How to stay awake in class

                When you are in high school there will be times you stay up way too late on a school night and you can feel yourself drifting off in class. You know the feeling. The teacher is on another long monotonous lecture and your eyelids feel super heavy, and all you want to do is lay your head down, close your eyes, and fall asleep. But, unfortunately, that tends to be frowned upon. So here are something’s I have found, to keep you awake:

1)      Bring a water bottle to school with you. When you are feeling like you can’t stay awake, distract yourself with taking a sip of water. You might need to repeat as needed, but at least you will stay hydrated.

2)      Tap your foot. Not loudly of course, because that can get annoying to others. But, shaking your leg up and down will keep you awake because at least you are moving.

3)      Hold your breath. It increases your adrenaline levels which will make you more awake. If you are bored in class it is also interesting to see how long you can do it. But please be careful, the last thing I want is someone passing out in the middle of class because they were holding their breath for too long.

4)      Standing up. Walking to go get a tissue or to sharpen your pencil is a great way to wake up your mind because it gets you moving around.

Helpful Hint: Coffee is your friend.

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Studying For Retakes

We have all been there before. When you get a test back and it is a lot worse than what you think you did.  You know you can do a lot better if you get the chance to retake it. For those with enough fortune to have generous teachers that give you the chance to retake tests, here are some helpful study tips for you:

1)      Look at your first attempt. And by look at it I mean actually try to learn something for it. Redo every single question that you got wrong and make sure that you understand your mistake because if you don’t, then you will probably make the same mistake on the retake. I know this can be painful because you want to forget this test even happened, but suck it up and just do it. Trust me; it will be better in the long run. By doing this you will also get a good idea of what the retake will be over and what you need to focus on when studying.

2)      Redo some of your homework assignments. If you got a certain type of question wrong then look for similar ones on past homework assignments and redo them. If you can’t find any go to the internet or ask your teacher. It’s like they say “practice makes perfect”. I know it is not the most fun thing in the world, but it makes you prepared for similar questions on the retake.

3)      Actually study this time. Retakes are rare and they can really improve your grade. Do not take it for granted and actually make sure you are prepared this time for it. It is known that retakes can actually be harder than the first attempt, so you need to be ready for anything. Don’t take this lightly because the last thing you want is to do worse than the first time.

4)      Get help from your teacher. See if you can come in during lunch or before/ after school to get help because they are the ones who write the test so they will be able to answer any questions that you may have. Plus, if you are really lucky they might accidently give you hints as to what is on the test.

5)      Make sure you understand the grading. Some teachers will take the average of the two tests while others will completely replace your grade.  Either way it is worth the time and the effort to retake it. Well, I guess it all depends on our own definition of terrible.

Helpful Hint: If a teacher is offering retakes to you and you did bad on a test, TAKE IT. Trust me, not every teacher is that nice and it is a huge luxury that you shouldn’t take for granted. This could save your grade if you are struggling in a class, and it is over stuff that you have already learned. 

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What High School is like in other Countries -- Mexico

                High school in Mexico is a little different than in the United States. First of all Mexico high school in Mexico is not required, and most of the time it is too expensive for the rural community to afford. Plus, high schools are mainly found in urban areas which makes it even harder for the rural people to commute. The average class size is quite large with it being between thirty-five and fifty kids. There is a national curriculum and textbooks are free, but you either have to bring your own lunch or buy from the school.

                There are SMART boards in some class rooms to help teach students, like there are here. I don’t know about you, but my school has one in nearly every classroom. In Mexico the grading system is different as well. Instead of A, B, C, D, and F there is a number system between 5 and 10. 10 being like an A and a 5 means you are failing the class. I mean that’s pretty similar to the United States in that you can either pass or fail the class but they gage that a little differently.

                School uniforms are required at practically every school, weather public or private. So that’s either a benefit or an annoyance depending on which side of the issue you’re on.  High school is for grades 10-12 and there are two programs to choose from: the SEP, and the University aimed program. There are other programs but they are only offered to private schools and are less common.

                90% of students will attend primary school, which is good and all but only 62% then go on to secondary school.  These statistics is pretty low considering only 25% of those kids move on and attend higher education after that. The government has been criticized for paying the teachers too much instead of investing in the students or other areas of the education system. Another large problem with the education system in Mexico is the lack of infrastructure that gets to the rural areas. This, like I said before, makes it extremely difficult for the people who live in rural areas to attend school.

                Typically high school in Mexico is three years long and broken into semesters. The beginning is pretty much the same for everyone. However the later semesters are more specialized. Students can differentiate between the physical sciences and the social sciences depending on their on choosing. Students who go to high school for a three year program are usually preparing for higher education such as attending a university. The students who typically attend a two year program are typically training to go straight into the work force upon graduation.

                This is the second blog post I have done like this and my previous one was about China. In both cases I was really surprised at how similar our lives are and the lives of high school students in other countries.  I am not really sure what I was expecting but I guess I thought there would be more differences. I am planning on doing more blog posts like this one and I predict that my conclusion will be the same for each country that I learn about. That no matter where in the world, high school may have differences but they are actually a lot similar than we think.

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What High School is like in other countries -- China

The other day my friend, Nicole, gave me the idea for this post. She did a whole presentation about how teens live in china and I thought it was really interesting so I decided to share with you guys what I learned.

Schools in China teach fundamentally the same things they teach us here: science, math, geography, art, music, etc. They also study English and Chinese which is a little different than our language arts curriculum. But I was actually really surprised as to how similar our lives really are. When we think of China’s culture, it just seems so different from our own so it is interesting to learn that our lives are not horribly different. However, it is true that the students put more of an emphasis on their education than we typically do in the United States. They have a little bit of a longer school day than we do and still have to do homework every day after school.

One major difference between the education system in china and the United States is that some of their classes focus more on teamwork, selflessness, respect, morals and selflessness. Our schools try to teach us to respect others, that bullying is wrong and things like that but China’s curriculum puts even more of an emphasis on it. They also focus a lot on mathematics and Chinese, these two subjects make up a majority of the curriculum and are the only two subjects on the final exams.

So even though China’s students have this stereotype of being really smart and successful, they aren’t so different from us.

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School Lunches

It is pretty stereotypic that school lunches are not the best. They taste funky and make you question what it is even made out of. I know that with Michelle Obama’s plan school lunches are supposed to be healthier and better for students. But, the only change that I have noticed is that we are getting less food. The quality is the same as when I was in elementary or middle school, before the plan was put into place, but the portions have gotten much smaller. I find myself sometimes needing to purchase two meals just to get eight chicken strips instead of four. I use the term “chicken strips” loosely because they are so small and I am not positive they are real chicken.

Anyways, I really do recommend bringing your own lunches because then you can still pack healthy things but still have enough to eat. I know it can be hard, because if you are like me and are just too lazy and rushed in the morning to make myself a sandwich then you will probably be stuck with eating school food that day. But I think it is worth it because I am always jealous when I see the food my friends are eating while I am eating a “chicken” sandwich. There are very few choices of school lunches that seem actually edible, so if you don’t pack your lunch then you are stuck eating whatever the school feels like serving that day.

However there is another choice, and my personal favorite. If your school allows, try to go home for lunch and eat there. It gives you the same benefits as bringing your lunch, but you get to eat from the comfort of your own house.

There are not that many ways to survive the school lunches and not much you can do to change that. The way I see it is you have three options: eat school lunch, bring your own/ go home, or just go hungry. The last option is the worst and I would never recommend it, but sometimes it isn’t worth eating the schools food and you can’t go home.

Helpful Hint: If all else fails, check the vending machines. It won’t be the healthiest lunch but at least you will get something in your stomach.

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Individual tablets or computers for students

It is getting more evident that classes are getting more and more reliant on online resources. Some schools have even started issuing laptops or iPads to students instead of or along with textbooks. There are definitely many pros for doing this like less to carry around with you every day and there is less of a chance for forgetting something at home or losing it. But there are also some negatives, for example I personally don’t like taking tests online. Or I would rather read out of a real book than look at a screen for a couple hours after school.

Overall I think more schools should start giving out laptops or iPads because it would cut down on the use of paper, take up less room in students backpacks, and keep things more organized and together in one place. Doing homework would be so much easier because you wouldn’t have to deal with a thousand papers and worksheets that you have to keep track of. Everything would be in the same place and right at your fingertips. Plus, if you need to quickly look something up it is right there as well. One of my big issues is reading off the screens, but I am sure that teachers have extra textbooks that I could take home if I asked. Also since most of your homework would be on your device, the chances of you forgetting about something or loosing is goes way down. I can say from personal experience that backpacks can get really heavy. So if we can replace binders, textbooks, notebooks, and whatever else with one device it would make my life a lot easier and school a little more bearable.

The major concerns that most schools would probably have for doing this is: cost, students not getting distracted in class, students being able to use it at home, and just how effective and useful they would be. I don’t know how much it would cost, or who would pay for it, but I do think the individual devices are worth the cost. The school will save a lot of money on all the paper they don’t have to use anymore and usually there should be grants the school can get to help pay for things like this. As for whether students will be distracted or not, I think the students who pay attention now will still be able to with iPads or computers to work off of. I believe this because nearly every student already has a cell phone with them at school that is equally if not more distracting during class.  So, the students who can handle having a cell phone can also handle having a computer. I do realize that some students are unable to get internet at their houses. I think that it will be okay, because homework should really only require programs that don’t need the internet, like Microsoft word. I mean I am not an expert and cannot say that with one hundred percent certainty, but those students probably already have ways of dealing with that issue because teachers still sometimes give out assignments that require internet access.

Helpful Hint: If you are like me and don’t really like taking tests online, then usually if you ask the teacher they will be able to give you a hard copy. I mean unless it is a standardize test that is only available online, teachers usually have hard copies with them.

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Choosing a Foreign Language

First of all, even if taking a foreign language class is not required for graduation everyone should still take one. This is because most colleges do require you to take either two or four years of the same language. It is easier to take these classes in high school rather than paying thousands of dollars to take them in college. Secondly, choosing which languages you wish to study make sure it is one you are interested in and not going to get bored with. You are probably going to take this class all four years of your high school career and you do not want to suffer through it.

If your school is like mine, then there are a lot of languages you can choose from. The most common one will probably be either Spanish or French. This is probably because these languages, like English, are Latin based so they are going to be the most similar to English. However, some schools offer other languages such as Chinese or Russian. These are going to be further away from English and probably not as many people are going to take it.

I don’t think one particular language has an advantage over the other when it comes to looking good on college applications. I just think as long as you have at least two to four years of the same language and decent grades in them then you will be okay. Currently I am taking my third year of Chinese and I don’t think it is particularly difficult. The only thing is that sometimes two completely different words can sound almost exactly the same and it can be difficult to tell which one is which.  But, I kind of like how Chinese is so different from English because it is different and at least I am not bored with the class.

Helpful tip: Don’t be afraid to try a language that is considered to be hard to learn.

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Ifunny

Ifunny is a free app that you can download in the iTunes app store. I am pretty sure if you have an android phone you can still get the app at the google play store. Anyways, it is an app that anyone can post funny photos or gifs to for others to look at. This app is super funny (at least most of the time) and can really make your day less stressful.  When you are bored in and need something to entertain yourself with, this is a good option.

The featured section is where the “best” posts are located. I am not sure who decides which posts get featured or what the criteria is that they are looking for, but sometimes I question their decisions. However in the collective section I question why anyone would post some of the things I see in there. Most of it is funny, but other times it’s as if some people use this app like they use Instagram. Why would you put a selfie on Ifunny? Or some people will just post pictures of their favorite bands or favorite shows on TV. I am not against any fandoms; don’t get me wrong I love Doctor Who as much as the next girl, but Ifunny is not exactly the place to express that love. Unless there is something amusing about your post, I guess I really don’t understand why it would even be on Ifunny.

Okay, enough of my ranting. Ifunny does have its moments of being hilarious and literally making me laugh out loud. Typically when I see something particularly funny or relatable I send it out to all of my friends. This app can serve as a great conversation starter if you and your friends need something to laugh about. Similar to the internet the range in topic of posts can be from cats being frightened by toasters to funny Valentine’s Day invitations.

Helpful Tip: Ifunny releases a new set of features at 9am, noon, and 6pm. Enjoy!

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Studying for the ACT and SAT

It is getting into the time of year when many upperclassmen, such as me, have to take the ACT and SAT. These tests can be very stressful, because they can make or break your college applications. So, you want to do well and study hard for them so you get into your dream college. This happens to be my second time taking it because the first time I didn’t study (would not recommend) and didn’t do too hot.

Quick piece of advice: the sooner you register to take the tests the better, if you are late you will have to pay a late fee and the tests are already expensive without that extra cost.

Unless you are a genius, if you want to do well on these tests, or in my case improve, then you are going to have to study. I suggest starting well in advance because of the variety of subjects the tests cover. One method is to check out some study/review books from the library or buying one from a book store. Similar to AP review books these will basically tell you everything you need to know for the tests. However these can be super long so you are going to have to set aside quite a bit of time if you ever want to go through them. For instance my SAT review book is a little over seven hundred pages long. I probably won’t be able to read every single page by the time of my test, but I plan on doing as much as I can.

If reading is not your favorite thing to do there are other options you can choose from. There are many apps in the apple app store that you can get for free that will help you study for the exams. I downloaded a couple and I think they are really going to be beneficial. Most will have to take a diagnostics test then give you daily questions. I like these exercises because they will give you a few questions every day that are tailored to what you need to work on. The initial test can take a while but the daily questions only take a few minutes. That way you can study a little bit each day.

Another alternative way to study is through online resources. For example, along with cute cat videos YouTube has many videos teaching you what you need to know for these exams. I am sure if you just type into google you will be able to find many videos or other websites that you can go to that are great resources for you to look at.

You don’t have to spend a whole lot of money when studying for these tests. Like I said there are many free options you can choose from rather than spending way too much money on these exams. Even without the study book materials these tests cost around fifty dollars each, so don’t think you have to spend the extra money to do well.

Helpful Tip: When registering for these exams make sure to allocate enough time to do so. I have no idea why these tests are so difficult to register for or why they ask so many questions. All I know is that they take a while and can get a little frustrating.

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