DR. WALLACE: I’m heartbroken because my perfect grade-point average has been ruined! I’m a current junior in high school.
I just found out that I received a grade of “B” in my physical education class! I was on time every day and I never missed a class. I participated in every workout and ran hard on the track to the best of my ability. No, I’m not the fastest runner in my class but I’m not the slowest either!
It seems unfair that I’ve lost my perfect three-year GPA of 4.0 over a class that graded me on my physical ability, not my citizenship, participation and mental engagement of the subject at hand.
My mother is also upset, and she wants my father to speak with my physical education teacher. I would like an “A” grade in that class, but I’m not sure if it’s a good idea for my father to get involved. If he does, a lot of the other students will know about this, and it may hurt my reputation more than another A will help it. Everyone already knows I’m a straight-A student so I’m kind of thinking that I should just let this issue go and move on. Do you agree or should I encourage my father to get involved in an effort to get my grade raised? — 4.0 No More, via email
4.0 NO MORE: I agree with your take on this situation. The way I look at it, you still have a 4.0 grade point average intact in all your academic classes. In your physical classes, you do have a slightly lower grade, but this will not hold you back in your life going forward.
Your instincts to keep your father away from your physical education teacher are correct in my opinion. His involvement could cause more harm than good and simply moving on here is a good life lesson for you to learn at a young age. Continue to do your best to maintain your excellent grade average the rest of this year and your senior year as well. Also realize that not every school gives out letter grades in physical education classes as some high schools simply give out “pass” or “fail” grades in this area. Therefore, I feel it’s unlikely that this sole grade will negatively impact the arc of your academic career going forward, since you’re likely already now sizing up a few colleges that you’d like to apply to.
THEY BOTH WANT MY ATTENTION!
DR. WALLACE: I have two close friends and we are all girls of the same age. I’ve known one for seven years and the other one for a year and a half. For a while it seemed we all got along well together, but lately they’ve both seemed very jealous of each other.
It seems that whenever one of them finds out I’m doing something with the other one, the one not involved will quickly send me a text message inviting me to go do something else right then and there!
This has been going on now for about five weeks and frankly I’m getting exhausted dealing with it.
Do you have any suggestions? — In the Middle of Two Good Friends, via email
IN THE MIDDLE OF TWO GOOD FRIENDS: First of all, I feel that you are fortunate that you have two close friends who enjoy spending time with you!
You can blunt this problem a bit by arranging a few group outings, assuming these girls are also at least friendly with each other. If they are, see if you can get a few outings on everyone’s calendar and spend time out as a group. If they are not compatible for whatever reason, then you need to be firm and explain to each that you enjoy spending time with both of them as individuals and that you’ll schedule time with each of them in advance so there will be no last-minute conflicts.
Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at [email protected] To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.