Explaining Bad Grades to Parents

[seaturtledude]

Ugh..i'm so worried right now! Here's my situation. I am taking all honors courses and 1 ap course (freshman year). i told my parents i may have a bad progress report, and they flipped out. here is what i averaged my grades out to be..

english honors-D- COURSE CREDIT:2.0
spanish honors-B COURSE CREDIT:4.0
math honors-C COURSE CREDIT:3.0
history honors-C+ COURSE CREDIT:3.0ish
biology advanced placement-D+/C- COURSE CREDIT:2.-3.0ish

my average would be around a B, and my parents would still be mad! The only reason(and no, i'm not lying) for the biology/english grades are because we have had 1 test in each of them, so that is our grade! but no, my parents won't believe that. last year i got A's in all my classes because they were regular level(8th grade), but no, my parents still expect me to keep the straight A's with all of these difficult courses (i was recommended for every single one of them). They will flip out, and I'm scared they will transfer me into College Prep, because of the grades, and it's only a progress report! also, i am in marching band/student council(meets twice a month), and my parents will probably make me quit student council, which isn't taking away from my study time at all!! Advice?

 

[Babyjustrun]

I just tell my parents that I tried my hardest (or if I didn't that it won't happen again) and to realize that as time goes on, my grades will drop. Things get harder.

 

[Tinkerbell424]

Tell your parents that you're trying your hardest. Ask for extra credit and/or a tutor or extra help from the teacher.

You need to prioritze your life right now or drop out of an AP/Honors class.

My friend is President of the 10th grade, on Swim Team, has all Honors and 1 AP class and he basically had a breakdown. He could not take it at all, and his grades were beginning to show. So he switched out of his worst subject into a regular class to take it at an easier pace. Maybe you should consider that? Good luck and I hope your grades improve!

 

[Disney.Ears]

Like ^^ said, tell them you're trying your hardest. And obviously honors and AP are a heck of a lot harder than anything you've taken in 8th grade.

How long have you been in school? Maybe tell your parents that you're just starting to get used to things still and once you do, your grades will be back up in no time.

Or if you want to stay in SC and Band, switch in CP. You'll probably pass with flying colors.

 

[cdog12]

wohao honors kid A Da C wow mistake is imo is you can't handle the course


mines like this



3.7

 

[HSMndLKfan92]

Explain to your parents that you're trying. Then go to extra help if its offered. If it's not, ask if you can meet with a teacher or a tutor. If you think the course is still too tough on you drop it. Sure, all honors is nice and would look fabulous for college, the grades don't look nice at all. It's okay to take CP classes for a couple subjects.

Talk to your parents. If you want to stay in student council, tell them that there are hardly ever meetings, and that doesn't affect your grades.

 

[Soarin08]

Just apologize and tell them you're trying your hardest. I mean, honors classes are going to be hard.

At least in college your parents don't see your grades. So if I start failing, they won't know about it!

 

[Axel]

I know the stress of all honours classes. They're not always fun.

Just because you were recommended for them doesn't mean you have to take them. Simply because somebody else thinks that you're ready for a harder level course doesn't mean you actually are.

Know your own limits.

If they keep being hard for you, drop down a level in your worst subjects. I tried all honours in my sophomore year and AP Bio pretty much drove me insane. I thought that colleges would love to see such a hard course on my transcript, but with my grades it would have looked awful. I kept the class, though. But after talking with several admissions officers, they told me that they'd rather see an A in a CP class than a D in an AP class.

I've since learned my own limits. I take CP level classes in science because that's the subject that always gives me trouble.

As for explaining it to your parents, well, everybody's going to take it differently. Sit them down, explain what's happening and get a note from your teacher explaining the whole "one test" thing if necessary. Talk it over with them, but if they suggest dropping something you're going to have to choose.

Do you want to remain on the student council and in the band? Or do you want to keep at the harder classes?

 

[HouseMD1120]

I would not advise you to drop your classes. For one thing, just explain to to your parents that you have only had one test. They may still understand, I had that problem last year, and my parents are usually like yours. But mine understood. Also, colleges prefer you to take classes which are a challenge, even if you dont have a great GPA. Most colleges are very concerned with GPA, they look for extracurricular activities and how much you were challenged. Or maybe you could drop your hardest honors class down to a normal one but keep the other honors classes. Good luck!

 

[Cinderelli16]

I hate even thinking about explaining to my parents why I have bad grades.(which I don't) lol They would like shoot me, and never let me see the light of day ever again. I'd be locked up in my room everyday after school with my face shoved into a book studying. Not to mention I'd have my phone taken away, and the computer.

 

[K-Shong99]

like everyone else has said.
just talk to them about it.

my grades aren't very great this year so far.
and my parents aren't very happy with me either.
so you're not alone.

 

[diva122094]

Well i just had a quiz todayy and i think i just failed it.
So i will talk to my parents about it.
Even though the reason i did bad is cause i didn't really study.

 

[seaturtledude]

Thanks everyone =)

 

[bopper]

Ah! I just lost my reply! But to quickly summarize:

1. Talk to your parents so they know (nobody likes a surprise, and they might like to help you)
2. Have a plan to improve your grades and tell your parents.

This plan should include going to the teachers office/help hours. This will help you know what they are looking for, as well as having the teacher probably give you the benefit of the doubt when they see you trying hard.

Examine what activities you do after school and see if this impacts your studying/homework. Does Band and Student Council take up a lot of time?

If not, examine other things that take up time you might not think about. Do you play any online games? Text your friends alot? Use AIM? Read Disboards too much? Cut out those activities or only do them after homework.
Tell your parents that you are doing this.
Everytime you text you might think it does not take up much time, but it breaks your train of thought. CALL your friends if you need homework help.

Make sure you are aware of when you have tests and quizzes. In 8th grade, you might not have had to study! But in honors H.S. classes, you just might!

 

[Cinderelli16]

Well i just had a quiz todayy and i think i just failed it.
So i will talk to my parents about it.
Even though the reason i did bad is cause i didn't really study.

I took a test today, and I think I failed it!

 

[Captain Brain]

I always just tell my mom that I'll do better. That doesn't always fly though, so it always helps to have a good backup speech.

Like, for example, I failed a Chemistry quiz the other day, when my mom gets home I'm going to tell her. Parents always like it better when they know what's coming. I'm going to tell her that I didn't study enough and that I will study more in the future. She'll rant a little bit, but she'll get over it.

 

[Cinderelli16]

I remember in 7th grade I changed my grades on my report card, and by time the 3rd one came out my parents found out, and my life was complete hell for the rest of the year. lol

 

[::Snow_White::]

I just say "Psshhhh. I failed my test. heh. heh. -cringe-"
Lol. I try to make light of things because it doesn't bother me but my mom gets bad. Usually I just let her get mad at me, tell me I shouldn't let that happened, and if I would study and she'll end up forgetting about it. Also sometimes right after I say that I'll just go "Oh! I got an A on my science test." Usually if you have something good that you did, it might lessen the anger. Lol.
Things happen.

Just tell them that you tried your hardest.

 

[seaturtledude]

thanks for the advice! the reason for the C's are because I'm really getting used to the new school, but my parents won't believe that. They don't think rationally when it comes to grades. They will transfer me to all CP courses where i won't be challenged, or they'll make me quit student council, and i've made a commitment to them, I'm a class officer!

 

[supra]

If there is a valid excuse, them just explain it.
If you screwed it up on your own, I feel sorry for you, but there's really no explanation for laziness..