when they finally understand what they have been struggling with.

For over 10 years, I have tutored students ranging from high school to graduate school in almost every different subject. I have worked for tutoring companies, and worked with private clients. 

I know how hard it can be for parents whose teens are struggling in school. School does not come easy for many students. And even as a parent, you find it hard to help your child with school.

No matter how hard you try, you still can't seem to help your teen. Even after seeking help from their teachers, your child still seems to struggle. 

So what should you do? Should you follow your teachers advice of getting your child a tutor?

And my answer is: NOPE.

"But Rachael, aren't you a tutor?"

Me: YUP

"So are you telling me not to hire you?"

Me: YUP

"Won't you be out of a job?"

Me: Yup

"But why?"