high school advice: tips for academic development
- High school is a preparation for life. Though they can be confusing and troublesome, these years are the beginning of your life's adventure as an adult. As you grow up, you should also look forward to better times ahead of you, and with the right attitudes, all of your future "stages of life" will be enjoyable and fulfilling.
Study to learn, to strengthen your judgment, not just to do well on tests. You will eventually forget most of the "material,” but keep in mind that an education is what you have left over after you've forgotten the material. What really counts is what happens inside your mind, will, and heart. Your whole educational experience, in high school and university, should lead you to grow in several important areas: strength of discerning judgment, understanding of history and present events, insight into people, ability to concentrate, ability to control your time (i.e., self-control), ability to make distinctions and solve problems persistently, ability to get along with people of different backgrounds and personalities, the power to take responsibility for the professional quality of your work.
Work to get in good physical shape with habits of physical exercise. If you get into good shape by the time you're 16, you'll probably stay that way for the next 30 years.
Get to know your teachers and get them to know you and to respect you for your competence, character, drive, and honorable ambition. In a few years, some of them can and will write recommendations important for university admissions and your career. They can only do this if they know and respect you. (Only immature students see their teachers as adversaries.)
Learn to write clearly and convincingly. Listen to your teachers' advice about your writing and take this advice seriously. Pretend that every essay of yours is a letter, something from you personally to some friend; this approach makes your writing easier and much more interesting. Always read your work aloud to yourself before submitting it; goofs are more easily spotted this way. In other words, use your high school years to find out where your writing needs improvement. Don't wait until your first job to learn this; it could hurt your career, and therefore your ability to support your family.
When it comes time to choose elective courses (if you have this option in school), then choose on the basis of the teacher, not course content. That is, ask around to find out who the very best teachers are and then sign up for their courses. (This advice goes for university, too.) The best teachers will challenge you intellectually and personally, and their courses will probably be interesting because they are passionate about their subjects. (That's interesting, not entertaining – an important difference.) Moreover, their courses might open up new avenues toward a career. Many professionals first launched their careers by studying under excellent teachers.
Early on in high school, take one or more so-called "career aptitude" tests to give some direction toward your future professional career. Why wait until university to start thinking along these lines? In addition, try to meet and chat with people (e.g., friends of parents and teachers) who are working in a field that seems appealing to you. To meet and chat with adults like this takes poise and some courage for people your age, but the exercise is excellent for firming up your judgment and ability to deal graciously with people. (Adults are usually impressed with high school students who show such initiative and maturity, and they're generally glad to help and give experienced advice. Who knows? You might even secure a substantial, pre-professional summer job this way.)
Plan to study one modern foreign language thoroughly, to the point where you're nearly fluent. Twenty or thirty years down the road, you'll be glad you can speak at least one foreign language. Aside from broadening your cultural formation, you will have another "power" to add to your professional life. The United States does business on an international basis, so your ability to deal with a foreign language will be a big plus for you and give you an added competitive advantage.
Join one or more extracurricular activities, and aspire to assume leadership therein. If possible, start your own activity, for example, something needed in your school community. Start small, work with a team of like-minded friends, have a spirit of service. This way of operating is excellent practice for your later professional work.
If you're not exceedingly proficient in team athletics, try out one of the individual sports or the ones less popular among people your age: for instance, golf, tennis, cross-country, squash, gymnastics, etc. Some of these you can play all your life. And bear in mind that competitive universities need experienced players for these athletics; your proficiency might help you get into the university you want, or even boost your chances for financial aid. (Competitive universities don't necessarily hold “well-rounded” students at highest priority: they want a well-rounded class. This they get by admitting able students who have, in addition to brains, some specialized skills. The tennis and squash teams need incoming students to replace their graduating members. Plan accordingly.)
Develop a habit of worthwhile reading. Ask people whom you respect for recommendations. Substantial reading gives depth to your judgment about people and events. Though entertainment-reading, like comics, are fine to read, assign more preference to cultural and intellectual reading.
You will study more efficiently, and often in less time. if you: (1) study to learn and to think, not just to memorize "facts", and (2) work consistently in one well-equipped work area (e.g., with dictionary, supply of scrap paper, adequate light, good chair and desk/table, calendar and assignment notebook just like in professional life, files for holding onto important papers, etc.)
When you are assigned term papers or any other significant writing, strive for originality. Think small. That is, try to find a subject that's somewhat unusual, something broad enough to research fairly easily but small enough to be manageable and engaging to read. Strive to make your paper the most interesting one in your class; your teacher will be grateful for this because reading through a pile of "generic" term papers is exceedingly tedious. After you've received the paper back from your teacher, save it in your files. Later, a couple of years down the road, you may want a recommendation from this teacher, and you can remind him/her of this fine paper, among other tasks you've successfully done. (Who knows? You might even be able to expand on the research for the paper later in university, in a similar course. If you already have an interesting topic, why work on something else from scratch?)
Line up interesting summer jobs by February or March. Even if your prospects don't have anything available then, they will remember that you showed initiative and long-term planning, like a mature adult. Call back from time to time, to show your serious interest. (Bosses know that a serious and persistent job-applicant will probably be a serious worker as well.) If you wait until May, you will be competing against your peers who got in line ahead of you.
Try to spend time, at least in the summer, working with the disadvantaged, using your health and education to be of service to them. Aside from the good you can do (which is substantial), you will learn how really well-off you are. You will avoid a common temptation among high-school age people: exaggerating your troubles and feeling sorry for yourself.
If you're interested in a couple of specific universities, write now to get their catalogs and application forms or visit their websites. Study these. See what sort of credentials you'll have to provide in a few years: books read on your own, jobs you've had, recommendations you'll need, what sort of essay you'll have to write. Since these universities seldom change their applications from year to year, you can now set out to become the kind of applicant they're most looking for. Long term strategic planning is one of the keys to success in life. Get used to it, and get moving now. It's your future.
