Category Archives for "School"

0 How can I get better at math?

hanafahim asks: I am not at all good at math. I am always confused in it and I always end up in last in my class. What can I do?

Hi hanafahim –

Well, as you can guess, I am just terrible at math.  The only skill I have in it is a bit of Geometry – or is it Trigonometry? – where I can judge the angle a squirrel will run from me based on the location of the nearest tree.  But I’m no good at addition or subtraction, and don’t even try me with Algebra or Calculus!

The difference between us, of course, is that no one has ever cared one bit about whether dogs know Algebra.  So it’s not a problem for me.  But I know it is for a lot of humans – you’re certainly not alone.

The only advice I can give you is due to something that happened to Continue reading

1 How to get over failing a huge exam

tejaswini asks: I am a student. I am very much depressed. I try to be normal but bad thoughts keep coming back over and over again. A year ago, I started taking coaching for an entrance exam. I slogged very much, and gave up many things. I didn’t care much because all the way I was thinking that all this work would get me into some good college. I don’t know why, but unfortunately I couldn’t crack the exam. I flunked it. It’s really taking a long time for me to get over it. Even now, when I start anything new or try taking up a new task, the first thing that flashes in my mind is “I am a loser, I can’t do it, so there is no point in trying for it!’ I feel so stupid for not being able to pass after a year preparation. It keeps flashing in my mind all the time and it pulls me down. I don’t know how to come out of all this and start something again with new energy. Please help!

Hi tejaswini –

I am so very very sorry for you, having to go through this.  As a dog, I’ve never had an experience like yours, because I never focus on the future.  But I’ve seen humans go through this sort of thing many times.  When their marriages (or hoped-for marriages) break up, or the book or movie or play they spent years on doesn’t catch on, or when their business fails.  Or, yes, when they take an exam they’ve prepared for for months, and fail.  It’s devastating, I know.

The big problem, I can tell, is the time involved.  If a squirrel walks through my yard, and I bolt to catch him, and he gets away from me, I don’t feel like a failure; I just wait for my chance to Continue reading

0 What to say to graduating students

sukh asks: What advice would you give to the outgoing class?

Hi sukh –

Well, I’m not a great expert on this.  My entire educational experience was a few weeks of obedience school (and some later remedial tutoring).  We didn’t get any advice from our teacher – the main advice he gave was to our humans, advising them to keep training us!

My bigger problem, though, is that I don’t know what “outgoing class” you mean.  Are they graduating sixth grade?  High school?  College?

Either way, though, I guess there are some things I’d want to Continue reading

0 How can a teenager avoid dating?

Pgirl asks: I’m 14 years old. Next year I will go to high school. I hear that, in the school that I want to go to, girls have boyfriends. I know that’s common, but I’m afraid that that will inspire me to want to have a boyfriend. Also, when girls go home after school, boys often stand in front of the school to ask girls out, and I don’t want this happen to me. What do you suggest for me? Please help me, or a boy might ask me to be his girl friend 🙁

Hi Pgirl –

You know, one of the values I really push is that everyone should have the right to know what they want, and no one else has the right to tell them what to want.  My Pack Members have the right to whatever religion they choose, whatever they like to eat, to be attracted to whomever they like – hey you even have the right to like CATS, which mystifies me completely!  So I know that some of our readers will be absolutely dumbstruck by your Continue reading

1 What are the advantages and disadvantages of Facebook for teenagers?

tango asks: What are some advantages and disadvantages of Facebook for high schoolers?

Hi tango –

Facebook is, I suppose, the most profound change in humans’ social world of the last decade.  I don’t even know what would come in second place!  It has exploded in popularity and importance so quickly that most of the world has been struggling to keep up with it – including trying to grasp what its advantages and disadvantages are.  Besides its original intent to create a place for friends to meet online, it has contributed to the fall of empires, to countless reunions of lost contacts, and – yes – to millions of acts of thoughtlessness and cruelty.

I’m only a dog and don’t have nearly the imagination or wisdom to know all the advantages or disadvantages inherent in Facebook.  But there are a few things I do know, and they all have Continue reading

0 Why do teenagers feel so isolated

ti-f asks: I’m 12 and in sixth grade, and I know most kids don’t have any close friends – I’m actually one of them. Why do I feel so isolated?

Hi ti-f –

There is just about nothing more painful than not having friends.  Friends are as important to most people (and dogs) as health or family.  So it makes total sense to me that you’d feel bad about not having any close friends.  But while it’s always true that we want good pals, you’re at an especially vulnerable age, ti-f.  This is a time when your whole world is changing – inside you and around you – and that can make anyone feel very

Continue reading

1 How to motivate people

sarah asks: Dear Shirelle, my friend needs help with motivating lazy people to do their jobs. He holds the position of command sergeant major in JROTC. He basically needs advice on motivation, getting people to listen to him and also to plan how to take charge of a company.

Hi sarah –

I feel a little funny answering this, given the nature of ROTC and JROTC.  For those of you who don’t know, ROTC stands for Reserve Officers Training Corps.  It’s a program in the US Army where people train to be officers.  (JROTC is the Junior version of it, for younger people)

My problem is that armies around the world have been doing a very good job of motivating people for centuries and more!  And I would think that part of training an army officer would be teaching them how to get people to do what you want them to do.  So I’m not sure how much a dog’s advice is worth, when compared to what they teach there.  But here are some Continue reading

0 What is high school like?

Wolves asks: What’s high school like?

Hi Wolves:

My answer won’t tell you much!  On one hand, high school is usually different from the earlier years in that students don’t have “a” teacher or class, they just move from classroom to classroom; students have a lot more freedom and responsibility (you’re expected to do your homework without any help or reminders from teachers); and there are more varieties of classes to take.

But I’ll bet that if you ask high schoolers what’s different between high school and younger grades, they won’t mention those things at all!

Here’s what high school’s really like:

–       Everyone is Continue reading

0 How can a teacher establish relationships to students?

MESS asks: I am a new teacher in The American school. How can I establish a relationship with all children?

Hi MESS –

Well I guess I have two answers for you.  The first is that it’s impossible.  Some kids are going to like you, while some really don’t.  Hey don’t take it personally – some kids don’t like me, and I’m soft and cuddly and pretty and playful and funny and lick their nose and… and they still don’t like me!  Maybe they were bitten by a dog once, so they are afraid of all dogs.  Or maybe they just like cats better (I know, I know, but some kids are just crazy that way!).  Or maybe they just have other things on their mind.  Similarly, some kids just aren’t going to like their teacher, or they’ll like teachers that are very different from you.  And for those kids, your job is just to do the best you can: teach them as much as possible, keep them safe and out of trouble, and work to give more of yourself to the others who really develop a relationship with you.

That’s my first answer.  My second is… Continue reading

0 How to get a child moving in the morning

momgrt asks: Hi. I have a 5-year-old son. He is never in favor of getting ready for school. He has to be pushed for everything during the day. Let it be brushing his teeth, drinking milk, bathing, lunch, dinner, anything. Now with playing and watching TV, he is not at all like that. But he is responsible enough to finish his homework. We both (parents) are working and have to leave home at 8 am. My son’s school is at 8.15 am. So every morning is a jam-packed situation, where my son doesn’t want to get out of bed and get ready. What could be the problem? At times I end up screaming and hitting him. But it disturbs me a lot. I am afraid he won’t take me seriously otherwise.

Hi momgrt –

Okay, first things first:  Stop hitting him to get him moving.  Stop now.  It won’t do any good, it will only turn him against you, and (depending on where you live) it could even get you in trouble with the law.

All right.  So it’s possible that your son is actually suffering from some emotional disturbance, or some chemical whatever that a doctor could help with.  But before you go looking at things like that, it sounds to me like he’s just trying to create some control in his life.  You say that he’s doing all his homework, which is great (though why in the world schools feel they need to give five-year-olds homework is beyond the understanding of this mutt!).  But he needs to be able to be a Continue reading