It was January 2021. My second term in high school had just ended. Two weeks earlier, my parents checked my grades and 1 more than 20missing tasks.
Bright and able as I was, I had often struggled（挣扎）with 2 and procrastination（拖延）, especially with writing tasks. But this time was different, and the pandemic（疫情）was to blame. I was doing my first year partly from home where I did my schoolwork on my own time, and, for the most part, without teacher guidance.
The 3 was too much. I could do a million other things rather than my homework. I told my mom what I was missing from my teachers and classmates, "When a teacher walks around the classroom, you want to be on task, and you don't want to fall behind the other students. "
My parents tried to help, but their 4 fell far short of their expectations. Tired from working long days, they criticized rather than advised. Late-night learning hours ended in 5 matches. All three of us were upset and stressed out.
We knew we couldn't solve this alone. So when my mom heard that Steve Merrill, an experienced teacher, could help, she 6 out.
Mr. Merrill told me that his students also had problems in the same areas: task organization and time management. He taught me to break down big tasks into small ones. We met twice a week, over video, where we could look over my tasks and put the skill into practice. After a few months, I started to see positive results. My grades were improving. My work habits were becoming more regular. There were 7 late-night learning hours and fights.
The other eveningI came downstairs to ask my parents for help with a writing task. There was something different. I had 8 most of it two days before the deadline! While I don't expect this school year to be easy, I now have some of the tools I need to help me through it.
