Carol is a high school junior at Roosevelt High School. She is having a tough time getting good grades in her classes. She understands the material, but she often does not turn in her homework. She does not feel motivated or inspired to do her work.
There is one class she is doing well in. That class is United States History. Carol always turns in her homework for U.S. History class. The reason she is doing well in that class is because she respects the teacher Mr. Aragon. Carol feels that Mr. Aragon treats her more like a peer than a student. She feels the other teachers look down on her.
Carol's mother Maria tells Mr. Aragon that Carol is struggling in her other classes at a parent-teacher conference. Maria hopes that Mr. Aragon can help inspire Carol to do better in her other classes. Mr. Aragon is surprised to learn that Carol is not doing well in other classes. "She is such a smart young woman," he tells Maria. Mr. Aragon tells Maria that he will speak to her daughter. Maria is grateful and hopes Mr. Aragon's intervention will help.
Carol feels embarrassed when Mr. Aragon speaks to her about the trouble she is having in other classes. However, she understands that he is just trying to help. Mr. Aragon and Carol discuss what she can do to motivate herself to hand in homework for other classes. They create a list of strategies to help motivate her to complete her homework on time. One idea is to create a checklist of assignments. Another idea is to have a friend encourage Carol to complete and hand in assignments. This is called the buddy system. Carol decides to try one technique at a time to see which one works best for her.
