Tips for dealing this school situation?

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I have to take a geography class, but i can't picture things in my head. I think purely in words, always have. I have to memorize the maps of roads and things like that in my state, but i just CANT. I study for hours and still fail every map quiz. I've done everything imaginable but am still failing the class, and i have to at least get a C, or i can't graduate. I've tried talking to the teacher, but i have to try to get though like everyone else... anyone have any ideas on what i could do to help this?

I think in pictures and struggle with any purely word based learning, so I get what you mean. Recently I discovered that I also have kinestetic-tactile learning ability which has gotten me through learning a new job.

Kinestetic-tactile learning involves body memory. Tasks which lend themselves to kinestetic-tactlie learning are typing, driving, using a sewing machine; anything which when mastered, resides in the body/motor skills. But some people learn just about anything by approaching the learning step by engaging their body in the process.

Maybe you could master the maps by "driving them" with a tiny toy car, naming the roads/states outloud as you drive through; or by drawing them (copying them) using graph paper and plotting the maps first. Perhaps, simply copying the maps through translucent paper, naming the sites as you draw would be useful.

Thinking in words is the main school skill and will keep you in good stead for a variety of different professions. For example, going to medical school, being a doctor, yeah, the real thing, and when a patient explains something, you can probably remember their exact words and/or the meaning of what they emphasized, and then play different ideas off of this. You can also do a good job summarizing what the patient says for the record in such a way that it quickly brings you up to speed the next time you see this same patient. (A lot of good medicine is about a continuing relationship.)

Or law, or business, or another profession of your choice.

Generally, for this class, you want to try less hard (paradoxically!) but try in a diagonal direction.

In high school, you generally want to only pre-study math and science because of the potential boredom factor in other classes. But perhaps, experiment with different ways to lightly pre-study this class?

And also, like former tennis pro Tim Mayote once said, he's worked on not letting the rest of his game slide just because his serve is slightly off. So, don't let your other five classes slide (or how many they have these days).

And sadly, this seemingly is one of the main functions/dysfunctions of 'school'---to find something you're not good at and then make you feel bad about yourself. Don't let them. And it really is ridiculous. Okay, you're not good at maps, so what, the school is going to come down on you like a ton of bricks? It's ridiculous once a person gets a little distance from it, but right there in the stifling school environment, it's anything but. Hire a tutor (experiment with different ways of going at it, generally trying less hard, and yes, that's kind of the zen of it all). And maybe, it might be time to start thinking about going more formal and getting an IEP, or not. No hurry. And even if you do go formal, you can still go to medical school or pursue an MBA or anything else of your choosing. There are probably more advantages than not to a formal diagnosis in academia, but just like anything in life, pluses and minuses. You will still have obstacles, merely a different set of obstacles, and more social support (hopefully!) to engage these situations. And probably largely the same for going forward and getting the IEP (Individualized Education Plan, common in the U.S.). Consider it according to your own time frame and please trust your gut feelings. This is a dynamic process, poker players talk about trusting and developing their gut, still a lot of luck and streaks both ways.

Good luck.

That's the standard opening position with a teacher, and that's fine. But that is not the case with an IEP.

cant you just get a atlas, then using a blank page hand write all the locations you need to know, in roughly the same areas where the word has to go? (btw, i have a degree in physical therapy, almost 1 in aircraft electronics and currently in school for culinary)

example:


Ireland Scottland
England
Wales England
England