Dear Shayna,

I just want to start off with I love your advice column and I especially love your face jewelry!!!

I have a problem. My Navi teacher won’t slow down! Nobody can get down notes because she speeds through the entire perek! We are going to have a test soon and I barely got anything down and every time someone asks her to slow down she shushes them and goes even faster!!! Only sometimes, she’ll slow down for about a second and then she goes fast again. It’s like I can’t breathe. What should I do?

Dear Need to Breathe Brenda,

My advice to you is to talk to your teacher after class and tell her what has been going on and ask if she can slow down a bit. She’ll probably appreciate you asking her to slow down because it means you’re concentrating and care about what she’s saying. Unlike a kid who sits in a corner sleeping or that kid who sits in class texting on her phone, it’s obvious you’re interested. You could contradict her all day while she’s teaching, which is usually not the type of student a teacher prefers. Hopefully, your teacher will realize how lucky she is to have you in her class and slow down, but if she doesn’t, buy yourself a tape recorder for your next test!

Shayna is a fourth grader and understands what kids in elementary school are going through. She is happy to help others navigate this tricky time. She can be reached at [email protected]. She is looking forward to hearing from you soon.