Navigating your HS: An ideal situation – Having A Code 1, 2, 3 & 4
Part 1
It’s almost as if you need a special code to succeed in High School. C++ is a type of computer code/language that’s an asset to know if you’re ‘into’ computers. But whose ‘into’ going to school? And getting through school is a full time job in an of itself. Really. High School is mandatory. It’s Monday through Friday, 8am to 3pm. You start at about age 6 and you end at about age 17. And you can’t really call in sick – it’s too hard. You need 3 sets of approval to get away with that: 1). Your Parents, 2). Your doctor’s 3). Your Dean’s office. I value education highly, please don’t be mistaken. Education should be a right and is at the same time a privilege, but the experience of high school, social and academic, is something different.
Personally, I recall many occasions before graduation when I wondered what was the point of what I was doing, and if I was doing things right in regards to completing my HS education. I thought school was about working hard to get a good education, and I thought a good education meant doing well academically to get into a really good college. Thing was I was an average student with ‘potential,’ and I was the first in my family to go through the full educational system. It was trial and error for me basically. In hindsight I could not have done anything differently with regard to graduating ‘a more attractive college applicant’ but for three things: 1) Working smart. 2) Playing by the #1 rule. 3) Finding a niche (a suitable place) for myself with regard to academics & extra-circular activities. Consider 1, 2, & 3 my ‘code’ for succeeding in school. These three points are fundamentally important information that seems obvious, but often times are not to students.
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1. Working Smart (A. Time Management, B. Understanding your GPA)
work-ing smart
A.
- Learning your course material.
- Becoming educated on how submitting/not submitting classwork impacts your academic performance.
- Using time effectively when reviewing and studying assignments.
B.
- Understanding what a ‘GPA’ is.
- Knowing the distinction between your marking period GPA and your cumulative GPA.
- Developing a strategy to earn a solid GPA.
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Time Management. Decide how much time to spend on each subject. Simply do an assessment on your own study habits. Are your habits excellent, or do they need to be modified? If they do read below.
By time management I don’t necessarily mean something regimental (strict). Instead I mean for you to consider your performance in a class and decide if you should schedule more time (if you need to improve your performance) or if the time you are spending is sufficient. I do suggest even If you are comfortable with a class subject that you periodically complete a review of that subject. This can be frequent – daily, ever couple or days, weekly – or not. Decide what works for you. Still, try to review as often as you can during the week. This can only improve your class performance because you are reviewing material you’re comfortable and will remain familiar with. However, if you don’t feel comfortable with the class material/assignment spend structured time studying this particular class’ material. By structured time I mean a time schedule like what’s below.
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Example: Structured Study Schedule – Math (adjust time based on what works for you)
* Days: Monday, Wednesday, Friday
* Time Duration: At 7pm to 8:30pm [7:00 to 7:30] 20 min break [7:50 to 8:20] +10 minutes left over
* Add an additional Review (30 minutes) to your study schedule for each scheduled quiz or exam you have coming up.
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Play around with the example study schedule above. Add more days and/or change to whatever days you prefer or time duration you prefer. Personally, I don’t recommend starring at a book/paper for 3-4 hours non-stop. Some people do study like this and find this method effective. Others can’t study like this. If this method works for you please do continue onward – that’s good. Otherwise, if you are more likely space out after a short period of time try something new.
I’m one of those people who can’t study in 3-4 hour straight through sessions. Believe me when I tell you that I start spacing out even before I open up the book. =) Seriously though, I find it hard to study in 2-3 hour blocks of time, and often get distracted or sleepy during this type of study session. The likelihood that I’ll remember much after two hours of continuous study is often slim unless its a group study session. If you find yourself in this same predicament studying by yourself consider this one solution. Spend 30 – 45 minutes on 1 study session on your material. Take a break or a nap to get refreshed after that time has elapsed. (Laugh but i kid you not. Your brain needs to rest too. Studies show that when you study something new and immediately sleep afterward you have a higher retention rate of that material.) Get back to studying after your break or nap, and repeat if necessary. Find below an equation you can use to determine how much time you could dedicate to studying. Equation Coming Feb ’09.
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Consider trying this:
Find a study partner (a friend or a someone in your class you get along with). Studying is more fun when you have someone you like keeping you company whose is studying as well. The key is that they too are studying. You can learn from each other by teaching each other what you each know. If your study partner understands concept X and you don’t, and you understand concept Y but (s)he does not, (s)he can teach you concept X and you’ll teach your friend concept Y. You’ll stay awake most likely because one of you will start laughing when the other starts snoring, or you two can decide on a break and hang out for a bit, go back to studying or study another day together. And any study time you get in with each other will help both of you!
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2. Understanding what a ‘GPA’ is.
(GPA) stands for Grade Point Average. It’s important to realize that cumulative GPA ( over all GPA) is a significant/important determinant of acceptance into a college or university, as well as qualification for scholarships. Don’t let anyone convince you otherwise. I’m willing to stake a lot on this claim: Cumulative (cum.) matters. Decide early in HS on a target cum. GPA (The overall grade point average that you want to reach by graduation). I suggest aiming for a (B) cumulative grade point average, also known as a 3.0, and higher by the end of junior year.
The 411 on why you aim for a cumulative GPA of 3.0 (“B” average) by end of Junior year. (select this link)
© 2011 W. S. Hughes
