The 7 Keys to Success at High School and Beyond

AuthorHouse

Contents

To Students...................................................................ixThe Role of Teachers and Parents..............................................xiiiThe Seven Keys................................................................xixKey #1: Starting Off Right....................................................1Key #2: Setting Goals.........................................................9Key #3: Establishing Priorities...............................................19Key #4: Having the Attitudes and Requirements for Success.....................27Key #5: Developing Effective Study Skills and Habits..........................41Key #6: Becoming a Critical Thinker...........................................55Key #7: Planning for the Future...............................................81

Chapter One

"Before everything else, getting ready is the secret of success." —Henry Ford

In sports, I'm sure you have often observed the importance of a good start. There are many games that become difficult to win because of a poor start. Compensation for a weak start usually requires unusual efforts. Generally speaking, in sports the goals and targets are much more obvious and clearly defined than in school and education. This sometimes makes it easier to overcome a weak start and quickly change the course of events to generate a more positive outcome. But in school, if the best habits for success are not readily laid down, a student can become easily distracted from achieving the best results. The sooner a strong foundation for success is laid, the easier it will be to perform at high levels.

How quickly you settle down and make the strange familiar in your new environment will be a positive indicator of success at this level. The transition from elementary school to high school involves an important adjustment factor. To start off well means to adjust quickly to your new surroundings and become familiar with the new faces, facilities, and culture of the school. Get to know your new teachers, your library and gymnasium, and the rules and regulations of your new school. Develop a sense that you belong there and that the school is for you. Get involved and participate in clubs or activities that are available.

For some, it might be useful to think of high school as a fresh start or a new beginning. You may have wanted to do things a bit differently in elementary school, but it was either too late to make changes or there were other inhibiting factors. This is an ideal time to begin afresh and make the changes that you desire.

It is important as you commence your high school career that you do not allow yourself to fall behind in your work by letting things pile up. Doing all assignments and homework, spending time correcting mistakes, and reviewing material studied in class will lay the groundwork for success. Keep in mind that when these tasks are done frequently in small and manageable units, they are easier to accomplish than if they are allowed to pile up and become too onerous and formidable. Math is an obvious example of a subject in which a student can be quickly left behind if he or she does not keep up with the material studied. Other subjects have more subtle causes of student difficulties. They may be related to difficulties in grasping certain concepts. It is much more difficult to catch up when the volume of work becomes unmanageable, and this can cause a student to struggle throughout his or her high school years. Spending time on your studies and making sure you get off to a good start is therefore important and will get you primed for maximum performance.

Here are some practical suggestions that will help you get off to a good start:

• Sit where maximum learning for you can take place. Some students may be distracted if they are sitting too close to their friends. Others may not hear the teacher very well from the back of the class. Make a careful selection of where you sit if you have a choice. • Get in the habit of asking questions whenever you do not understand something. If you don't, you will find it more and more difficult to ask questions for which you need answers. Asking questions will greatly aid in your learning. • Participate in class discussions. Seize any opportunity you get to express your thoughts and ideas to your teachers and classmates. This helps promote good learning skills like clarifying, explaining, evaluating, and understanding. • Ask for extra help when needed. This is important and helps you avoid falling behind. Remember that your teachers want you to succeed. • Complete assignments on time. It is better to complete assignments before they are due and nurture this habit. A well-disciplined student who manages time well always meets deadlines. • Sharpen your note-taking skills. None of us remembers everything that is said to us, and some things that are said to us are more important than others. Try to capture the salient points of any presentation. • Participate in extracurricular activities. Students who become involved in sports or other school activities enjoy school more and increase their options in the future. • Have some basic computer skills. Use of the computer in education is increasingly helpful in the technological world we live in today. It will help you in many areas of your schoolwork involving assignments, research, planning, preparation, and record keeping.

Key Content:

• The importance of getting off to a good start • Some things a student can do to get off to a good start • The consequence of not getting off to a good start • Practical suggestions for getting off to a good start

NOTES

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KEY #2 SETTING GOALS

"Great minds have purposes; others have wishes." —Washington Irving

"A strong will, a settled purpose, and an invincible determination can accomplish almost anything." —Thomas Fuller

Simply put, goals are things you wish to achieve in the future. They give a sense of direction to your life and represent the purposes for the activities you pursue.

Why should we set goals? We set goals in order to achieve things that help us to become better people and to explore our human potential. Goals may be long range or short range, general or specific. Generally, the more specific the goal is, the easier it is to tell whether you have attained it.

Here are some examples:

• Long-range general goal: To serve humanity

• Long-range specific goal: To become a doctor

• Short-range general goal: To do well at school

• Short-range specific goal: To get an A in math

Some Helpful Hints in Setting Goals

1. Make them specific. Notice that general goals, because they are stated with a greater degree of generality, are more difficult to "measure" or to identify as fulfilled. Specific goals, on the other hand, show evidence of their achievement more easily. Stating goals is like selecting an essay topic: the more specific your choice of topic, the more able you are to pin down your thoughts and to be accurate and precise. At the high school level, it is best to focus on short-term specific goals so you can get early feedback on how you are doing. 2. Make sure your goals are yours. Make sure that what you aim for represents your ambitions and not the expectation of others. Each individual has unique talents and gifts, which you should try to find and develop. In this way you will be better able to reach your fullest potential and fulfill your role as a human being. 3. Write down your goals. In setting goals, it is a good idea to write them down. You may write down goals for some or all of the subjects you take. Focus on the important ones. They may be important because you have an interest in The 7 Keys to Success at High School and Beyond them or because they are necessary for graduation in the area of your choice. In framing a goal, it is also helpful to state what has to be done in order to accomplish it. Consider this example:

Goal: To maintain at least a B average in high school. How to accomplish it:

• Attend all classes

• Participate in discussions

• Review work regularly

• Study for tests and quizzes

• Complete all assignments

• Ask for help when needed

4. Set various goals of varying levels of difficulty. People are capable of multiple achievements, so set various long- and short-term goals at various levels of difficulty. The more attainable goals you set, the more you will be able to generate momentum for the accomplishment of bigger goals in the future. 5. Find out and know your strengths. Know or discover your best attributes, because they are the qualities that will make success for you easier. Knowledge and the development of your strengths will boost your self-confidence and will help you realize your full potential. This is not to say that goals should not also address areas of weakness. Ultimately, though, maximum success will be achieved in the areas in which you are especially strong or talented. 6. Be prepared to work hard to accomplish your goals. The most important things in life often do not come easily and require great effort and perseverance. Diligence and consistent efforts will bring about the results you anticipate. Sometimes there are impediments in the way of achieving our goals. Be prepared for ups and downs, and do not give in. The greatest achievements are often preceded by moments of "gloom and doom." Courage and an indomitable spirit will transcend these momentary barriers. 7. Be flexible. You may set some goals that will require changes or modification as you progress through high school, or life, for that matter. New information, insights, or discovery of hidden talents or potential may warrant changes that will be easier with a flexible goal. Sometimes parents influence goal setting, but as students become more autonomous in their thinking and decision making, they are better able to set realistic goals. Remember that "Rome was not built in one day" and that "the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step." These adages are a great source of motivation, reflecting a fundamental truth. When I look at my garden in the spring and think about the amount of work I have to do to get it ready for planting vegetables or flowers, I feel like quitting even before starting. But these quotations and a vision of the result help me get started, and before I know it, the task is complete.

Michael Jordan, whose achievement in basketball is arguably second to none, extols the virtue of taking small steps to achieve big goals in his book I Can't Accept Not Trying. The following quote from the book is worth citing: "I approach everything step by step.... I had always set short-term goals. As I look back, each one of the steps or successes led to the next one.... I knew exactly where I wanted to go, and I focused on getting there. As I reached those goals, they built on one another. I gained a little confidence every time I came through.... Take those small steps. Otherwise you're opening yourself up to all kinds of frustration." This suggests that when students are taught to carve up large, distant goals into smaller subgoals, their achievement levels will be high.

Setting goals is not only for academic pursuits. They do not always have to be about marks. They can be about extracurricular activities such as playing on a school team or being a cheerleader. When you achieve any goal that you have set for yourself, you will acquire the habit that will lead to success in whatever you choose as a target in the future. So to be successful in life, start by setting goals in high school.

Know the Difference Between Desire and Will

Many people set goals for themselves but lack the motivation to accomplish them. They are either not serious enough about the goal or give up too easily for various reasons. Wanting something very much increases your chances of getting it. I have known many people who have had a general desire to lose weight or quit smoking but lacked the will to really do something about it. Desiring something is not enough. The will, or willpower, is what pushes the desire and makes it a reality. It is a strong motivational force that drives the desire to accomplish the goal despite impediments that may lie in the way. What do you have to do to inherit that strength of the will? I would suggest that you motivate yourself, or instill in yourself strong reasons that it is important to achieve the goals you set. The more you increase the importance of getting something, the more likely you are to get it.

Key Content:

• Definition of goals

• Importance of setting goals

• Difference between long-term and short-term goals

• Some helpful hints in setting goals

• The importance of "small" goals

• The value of extracurricular goals

• Difference between desire and will

NOTES

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KEY #3 Establishing Priorities

"Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least." —Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

The above quotation suggests that things that matter least should never take precedence over things that matter most. Once you have set goals for yourself, a logical step would be to establish some order of priority. For example, you may decide that your math and English goals should receive more focus and attention than your language goals. Priorities may be set on the basis of your requirements for graduation or areas of specialty based on your career plans. Early in high school, it may be best to lay a good foundation in all subjects until you are in a better position to prioritize.

Establishing priorities within subject areas is one thing, but there are other situations that require decisions about the goals you have set and involve choosing one thing over another. For example, you may choose to stay home and work on an important homework assignment instead of going to a movie with a friend. Notice that the priority given to your studies in this case involves a sacrifice. You have sacrificed something that would give immediate satisfaction for something that will be of ultimate benefit. Setting that kind of priority is a sign of character and maturity, and it demonstrates another difference between students who are highly successful and those who are not. It reflects integrity regarding the commitments that you have made and fosters the development of internal discipline. Self-discipline develops as a result of the value that you have attached to the priority that you have established for yourself.

Top performers have or develop the habit of doing the things that low achievers do not like to do. Low achievers will give up after a while if they are having difficulty with a problem, but high achievers will persevere. It's not that they like doing things that are difficult. They dislike them as well, but the difference is that they do them because their disliking is subordinated to their strength of purpose or the priorities they have set for themselves. Another way of saying this is that top performers tend not to yield to things that weaken their tenacity of purpose. Establishing priorities should therefore carry with it a strong determination to not give in to barriers that stand in the way.

(Continues...)

Excerpted from The 7 Keys to Success at High School and Beyondby Ben Seebaran Copyright © 2010 by Ben Seebaran. Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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