The Owlfred Chronicles

Pokemon posted this on our Feedback site and silenced the whole team for a moment for a collective, “Wow, we are doing something right!” moment. Here is Pokemon, in his own words…

“I remember when I first started doing math in elementary school. During the first year of elementary I knew I had a phobia with math. I just couldn’t comprehend math like the other kids could. As second grade approached I was struggling, and you could see that from my test scores.  As years passed, I was struggling even more in math. It was like a different language without a translator . I attended an after school program at the YMCA to help me do my homework, but it did not help very much.  When I started fourth grade, my teacher used to hand out multiplication tests to test us . When it was time for the parent teacher’s conference, I knew exactly what the teacher would say: ‘Your son is a splendid kid, really quiet, always does his homework but; his math grades are poor.’

I knew something had to be done but I was dreaming of my future. Ever since I was four I was always interested in airplanes. When my mother told me there was a high school that focused on airplanes, I told myself that when I reached the age of 14 I would be attending the school of my dreams. As I entered fifth grade however, I was still lacking adequate math skills. It was like I was cursed, forever.

My mother told me that I would be entering middle school after sixth grade, ‘Try your best so you can go to a good school.’ I took her advice and worked really hard. I improved my math skills and did well on every subject. During graduation, my name was called out and I received a medal and a certificate for being an honest student. In sixth grade I was the nerdy kid but I had awesome goalie skills in soccer. I got accepted to one of the best middle schools in NY. I got really emotional because I was thinking about my future. During the seventh grade I was doing great in all subjects, except one. You guessed it, math. Math was ruining my life once again. I sat next to the smart kids in the class.  I was ok for the first months of the school year.  My test grades were horrible. I was lucky I passed the grade with an 85 on math. During the eighth grade I was also struggling in math but this time I was in trouble. My teacher went out of control when you couldn’t answer the question. Once I cried in front of class because I just couldn’t solve a question. Then he made a lousy speech about how I was going to fail the New York State exam. Eighth grade was the worst year of my life.

Now recently I’m a ninth grade and I’m taking Algebra for a two year course. I was thinking to myself, ‘How am I gonna manage high school now, if I have the same problem like before?’ So I told myself that I would  try to reach my true potential. I told my mom to pay $100 dollars on Tutorvista, which I felt it was a rip off. My mother had to pay money because I just couldn’t understand the homework. When my Tutorvista trial ended, I was doomed. I was searching every site to look for help. Eventually, I found OpenStudy and I met this guy named Hero. Hero helped me with my math homework. Hero and I talk in Skype so he can give me lessons on the subjects I was struggling on. Hero actually spent his own time helping me. When the tests came I was the first one to be done. I was actually comprehending math! Recently I got the highest score in my math class, a 93! I am so proud of myself and thank everyone that helped me get there. If it wasn’t for OpenStudy and Hero, I don’t know what would have actually happened to me. I give my gratitude to Hero and OpenStudy for helping students like me reach their true potential.”

If this sounds like you, then you know where to go! As for Pokemon, look up, it’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s Superman!