Some Thoughts About Marks

Marks are important, but they are not a reflection of who you are as a human being.

Late work is evaluated, but minus 1 mark for each class-day that it is late. (Other teachers may not even accept it -- check with each individual.)
 This is different. If you are going to school in a language other than the one spoken at home and/or if you are among the first in your family to go to college, 
you may find it quite difficult to succeed.
At College, there is a different way of talking about things.
The way to overcome this is to read all kinds of challenging material 
and to listen to discussion-type programming. Participate, ask questions, too.
English is everything. In the Humanities (and many other subjects) the medium of expression 
is almost as important as the material. 
If you study the material but do not understand exam questions where will that get you?
If you can collect information in the "card method" way, 
but do not know whether two items are the same or not, 
how can you compose an intelligent paper?
Do EVERYTHING IN YOUR POWER to improve your English; 
that may mean finding a whole new group of friends 
and spending even your 'relaxation time' in an English milieu. 
If you are shy, go to the library and read.  Ask to watch some video material. 
See if you can get some tutoring; join a club.  Look for work in an English milieu.
I already failed. It is not a good idea to think that the mark you get on one assignment is equal to a "percent." 
That is, if you only got 4/10 perhaps because you did not stringently 
follow all the format requirements for the brief assignment 
do not think you are only a 40% student. 
A very low mark in one assignment is certainly a wake-up call, 
but usually it is the result of not following instructions. 
You can still make the honour roll, but you will need to make a few changes.

Conversely, if you get 9/10 do not think that you can slack off.
 
It's harder than I thought. I think you will agree that the high schools do not prepare students adequately for college. 
There is not enough preparation in terms of background knowledge.
The course load is not 'heavy' enough - not enough subjects.
The types of assignments are not advanced enough.
Students are not encouraged to take responsibility for much of their own education.
The marks are generally inflated.  That is, you can get high marks in high school by being the best in your class, but that does not reflect realistically the level of achievement in terms of the 'real world.'
That means study habits that got you an 80% in high school 
will certainly not guarantee the same at CEGEP. 
You have to do much more work at college and 
spend much more time doing it than ever before 
in order to even come close to the marks that you got in secondary school. 
Friends It is not easy to balance emotional needs with goals. There is safety in numbers. 
We feel better among our own kind, whether we are talking language, religion, culture, musical preference, people we went to high school with, or those we travel to college with.
There comes a time, though, when you have to decide 
whether to advance or stay behind with the old crowd and the old ways. 
Whether to break off with a lover because they are too demanding or needy
or they will not speak English - whatever. 
Whether to be honest about your political or religious beliefs. 
Whether to devote yourself to your education, or to being seen as:
a nice guy, a pretty girl, a jock, a cool person, a good friend, and so on.

What you achieve in terms of your future can only be determined by you and your own actions.
If you are not ready to take charge, it is good and realistic to know that about yourself. 

But there may be consequences to the choices that you make (or do not make) at this age.
How do you see yourself in 10 years?  What are you doing now to get there? 
 
Late for supper In the Humanities, a great deal of the learning (the LEARNING, not evaluation) takes place via research projects. 

Therefore you have to spend hours looking through books 
and it requires an academic library. 
Your local library or the books that you may have at home will not provide the level 
or variety of information that you need. 
An Internet search (even using Google) is not a substitute for library research; 
at best, it can provide an overview of a topic.
It can be compared to a hand-drawn map. 
In the 'real world' you would only trust your life to that map if 
you had no other information. 
If you intend to play (or work) in the 'real world' 
especially if you are tired of not being taken seriously,
then you will not settle for less than the most highly respected, 
most accurate and/or most reliable sources. 
Not passing is not always the same as failing. It is not unusual for students to take an extra semester, aka a 5th semester, or even two, to finish CEGEP 
especially if they are going in a second or third language.  Also this is likely to occur if you switch programs.
If you think that this is likely to happen, it is best to prepare your parents 
for that event. 
If just the idea is a cause for anxiety or distress, 
please see someone at Student Services 
so that you can get some support with this.

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