Being Assertive

 This is my blog for 05/01/11. Woke up a bit late and my computer was giving problems to post but 4 hours into the 6th is not so bad. Here goes...

Project 365. Picture 5/365.
Bhagi (aka Spinach)! YUM!

As part of the C.A.P.E. syllabus, students are required to complete internal assessments in each subject. These assessments are done through labs, tests or projects.  For one of my projects, the topic I chose is very meaningful to me personally so I want to put my best effort into it and do well. My teacher and I however keep butting heads. At first she had issues with my topic, so I explained to her my reasoning, she understood and approved. Then, she had a problem with my questionnaire because SHE found it confusing because of the terms used on it. Mind you, she is not the one answering it but rather health professionals who know what these terms mean. Anyways, again I explained to her what the purpose of the question was, she understood and allowed it. Now, she says that my presentation of data is confusing, so confusing, in fact, that she had to consult with another teacher in the department who also couldn’t make heads or tails of it. So now I’m really concerned because I don’t know how much simpler I could make those graphs look, but, I’m also fed up. I’m fed up of having to explain something every time I hand in part of the project, fed up of always having to justify my methods and fed up of how she automatically decides something is wrong once she doesn’t understand it. I’m fed up, so when she tells me not to use my current method (even though I explained to her the reason I’m collecting my data that way and she understood) I take it and say okay. No fight. No rebuttal. Nothing. There was a reason I never joined the debating club – I always get fed up of arguing and finally give in.

Now, after the Christmas vacation, when I’m ready to resume the project, my mummy finds the marked draft and is appalled at the mark. When I explain to her what happened she reads the project and is utterly befuddled since she can’t see anything confusing at all (she was a Language Arts/Literature teacher). She tells me that I MUST go back and talk to my teacher about it and get her to explain exactly what is wrong with the presentation of data. So today I approached my teacher and as she went through the data citing the problems, I explained my reasoning and again she understood. She decided that she had to consult with the other teacher again and get back to me, so I asked if I could be there to hear the problems first-hand. I now have a meeting tomorrow with the two of them. 

When mummy first started kicking up a fuss about the mark, I got upset because I didn’t want to deal with it anymore, but now I realize that if something really and truly matters to you then you should fight for it. Just because you keep hitting a brick wall doesn’t mean you should just give up. Being assertive and being able to communicate in a clear manner are very important skills in school and eventually in the workplace. Hopefully, it will all work out and all confusions will be demystified. In the end, this is just another lesson that prepares me for university. Be assertive! Note: NOT aggressive (like the cheerleading chant :P)