Some Helpful Hints

By Amy Heaton

This isn’t television, and the problems that we face are different than the drama that occurs daily on “The Secret Life.” There are social problems and all, but our main purpose right now is to get out of High School with a basic font of knowledge that can help us through college and/or anything else we may choose to do. Here are some tips on what you can do to

• Don’t procrastinate: It may be hard when we have the World Wide Web that offers endless entertainment and distraction, but you will be a lot less stressed out and a lot better prepared if you get all your work done on time, and don’t leave it for the last minute.
• Go in for help whenever you need: Teachers are there to teach you. It’s their job. So don’t be scared to go up and ask them when they are available to help you. Some teachers have limited time windows, so you may have to move some things around on your schedule, but you will not regret it.
• Take notes: Sometimes teachers do not collect notes, so it is tempting not to take them (either during class or for homework readings), but jotting down some key facts and ideas will really enforce what you’ve read/heard, and make you that much more prepared for the test.
• Study: This one may seem obvious, but a lot of people neglect to even look over handouts and notes the night before a test. You may think that you know all you need to know by paying attention in class, but going over notes even the period before can mean the difference between a high grade and a low one.
• Pay attention: Who makes the tests (for the most part)? The teachers do, so they know what to emphasize in class to help you pass assessments. Believe it or not, they want to see you do well. Paying attention will help you retain most of the information you hear, even if you ignore the rest of these tips.
• Don’t freak out about a bad grade: Getting good grades is not the only part of High School. It is important, for sure, but a bad grade on a test is usually recoverable and in some cases retake-able. The important thing is that you go and see the teacher about what you can do from that point forward, and go over what you got wrong so you don’t make the same mistake twice.
• Work together: Studying in groups is a great way to remember information you may have forgotten. If you break up the studying, you will be able to cover more than you would be able to alone. But go over everything on your own, anyways.
• Go online: Some textbooks have study outlines and practice quizzes, and a lot of teachers post class notes and study materials on Edline. For research projects, it is easy to find the information you need through the internet. Your greatest study tool is also your worst enemy in terms of procrastination, though. ALSO: Sparknotes is great for going over what you don’t understand and getting a quick summary before a quiz, but DO NOT rely on it completely. Nothing beats just sitting down and reading the book.
• Get organized: Knowing where your papers are and where to go for specific information in your binder or notebook makes studying and projects much easier. It is really up to the individual what system they want to use, but some suggestion on how to organize your classes in your binder or notebook are by difficulty, period, priority in homework-doing, and so on.
• It doesn’t hurt to get close to the teacher: Don’t be a flamboyant suck-up, but try and engage your teachers in conversation before class, and make every effort to get them to know that you are trying. They appreciate your effort, and perhaps they will keep that in mind when you hand in a not-so-great essay.

Overall, the message you should get from this is to simply try hard. High School can be fun, but that isn’t all it should be. Whether you are in on-level, honors, or AP/IB classes, you should always do your homework and study. Good luck!

*Success is not guaranteed.