by Saber Slate | Nov 4, 2019 | Advice
High school can be hectic no matter what grade you are in. Usually, on my agenda, I have at least one summative every week and surprise formatives in different classes and sometimes I don’t even know what we are learning in class! And for some of us, it might be a little bit difficult to pay attention or participate in class considering it may be a little boring or not as interesting based on our point of view. In order to fix all of those problems that involve procrastination or losing interest in a class, here are my seven best tips in order to stay focused when doing homework or studying while in school!
This might be quite obvious but paying close attention in class really helps build your understanding and knowledge about what your teacher is teaching. When you daze off or daydream during a lesson, you might lose sight of important information! Fixing this, you’ve gotta keep your head in the game. Stay on track and stay focused! It might be hard sometimes considering how hard you are working but try understanding and pretend to be interested in what you are learning about because, in the end, it’ll be worth it. You’ll understand what your teacher taught you and you will be more confident in what you have learned about!
This one is a little tricky because we all don’t have pretty or appealing penmanship. But if you do, rewrite your notes! It’s satisfying, effective, and fun to do. Not only that, but you will be able to reread them and fully understand what you have learned and applied it to the test. Rewriting your notes will not only help you based on studying but you can use them for exams so it is ready to go for you already and you will have less work to do.
Reviewing is key to memory! The more you put the needed information in your brain, you will understand more of what you actually learned. So, highlighting notes and important key terms is major for studying because it repeats the information you need in order for your memory to be accurate in all cases. Reviewing is also effective because you are reteaching yourself the lessons or important terms to yourself in order to be even more precise with your studying.
- Make a steady work environment
In order for your studying habits to be set, you are going to need to have a working environment set first. Now, this may change, but if you know that where you stay is where you are going to be productive stay in that area! For instance, if you feel more productive at the library, go to the library and do your work! Or, if you feel more productive in the living room, stay in the living room! If you want to take it a step further, get your own desk, personalize what you need, and make a work area in your room or somewhere in your house in order to maintain a focused and productive mindset. This is helpful because once you’ve entered the trap of procrastination and comfortable position, you will feel way too comfortable and unmotivated to do your work.
- Ask questions and participate in the class!
Now this one relates to the very first tip but it is in terms actually involving yourself in class and engaging yourself with what is going on. You need to take some risks, and use your voice! Ask questions, be involved so that you know what you are doing and learning in class. But in all honesty, this one is a little bit hard for me too because I am very shy and I don’t really ask my teachers any questions when I am confused because I would feel a little bit embarrassed. But that’s okay! Cause the sooner we can get over that fear, the more successful we will become.
Now, you’re probably thinking, “Come on KB, no one likes to read.” But you only have that mindset because you haven’t forced yourself to like books! It’s fun to dive deep into a book and exercise your brain because you are training your brain to be even more useful and studious so that you remember important concepts and details as well as to stay more focused. My best tip to enjoy reading is to read to your interests. Once that is covered, try reading a few minutes a day or every other day in order for your brain to get a little stretch. But in the end, you will be satisfied knowing how much you’ve read and how much faster the brain wants to work.
- Sacrifice some time to study and review
The harder you work, the better you will be. You want to be successful right? So, a big step in order to do is to make time for what you need to do! A lot of people fall short of being productive because they can’t find the right balance between work time and their own personal time for themselves. This is a problem because then they either lose themselves and become unmotivated to do anything or either find themselves having way more to do than normal. In order to fix this problem, you’ve gotta take some risks! Find time to do your work and on time too! Don’t slack and give your best effort! You got it.
There are many many more tips on how to be productive and stay focused in school but honestly speaking these are some of the best tips that have worked for me personally. All in all, school can be tough but you’ve gotta own up to it and work hard! When you do that, you will inspire people to work hard as well.
by Saber Slate | Nov 1, 2019 | Advice, Opinion & Reviews
Attention Saber Slate readers! We still have an Advice Column, and we’re still accepting submissions for advice! Recently, we got a whopping 1 new question from who wants to be called “Basement Bois.” Basement Bois asks:
“What looks good on guys during the winter? That isn’t the common sweats/vans/sweatshirt? I like to be in the basement a lot wearing steel toes and jeans, but how do i make that look Good? So I guess the real question is, How do basement kids look really good in the winter?”
Dear Basement Bois,
Flannels. The answer is always flannels. Flannels go with absolutely anything, no matter what kind of season. In the fall, pair flannels with jeans or khakis. During the wintertime, pair the flannel and jeans with some kind of hoodie or winter jacket (that doesn’t contain bright colors). In the springtime, just simply roll the sleeves of your flannel shirt back and opt for khaki shorts if it’s warm out. If it’s very hot out like in the summer, there are good short sleeve and thinner flannel shirts out there that are very nice. And during all seasons, wear cowboy boots. Cowboy boots go absolutely with anything, no matter what you wear. On a more serious note, just take it easy with what you wear. As long as you don’t try too hard to look good, you probably already look fine with a hoodie and jeans.
Thank you to Basement Bois for your submission! Remember to fill out Advice Column submissions at tinyurl.com/fhsadvice. Be sure to email fhsnewspaper62@gmail.com if you have any questions. Your submission may be featured in a future article, so stay tuned!
by Saber Slate | Oct 3, 2019 | Advice
Stop comparing your looks, you’re already beautiful. Stop comparing your grades, you’re already smart. Stop comparing your style, you’re original. Stop comparing the number of likes you get on a post, they don’t define your popularity. One thing you should never do is to stop trying to be yourself.
It’s easy to fall out of place especially when you feel like you’re not in the right setting. A different group of friends that might not treat you right, feeling alone in hallways or at lunch, or even feeling so numb from not being appreciated enough.
But here’s this: you’ve just gotta keep going on from here. The pain will stay but it doesn’t last forever. And even when the pain does sink deep down into your heart, scream into a pillow, cry those tears out, and write those feelings out. Talk to a friend, take a soothing shower, but never hide your feelings away.
I am here to tell you that you are important. You are always going to be loved even when you feel like you don’t because, in somebody else’s mind, they are thinking of you.
The best thing I can tell you is to live a little when you feel out of place or overwhelmed with feelings. Live a little and learn how to love yourself in a way where you’re able to realize that you’ve just gotta keep pushing through on this game we call LIFE. Be brave and be bold, take some risks and never be afraid to try anything new.
This article is a reminisce of simply knowing that your thoughts are more powerful than they seem. You THINK that you’re not good enough but in reality, you’re more than enough for the people that love and care about you. You THINK that you’re ugly, but really, you are the most beautiful to the ones who know you. I’ve been there. Maybe too many times. Being Asian-American and the shortest student on school grounds seems to take my breath away sometimes. It almost seems as if being too independent can have some flaws as well. Thinking too much can lead to too much doubt.
So the conclusion is this: Beat your sadness! There’s no logic of it anyways and you will be happier in the long run. You’ll be able to find where your joy is and embrace it everywhere you go. Sometimes we let our emotions get out of hand and control the way that we think instead of understanding that we need to understand what we are worth more. The sadness that you have felt for a while reminds you that you are a warrior that is able to defeat your own battles. Because before you know it, you’ll understand that you are your only limit.
by Saber Slate | May 29, 2019 | Advice
My graduation is quickly approaching, which means I’m almost done with high school! However, there are some realizations I had over the year that I wish I had known to start the year off. Hopefully, juniors who read this article can go into their senior year more prepared for their futures.
It is extremely important to get college applications out early. For me, my parents heavily encouraged me to apply early on. After I sent in all my applications, I was offered a large scholarship from one of the schools I applied to. I also started to receive information from the schools on housing and the campus experience.
Look at what you can get out of AP tests before signing up for AP tests. If you look at what colleges give you for certain scores on AP tests, you might realize that you don’t need to credit from the class. Some colleges don’t accept scores for both AP Literature and AP Language. Sometimes, for your major, you might be required to take classes in the area anyways. Or, if you’re not wanting to take an AP test, you might look at what you need for your major and realize passing the test would mean barely having to take any classes in the subject. All these ideas can factor into what tests you sign up for.
Constantly keep checking the scholarship hot sheet put out by the counselors. Scholarships are always being added to the page, and there is always a lot of scholarship money available for students.
Think about what you want to do with your future ahead of time. If you are going to college, think about what you want to do after college, or if you can start off the career you want to go into before leaving college. It’s very comforting to know that you won’t be in the wild, being both out of school and jobless.
Lastly, don’t stress too much about your senior year. Soon, you’re going to be out of high school and into college. After that, your high school grades will have little to no impact on your life. Enjoy the rest of your life in high school! Have fun with friends you might not see next year. Find fun in your classes. Maybe try (legal, non-rule breaking) things that you were too shy to try in previous years. Seize the day!
Overall, keep yourself prepared for what comes next. If you prepare as early as possible, your senior year will become much less stressful and you can spend your last year at Franklin High School enjoying every moment. Because, as the saying goes, every moment matters.
by Saber Slate | Mar 31, 2019 | Advice
Have you ever waited until the last minute to compete a big project, a final paper, or an article for your favorite high school newspaper for their annual satire week? If so, you may just be in luck. Recent studies show that procrastinators (like me) actually produce better work.
A study done a the South Harmon Institute of Technology shows this by showing this in the study. The study consisted of 20 college students, ten that were ranked the highest of their class high school graduating class, and ten that were not. When asked about when they completed their homework, the higher ranking students stated that they planned out exactly when they would complete each task for any given homework, setting goals and rewarding themselves only when they completed these goals. The other ten stated that they, quote, “usually wing it” and “hope for the best,” or, in other words, improvise due to procrastination. The studiers believe that the connection between putting a task off until the last minute and turning in better work is due to the stress levels of the brain increasing, increasing the speed and therefor the quality of all bodily functions, first of which being brainpower.
This shows a positive relation to procrastination because all of the students tested, procrastinators or not, were accepted into college.
Now, I know what you’re thinking, “I want to try procrastinating, but I’m not sure how. How do I get started?” Well, it’s a lot easier than it sounds. Here is my four-step program to procrastination:
- Have work you need to do – You need a task you need to do in order to procrastinate, you can’t put off something that doesn’t exist!
- Wait until at least 75% of the allotted time you have has past. 85-90% is suggested, but 75% is the minimum for it to deemed procrastination, and what I personally suggest for begging procrastinators. What you do during that time is up to you, so have fun!
- Complete the task in that remaining time.
Yes, it’s as simple as that. Remember: the stress levels build the closer you get to the due date, which means your quality only increases as you push your work forward. The longer you wait to do something, the better it comes out!
In conclusion, procrastination is good and a solid solution to any and all problems one might face in a school or work environment. So go out there and don’t do what you’re supposed to do!
Please note this article is part of Saber Slate’s Satire Week and is not meant to be taken seriously. If you are confused by this, we suggest you look up the definition of satire.
Please use this article as a cautionary tale against procrastination, as it more often than not results in shoddy work such as this. Brought to you by Procrastination – Not Even Once.
by Saber Slate | Mar 31, 2019 | Advice, Opinion & Reviews
Summer is slowly approaching. The shorts are slowly leaving their dark corner of the dresser and being thrown onto the floor after weather apps are checked. Car windows are being opened only to be closed after realizing that it’s not warm enough to look cool yet. The sandals – wait, they’re always out – uh, the socks under the sandals are getting shorter? I don’t really know – anyways, how people dress between seasons is completely different. This article will help you learn some great fashion tips for how to dress as the weather warms up!
The first tip is to expose yourself more, whether that be reducing the number of layers you wear (no more undershirts!) or just going to shorter sleeve/pant lengths. That means no more long sleeve shirts; switch over to the short sleeve shirts. Consider possibly losing the shorts altogether for maximum comfort.
My second tip is to loosen up! There’s only a quarter of the school year left, which means the stress is dwindling. Why not express that through your clothing choice? Wear a bit more baggier clothing, like a good pair of oversized cargo shorts. Men, I strongly recommend unbuttoning the top two buttons of any dress shirts you own – gotta show off all your great (not fully grown-in) chest hair!
A third tip is to stick to fashion trends. Ignore what the weather is going to be like, and look cool according to society’s standards. It’s cool to wear a nice jacket. Is it 80 degrees out? Who cares! Follow the trends until the end. If you don’t, we will find out, and we won’t be happy. You want me to be happy, right, Gilbert? Follow the trend.
My next tip is to get a haircut. It’s hotter out now, so you can probably get your hair cut shorter as you don’t need to protect your head from cold as much. For the best possible look, I recommend asking your barber to do what they think looks good on you. Then, consistently complain about it not looking good even though you could have said something while getting it cut. It’s not on you at all to be open to your barber, they should just know!
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My final tip, is to dress however you feel. It doesn’t matter what others think about how you dress. Society is constantly oppressing the individual. We need to speak out and fight for individuals to be able to speak their mind. What truly matters is what you feel in your heart. And I know that, in your heart, what you really want is a nice pair of American Eagle skinny jeans.
*Please note the Saber Slate, nor this article, is actually sponsored by American Eagle. This article is part of Saber Slate’s Satire Week and is not meant to be taken seriously. If you are confused by this, we suggest you look up the definition of satire.
