DR. WALLACE: I'm almost done with a summer school class that I had to take and fortunately there are only two weeks of it left. I'm going to be a junior in high school next year and I've never been in a class like this one.

The reason I don't like it is that the class size is less than 20 students, and the teacher likes to call on people in class all the time to speak about the topic.

I had to take this class in the summertime because I already struggled with it last school year. Why does this teacher insist on embarrassing me over and over in this class? I'm glad that there are no other students that I know in there, but it's more than uncomfortable all the same. — Don't Like Being Called On, via email

DON'T LIKE BEING CALLED ON: In my experience, this is quite typical for summer courses at the high school level. Most summertime teachers know that the students in these classes struggled with the course material during the previous school year.

Therefore, they seek to engage the students more directly about the subject matter in an effort to tutor them a bit. The smaller class sizes and the more relaxed nature of summer school allow for this.

Try to look at your situation this way and be sure to have your teacher help you with any areas you continue to struggle with. Summer teachers take great pride in trying their best to help students pick up at least a baseline understanding of subjects they have previously found challenging.

I LOVE THE OCEAN!

DR. WALLACE: I'm 15 and I care about our oceans. Every summer I am lucky to get to go to the beach because we live near the coast. It's only a half-hour drive to the water and my mom will take my sister and me about twice a week. We love the beach!

I was depressed on World Ocean Day in June because I learned more than I wanted to know about the plastics in the ocean and the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch" that is located in the Pacific Ocean between California and Hawaii. It's so gross to know that there is marine debris that covers over a half-million square miles of the water between those two states. Apparently, the winds and tides move this junk around and there are even "microplastics" in it. A microplastic is smaller than a dime!

I hope that when I grow older, I can become a marine biologist who helps the ocean and the life that lives there. But right now, I feel sad because all I can do is write to you about it in the hopes that you'll print my letter so that other people can read it to increase their awareness of this problem. — A Girl Who Loves the Ocean, via email

A GIRL WHO LOVES THE OCEAN: Consider your letter printed, and thank you for your important position on this dynamic topic. We all should do all we can to prevent plastics from ending up in the world's five oceans.

One thing you can do now at your age is participate and maybe even organize ocean "clean-up" events. Many beach areas in America and around the world regularly schedule clean-up operations to reduce the amount of trash lying around the shoreline.

Clean-up events increase awareness of this problem, and they build unity within a community to remain dedicated and vigilant in keeping our oceans as healthy as possible. Kudos to you for being aware of this situation at your young age, and please know that I will be rooting for you to become a top-notch marine biologist in the near future. Our world needs more dedicated and involved young people like you!

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.

Photo credit: Feliphe Schiarolli at Unsplash