Percy Jackson needs much improvement in his self-confidence and his attitude at school and with peers. He really lacks self-confidence in this quote from the book “My grades slipped from Ds to Fs” (pg.17). This strongly shows how Percy needs more self-confidence and a way to gain more confidence in yourself is to find your own ways of learning. Just like in this quote from Top 10 Study Habits: “Most of us have a preferred way of learning”. Get to know the learning style you’re most comfortable with and study in the ways you learn best.” (From: Top 10 Study Habits). If Percy can develop his own efficient way of learning, then he can definitely increase his confidence greatly. The quote from the book, “I got into more fights with Nancy Bobofit and her friends. I was sent out into the hallway in almost every class.” also shows that Percy is losing self-confidence, so developing his own way of learning can really benefit him in these situations.
Percy seems to dislike/hate school except for Mr. Brunner’s Latin Class. This point is proven through this quote “He was the only teacher whose class didn’t put me to sleep.”(pg. 2). This quote can also state that Percy has negative thoughts about school with is extremely vital since negative thoughts can really influence your actions and attitude in many situations. ‘How to focus on studying’ clearly states that negative thoughts can really impact you during study time, quote “Negative thoughts make studying all but impossible.” (From: how to focus on studying). Again, another example of Percy losing self-confidence is this quote “I know — it sounds like torture. Most Yancy field trips were.” (pg.2). In this quote, Percy has a very bad feeling about field trips, which is another sign of ‘loss of confidence’. A possible solution to this problem is stated in the article named ‘Top 10 Study Tips’ in which it states that you want to have a goal when you study to look up to since having a goal can be a really good motivation to achieving your objectives, this is the quote “When you’re studying it helps to keep in mind your reasons for doing all this hard work, like a course or career you’re working towards. It can help to have something in your study space to remind you of your goals.” (From: Top 10 Study Tips). Other that those 2 examples that express the loss of Percy’s self-confidence, there are also many examples that express how Percy needs help/aid in learning, but he just doesn’t seem to ask for help. In this quote “What was so great about me? A dyslexic, hyperactive boy with a D+ report card, kicked out of school for the sixth time is six years.” (p. 38). It shows how Percy has a sort of mental disorder and is always getting kicked out of school. We can infer from this quote that Percy is someone who needs help at school but doesn’t want to help/ask for help. According to a quote from the article ‘Top 10 Study Tips’, asking for aid when needed is really important to success in school/study time. Quote: “If you’re stuck on something, or something just doesn’t seem to make sense, you can always ask for help. Talk to your teachers or lecturers about the things you don’t understand. Talk to your friends and fellow students too.” (From: Top 10 Study Tips). This quote strongly promotes the fact that asking for help can really enhance and help you during your study time, and Percy can definitely benefit from that.
In conclusion, Percy needs help at improving his attitude at school and having self-confidence in himself, and these articles can really benefit Percy in a good way to help him improve on areas that he needs help in.