My mother is going to be unhappy with me for writing this right now. You see, I have a ton of homework that needs doing. I have got an end of course exam to study for, several chapters of a book to read, and other such things. But I am only taking a short break, mom, I promise! Not wasting half an hour emailing my friends and liking everything I see on Facebook. Oh no, I would not do such a thing. *whistles innocently*
I have often wondered how our teachers expect us to get all our homework done on time and correctly and yet do a perfect job in class. I am afraid I do not truly approve of our public school system, at least not since I got into highschool. Or perhaps it started in middleschool. I cannot recall exactly. But either way, I do not approve. We wake up at five in the morning, run around bleary-eyed trying to get everything together and ready, go through six or seven periods of different subjects all trying to cram as many facts into our heads as possible, go to any sports or extra-curricular activities (that are pretty much required to get into a good college, so we can't exactly put those aside), get home at four in the afternoon, do t-wo hours of homework, eat dinner, do another two hours of homework, and finally finish everything at 8:30 or 9:00pm. That's a whole day packed with facts, work, stress, and exhaustion. Is it any wonder so many of us become rebels and stop paying attention to all the teachers and parents who just stand around and talk at us all day? And of course along with that come the average teenage insecurity issues, and any family or friend troubles we may be experiencing. Many are just beginning to find their place in the world, to explore their boundaries, and to find out what their lives are really about. When all this stress is added on top of that, it pushes people in directions they may not have taken otherwise. It is hard to keep good morals and such when you fele the entire world is pressing down on you, telling you to be a certain way and know certain things or you will never succeed in life.
That is quite enough ranting about the public schooling system. If you are wondering if all of that had a point, it was supposed to. I was planning to lead into some tips about homework and study, but I got way off topic. So now that my more creative transition was spoiled, I'll just straight out give you some tips on good homework habits.
First off, the most important thing to remember about any homework assignment is, DO NOT PROCRASTINATE! I myself have a very hard time with this. When I get home the first thing I want to do is kick back in front of the television or relax in my bed with my phone and a good book. Instead of allowing yourself to have your freetime first, get straight to your homework. Set the other things as a reward for after you are finished. You could tell yourself, "Okay, after I am done with all of this homework, I can finally watch Finding Nemo for the 200th time." Just an example of course. You get the idea. But however you make yourself do it, do not put your homework off until later. Do your most urgent ones first and then spend at least a little bit of time on the longer assignments. For example, if I am assigned a book report that I have two weeks to work on, what I should do is do the math page due the next day, and then spend perhaps twenty minutes on the report. If I do the same thing every day for the two weeks given (excluding weekends of course) I will have done over three hours of it and will likely have it done rather than cramming it all in at the last second.
The next tip I would give you is to take the time to check over your homework at least once, if only briefly. People make mistakes. It is natural and it will happen. But by checking over your work, you may catch those mistakes before you turn it in, and save yourself the chance of getting a lower grade than you deserve. This may seem small, but it can be a big help.
Take breaks. Not too many, especially if you have a busy schedule. But if you find that you have been sitting at your homework for hours and are having difficulty concentrating, get up and take a break. Do NOT sit down at a computer (unless of course you're going to read my blog), pull out your phone and begin texting, or plop yourself down in front of a tv screen. These activities, despite what you may think, slow down your thought process and can remain a lingering distraction once you sit back down to work. Instead, get up and go outside for ten minutes or so. Run around, say hi to a neighbor, or just stand outside in the fresh air. If it is cold and wet, so much the better. It will wake you up and get you ready to return to your work. Of course, before your break is finished it would be best to grab a glass of water or something as well. I am sure you have heard this a thousand times, but a cool drink does truly help. Water, juice, even soda is better than nothing at all.
Well I hope this all has helped. Most of this is common knowledge I think, but I hope there was at least something in there that you might not know or might not do regularly. Otherwise it was just me rambling again, which I suppose is nothing new. Anyway, farewell my wonderful reader!
~Arriah Hopkins
