Now that mid-term grades are out and you know where you stand in your classes, it’s time to let folks who have a stake in your success know too.  No student can be successful in college without help so the people who are supporting you financially and emotionally deserve to be kept in the loop. Don’t assume they will be like Eveilliene, the Wicked Witch of the West in the Wiz (see the link at the end of the post if you need a reference) who didn’t want anyone bringing her bad news.

Because these are the people that want the best for you, I’m sure expectations are high. However, no one expects you to do well all the time. You’re going to have successes and setbacks in college and folks helping you know that – so keep them in the loop. If you leave them in hanging, they can only pay and pray that you’re doing well.  Use these approaches to share the good as well as the bad news with them:

• Share good news right away – that way, folks helping you know they are important to you and that you want them to know how you’re doing.
• Don’t stop there, talk about how you did well and how you are going to keep up the good work.  This is just as important as the good news because it shows you have the right strategy to repeat your success.  You are demonstrating that your good performance wasn’t just luck – you have some skills.
• When the news is not so good, share it in a timely way as well.  People supporting you will know something is wrong because you aren’t talking to them; this isn’t a secret you can keep.  They don’t know the details, but they know it’s not good – probably believing it’s worse than it really is.
• Be ready to tell them why you didn’t do as well as you wanted and what you have done, are doing and will do to improve your performance.  When someone asks why you didn’t do as well as you wanted, the worst answer you can give is, “I don’t know.”  If you don’t know you can count on having this difficult conversation again because you don’t know how to change things.

Look at the previous GradeUP! Challenges about talking to teachers, your advisor and other people who can help you develop your strategy for improvement. What’s important is how you are going to get better in the future, not how you did in the past because you can’t change that.  Don’t walk backwards into the future, turn around, face it and plan for a more successful future.  Then, share your plans with the folks who are supporting you.

Click here for a clip from the Wiz featuring Mable King as Eveillene, the Wicked Witch of the West.

All previous GradeUP! Challenges are available on the GradeUP! Challenge Week by Week page.

You can learn more about getting the help you need to do better in your classes in Chapter 5 of College in Four Years; Making Every Semester Count.

Click on the  hyperlink to learn more about College in Four Years; Making Every Semester Count.