High School Survival Guide
High School Survival Guide
Rule #1: Be yourself. It's that simple, and shouldn't need much more of an explanation than that, but it does. Every single day I see people acting like someone else to be "cool" with someone else, or changing personalities from clique to clique, or individual to individual, just to feel popular and accepted. Why should you need to change yourself and pretty much become someone else just to gain the awareness and "friendship" of someone else? Dress yourself, do not let others thoughts and opinions dress you. You are you, and should never become anything but. Everyone's heard all that I'm saying before and I know that it most likely will not stop a single person from doing what I stress not to. Also I believe that everyone has at one point put on a mask and covered up themselves from others. Be yourself.
Rule #2: Make friends with teachers and principals. Go above and beyond to be enthusiastically and clearly generous and respectful to all school officials. Just throw out excessive, "How are you doings?" or, "Good morning Mr. Blank, how are you doing?" Most teachers have some brains, so they'll catch on pretty quick to your act, but they'll definitely be more "impressed" by you than annoyed. Trust me, it pays off when you forgot to finish that big project and the teacher decides to give you one more day, or she gives you time to work on it after school. And it will pay off even more so when you're sitting in the Assistant Principal's office and should be getting suspended like a normal student, but you're not, because he remembers that you're an "overly respectful child" and assumes that it was an accident, or it was the other punk (who the principal thinks of as an uncooperative little brat) who was sitting next to you's fault. Just remember: do what they ask, try your best not to argue, show off your good sense of humor (when necessary), and stay out of Major trouble. Make friends with teachers and principals.
Rule #3: Keep your grades up. Make sure your number one focus is always schoolwork. Think about when you're going to do your homework and how much you have. Coming home at midnight and doing half your homework, then doing the other half at lunch or during computers or another class where you have moderate freedom is not a good strategy. You'll get caught up in the rush of things and become forgetful of the little assignments and easy points that you don't worry about. If you don't understand something on your homework, don't just quickly try it out just to get an answer on paper. Use your book and try to understand the concept or find the answer. If you can't, then guess to the best of your ability and ask your instructor for help the next day. Trust me; teachers are glad to give out extra help even if it's at a disadvantage to them. Teachers thrive on students actually caring about gaining knowledge and doing good in the class. They live for it, and nothing shows that you want a good understanding of the material better than actually asking for it. Check your grades frequently, and if they're lower than you'd like, then focus extra-hard on the classes you need it. When my grades are low in a class, I just take a step back and look at all the assignments, see what I missed or forgot to turn it in, and do what I need to do to get them in right away. Then just stay focused during the class and make sure you really understand everything that is being taught. I guarantee you that after a little while of actually putting special attention on a class or a couple classes, you're grades will be rising higher and higher. Often times, I seem to realize that the "smarter" kids are afraid to ask questions because they think they'll look dumb and feel embarrassed. Or if they really need to ask a question they'll ask someone nearby quietly that they know won't "care" that they sound "stupid." That is horrible. You shouldn't worry too much about what other people think of your brains, and secondly: no one should and probably won't ever judge you for asking a question. More than likely, if you have a question there are many other people in the room with the same question who will actually be relieved that you asked it. Another idea I've seen kids transfer over from the middle school is that "My grades right now don't matter for college. I only have to try hard when I'm a Junior and a Senior." Most colleges will look at your 9th and 10th grade actually, and even if they didn't, it'd be extremely hard, and pretty unreasonable to think that you'll be able to just switch over from barely sliding through classes and not doing your homework to becoming an A, B student with a great work ethic. Just never give up and always do your work and it really shouldn't be too hard. Keep your grades up.
Rule #4: Avoid fights and troublesome situations. Now this doesn't pertain as much to girls as it does to boys. But honestly, practically every boy loves to see fights. They're exciting and they fulfill our need for adrenaline. Most of us will even go as far as to make up things others said in order to spur on two kids to fight. Fighting is pretty hard to avoid. It's always going to be. Sometimes it's just hard to control yourself when someone says something about you or whatever, but school is not the place to fight! You'll get suspended if you are actually the one fighting, or possibly if you were instigating the fight and what not, which will do two things: put you on the principals bad list which will make it easier to get in trouble again, and it will make it harder for you to get a good solid understanding of the material and it may hurt your grade. You can get in trouble or you can just lose your principals trust even if you are around a fight and are seen. More often than not, when someone says a fights going to happen, it starts to spread around the school pretty fast. Most people hope that it happens before it's time to get to next block, but often times fight are very delayed or don't happen at all. In the case they are delayed, most people will go to class, but some people just can't resist the urge to see the fight. They've got all this energy built up and they need to see something happen, so then end up waiting. Now they're late to class, and all this does is cause more problems. Often times when you're more than just a minute or so late the teacher will question you about where you've been. This can be slightly uncomfortable having to make up an excuse on the spot while looking as innocent as you can. But pretty much, fights aren't worth the trouble you're going to get in eventually. Avoid fights and troublesome situations.
Rule #5: Exercise your brain. Now I know summer is your time off, your time to let your brain and body relax. But it really isn't a bad idea to do a little bit of something every now and then. I like to read a lot during summer. I read more throughout summer than I do throughout the rest of the year. If I don't then when I come back, my brain feels foggy, I'm forgetful, and it just makes you feel dumb for the first few weeks back. A lot of teens say they don't like to read. My guess is they just haven't found what they like to read. I read about whatever I want to learn about, or about something that's a part of my life at that moment. There's always a book out there for you, it's just a matter of finding it. Maybe you really just aren't a book person. There's still a lot of other things you can do to keep your mind alive. Maybe you like to write? If so then write! There are millions and millions of things you can do with that will benefit your brain. Just remember to always do something for your head between school years. Exercise your brain.
Rule #6: Don't forget to have fun. Your high school years aren't all about learning and preparing for the future. Once you start high school, all you've got left is a few years there and a few more at college before you have to face life and finally start to grow up. Now I'm not contradicting rule #3 at all. You're grades are going to set you up for the rest of your life. But so is your personality. So make sure you get what need to get done in school done, but the rest of the time should yours to enjoy life to the fullest. Just do whatever makes you happy, and never let anyone stop you. Just be smart, and have fun! Don't forget to have fun.
Rule #7: Plan. This is the last rule I'm going to write out, and it'll also be the shortest. This one is easy. Make plans. Nothing big. Just make little mental notes to yourself about doing this, or doing that. And always keep the big picture of what you want to do with your life in mind. Just keep yourself out of trouble and think out the consequences of what you're going to do and make sure that it's worth it. Think things out before you do them and ensure that everything's gonna be alright. Plan.
High School has been easy and quite enjoyable for me so far. I don't see any reason for that to change as long as I keep doing what I'm doing and continue to try my best in all aspects of life.
Andrew Miller
Freshman Talk
It is a lack of parenting. The one thing that I have noticed with some parents is that they are allowing their children to become lazy, lacking the focus that is needed to be successful in school. They allow kids to play video games, hang out beyong curfew, too much television and not policing the homework or even keeping a line of communication open with the teacher and/or student to find out if there is homework or projects that have deadlines. We all know parenting is hardwork but if parents don't take a stand then there will be plenty of kids becoming inmates or pre-mature parents themselves.
doing well in math
Being a high school math teacher since 1983, I often overhear a student ask another student if they studied for their math test. Then the typical answer is, how can you study for a math test?
Actually, I think math is one of the easiest courses to study, because for each test, there are maybe 20 different problems that the student is being tested over. And each one of those questions has been addressed numerous times such as homework, quizzes, and class notes. And because you get your homework and quiz papers back, you know exactly which ones you need to learn how to do. So you first concentrate on the ones you missed that you can figure out how to do. Then once you understand those, you get some help on the ones you do not understand. You can either talk to a friend at school, call, email, or text them. Or you can get help from the teacher. Lastly, you need to keep reviewing the ones you know how to do so you will have those down when you take the test.
If you follow these suggestions, you will do very well at math. Even if "math is not your gift".
Freshman year adjustments
Welcome back to the Freshmen Forum!
Freshmen year can be a real struggle for some kids. Today, The Detroit News ran the second in an occasional series on how students, parents and schools are tackling what can be a troubling freshmen year.
Are you having problems or loving high school? How are you surviving? Do you have some good stories or advice to share with other freshmen? We want to hear from you! Talk to other freshmen here.
Jillian.
Thanks for agreeing with me. Maybe we can step up && give the board of education a piece of our freshman minds. Maybe a few pointers on picking subs.
In other news, i'm very excited because we get our report cards this week =]. My very first High School Report Card. When does everyone else get theirs? How good or bad do you think you did? Tell me about it!
yes
:/ :] :l :p :o -_-
Substitutes
ooooooooh i know Jennifer its horrible about the awful subs we get but i think its even worse how the people treat them like teachers kind of expect us to some what slack when a subs their but so many people out right disrespect them its so horrible i think their needs to be more consiquences for those people and they need to choose the schools subs more wisely.
High School Substitutes
Wow. All last week there wasn't ONE DAY that we DID NOT have a substitute in at least ONE class. Let me tell you, it wasn't a pretty sight. Our sub system is sooo messed up. We get substitute gym teachers subbing for special needs classrooms && regular teachers getting subbed for gym teachers. It was complete chaos. None of these subs knew what they were doing. They were changing plans, teaching us the wrong stuff, && making everything more confusing than it really is. I understand that it can be hard being a substitute teacher, but the subs need to let loose && ask for help from the students. Yeah, maybe we ARE crazy teenagers going through horomonial stages in our lives, but trust me, if you come down to our level && talk to us like the human beings we really are, we WILL talk back. So take my advice && take it easy on the subs, because they are doing the best they can & they can't help but be put where they are.
Spirit Week/Homecoming
Wow. Spirit week was SUCH a battle. It was a tough competition. Even though our freshman class lost, we still had fun. Congrats to the Juniors on winning spirit week. Our Spirit Week schedule went like this... Monday: Class Color Day. Tuesday: Mismatch Day. Wednesday: Disney Day. Thursday we had no school. & Friday was our school colors day, which are orange & black. That whole week was total chaos, but loads of fun. That Saturday was a very long day. I woke up at 7:15 A.M. && went to do the final touches on our float. Our theme this year overall was Disney & our float was the Jungle Book. After putting up the final details, we headed over to the Crystler Plant to line up to walk in the Homecoming Parade. The parade then led right to the main gate into Memorial Field for our Homecoming football game. Our Panthers versed Marine City Mariners & we had an unfortunate loss. But by the time half-time rolled around, the crowd get really anxious. During half-time the float winners were announced. The freshman did a GREAT job && I'm really proud of all my fellow classmates, but unfortunately the Sophmores did a little better. Way to go Sophmores. But as for us freshman, we can give it another whirl next year. In the middle of the 3rd quarter is when everyone started filing out to go get their hair & nails done for the dance. The dance was absolutely amazing, it was a night to remember forever. So, how was spirit week & homecoming for everyone else?? If that time hasnt come for you yet, are you excited for it to come?? I'd love to hear all about it. If you got any questions I'll be more than happy to answer them.
freshman, ruhs
I'm doing pretty well so far. I go to RUHS, and we have a new policy this year thats called freshman focus. They put us in teams and seclude us within the school. Our school shut down the main hallway for freshman so we will have no interaction from upperclassmen whatsoever. Basically the staff of our school are a bunch of hypocrites. They just want this class to do well and the ones following it, but not class of 10, 09, 08. Not only did they cut off the main passageway to get around the school, they secluded us so we have no support or social time with upperclassmen. They say they grouped us together so we wont be late to our classes, but the upperclassmen can't even use the main hallway. They have to go up stairs and around multiple times around the day. This isnt going to make them late? Basically I'm just a person worried about everybody else. They're setting us up for two freshman years, since we were secluded this year we arent going to know what to do next year, and next year I dont want to chase around the whole schoool to get to classes that are way apart from eachother. So, thanks for the 2 freshman years RUHS, and I hope you find better ways to mask your hypocrisy and also find better ways to mask the fact that all you care about is money. -alana
Brittni i'm sorry you felt like you were locked in a cage. my class are not just in one wing their all around the school (but i guess that just could be because i take advanced placement classes). Why not take it as a positive, people from the school just want you to adjust to high school and get used to the school before you mix with the upper classmen. That way its not as ebarassing if you forget where you classes are or get lost on the first few days of school. My suggestion to you is if you want to meet the upper classmen an not feel so alone get involved in the school. Play sports, root fo the teams, join drama, student leadership, anything that you like and that intermixes with the older grades. and then once you make friends with sme of them they might even introuduce you to their frineds and before you know it you have a ton of upper classmen friends.
Freshmen Focus
Freshmen Focus is supposed to be all about getting us prepared for the next grade but, does seperating us from the upperclassmen really prepare us?All this does is set up problems for sohpmore year. At the school I go to Freshman focus keeps the upperclassmen from getting to class on time and it also keeps the freshman from having any interactions with kids from older grades. Its good that the school wants to make sure we move on to the next grade but, being locked in a school away from everyone else is a little nuts! In my opinion freshman focus is ok in certin areas like helping us get to class on time but when you think about the other grades they are kind of being negelected because everyone else is focused on freshman. We should have the right to voice our opinions and be heard....but we dont. which is kind of funny because " freshman focus is about helping you be successful", and i had no idea that you could be successful locked in a cage.
Freshman Blog- My First Day at my New High School.
My first day of my freshman year at Center Line High School was probably the best first day I have ever had. My school has started a brand new program & I was very eager to try it out. As I awoke on September 4 of 2007, I was hesitant about getting up & going to school, but then I realized that this was my chance to prove everyone wrong. To prove that I can lead a good life with good grades, good teachers & good friends. It was like a brand new fresh start for me. I thought that Freshman Only Day at my school was the best. We had Link Crew Leaders there that had a GREAT impact on our start of high school. When we first got there we were greeted like we were royalty, with Juniors & Seniors cheering us on as we walked through the gym. It really made us feel good. It really made a difference to me because now I have a better relationship with a lot of the upper-classmen at my school. When we sat down after meeting new friends & visiting our old ones, we did funny excersises such as putting our hands in the air then lowering them & scratching our neighbor's back. Mr. Tapp , the teacher in charge of the whole Link Crew program, made this a great experience. He made all of this fun. He had us do games & activities to help us to work together as a team. He had us sing silly songs & even play a funny game of simon says. But overall, this whole Link Crew program changed my outlook on High School & life itself. High School is not as bad as you think it is. Yeah it is a lot bigger && more challenging, but you do get more freedom to be the kind of person you WANT to be & not who everyone else wants you to be. To me, I think High School is so important & i really think that I'm gonna give it my all & be the best person i can be. When you first start high school you want to step off on the right foot. Don't slack off, because your future depends on your high school career. Don't let anyone tell you wrong, because when you look back on the things you did, you'll be proud of yourself. So my advice to you is that you should set some goals & achieve them. Because that's the best way to start your future.
Link Crew
Hi, everyone!!!! I want to now what everyone thinks about Link Crew and if anyone has any questions about it. Personally, I think Link Crew was a good idea. Its pretty hard coming into a new school, but it makes it a little easier to know someones looking out for you. It also helped that my Link Crew leaders were awsome and made me feel confortable at the high school. I missed Freshman Orientation because my dad was at the hospital so i came early in the morning. When the bus didn't come I thought I was late. So, my dad drove me to the school. Then icouldn't get a hold of my dad when I realized I wasn't supposed to be there yet and had to walk home. When I came back to school I wasn't in the greatest of moods, but suprisingly enough because of my Link Crew leaders I had a really increadible first day. They took us on a tour of the school, we played a lot of fun games to help get to know each other, and we just talked in general about the school and different activities. If it wasn't for the Link Crew i think my whole day would have been a disaster! What, about you Jenipher and Joe? How was the Link Crew for you guys?
