Hi. I’m really upset. I am a freshman, and I am a really disorganized person. I have Algebra II Honors, and I used to have an A in the class. But my teacher does binder checks, and the first one pummelled my grade to a B+. Now, after the second binder check, my grade is a B. Even if I did perfect on my final, my grade would only go up to 89 percent.
The big problem is, I want to be either a math or physics major when I get to college. I am also currently applying to a few selective math summer programs. So I’ll say “I love math” to these places, but they will look at my B in Algebra II and think I don’t have a chance. What can I possibly do to redeem myself other than “be organized?”
-
Getting organized will help you as you move forward. This is a skill that you can work on, especially since this teacher counts it in your grade. Spend 5 minutes at the end of each day putting your binder in order.
-
You are a freshman – you can show high math grades in challenging classes for the next two years and do well on the math part of the SAT and SAT II.
Does the teacher have a specific set-up requested for the binder? If so, use that. If not, have a counselor at school or your parent sit down with you to come up with a system that works for you. Tabs for each section help. I make my kids remove old homework and put it in a separate folder at home. I tell them not to throw things away until they have completed the course and gotten their grade card.
Then implement the system daily by doing a two-minute binder review every day after school. If you do that consistently and consciously for a month, it will become second nature, provided you don’t have an executive functioning disorder. If you do find that it doesn’t become easier, then it’s time to call in some help in the form of a learning specialist at your school.
The main thing is to put your energy into getting organized, not hating the teacher, the binder, or the system.
Yes, I’m like you, and I can’t tell you how important it is to figure out how to get organized NOW, before school and life get even more complicated. You CAN do it - it’s a matter of discipline. Saying, “I’m a really disorganized person and can’t do anything about it…” won’t cut it.
Agree that getting help with organization/executive function now is an important idea. Then you can write about this binder/grade thing and how you learned and grew from it in a college essay!
@Thinkaholic14
If you work few minutes a day in your binder,
Is gonna be more easy study for you, and probably your teacher give you extra credit.
Do you have a syllabus that says how the binder should be set up or any feedback from the teacher regarding the binder check. Can you ask your parents to help you get it fixed for a fresh start (so it doesn’t seem so overwhelming). Being disorganized can go on to hurt you in more than one class so i wouldn’t just ignore it. You can try talking to the teacher for advice and ask if after you get it organized is there any chance of extra credit?
You’ve gotten lots of great advice - and it’s true that organization is a skill that can (and should) be improved. Focus on the daily habits and you’ll do much better next time. However, I completely sympathize with the binder check! Binder checks and “interactive notebooks” were the bane of my son’s skills - and they do not assess the learning outcomes, so really shouldn’t be so heavily weighted imo. But hang in there…you’ve go this.
Being organized will definently help you throughout high school as you get more assignments and take more classes. I would just organize the binder as you receive each paper. If there is no set system, you can go talk to your teacher about a good way to organize your binder and mabye ask for late credit or something on the binder checks.
The problem isn’t the binder checks… it’s what the teacher finds when she checks.
She wants you to be organized… and you’ll find as you go through school that it’s an important skill.
So take the blame off the binder checks, and take responsibility for that aspect of your grade.
And, for what it’s worth, colleges love to see an upward trend. So improving your grade from this point onward will give a favorable impression.
Teachers do binder checks to encourage you to be organized as it is helpful as you go through HS and College.
So…do it. Get help, but do it.