Don't try to jump too high

How well did you score on your last piece of assessed work? Did you like the score? Do you really want a better future, secured by exam results that more truly tell everyone what your ability actually is? OK, say you do, then how much better does your result have to get? How much better can it get? Sometimes we get too enthusiastic and try to jump up our marks too quickly and are disappointed when it does not happen. If you have been getting D's or E's or F's or whatever your school uses to show grades lower down the scale, then you are working from a relatively weak foundation. The first bit of the challenge is to get things going. Aim for a couple of small successes and do not be too hard on yourself about progress, for reasons I will show you below. Celebrate small improvement, even if just means you have turned the corner and you feel you are setting yourself up for success. You know you are worth it, you know you can give it a go, so just go with it and try.

Why should you not worry too much about improving your mark too quickly from not passing to passing with flying colors, especially if you have a history of low achievement in a subject? Just think of the following for a moment. To jump from an E to a D is a very big jump so don't be too disappointed if that does not happen on the first one or two attempts. Say you go from mid E around 12% to a low D around 30%. You need to get two and a half times your results to make this massive jump (a 150% improvement in your marks). And, you must do this from a fairly weak position. So you need to make up an awful lot of ground to do this. When you make it, you can be hugely proud.

So now it becomes easier.
From mid D around 36% to low C around 55%, the jump is only about one and a half times (a 50% increase in your marks). You will also be working from a much more sturdy platform of results. Even easier is the jump from mid C around 60% to low B around 72%. This is a mere one fifth bigger score (a 20% increase in your marks) from a position where you were already passing and so had a fair idea of the subject material. The higher grades are more about perfection of presentation of argument, structure and small changes. We will get to work on this too but not right now.

Now you can see why your early efforts may not result in the grades you wanted. However the improvement will be going on and gradually building up as you put in the effort, get organised, sort out the correct equipment and so on. They all add, little by little, until they become invincible; your grades start to creep up, your confidence starts to grow and you feel better about the whole high school experience. Once you get it all happening, slow though this may be, you will find that your own frame of mind plus your better background knowledge will help you climb even further but with lowered barriers as things start to fall into place. It may take time. Please do not give up before you give yourself a chance. You deserve the result. Be a bit patient.The first few strides take time. The momentum will build. You will feel great pride in your growth as you lock in a future with an enviable track to follow.

So you can see the biggest jumps are in the lower grades but they are also the easiest to organise for successful stepping up. You can ramp everything up as you get settled into each step in progress. So try to get going with that. Follow ideas you see here and watch your grades grow.

Try for gradual improvement, not massive. Your grades will be able to stabilise and maintain at each level as you grow at a slow and steady pace.

Good luck with your studies
Have a great day

Success at School also means better comments

As you grow into this period of self reliance and perpetual improvement, it will seem that marks become only part of the picture. They are still one of the most important parts as it is these that will get your foot in the door. Also important to people taking you on as a trainee, a student for further studies or as an employee are the comments written about you. Many places of learning have an interview process to see if the potential student is both academically able to do the course and also fits into their vision of what the student body and future supporters of the alumni should be like.

Get yourself a few positive written comments. Get them from more than one source. Ask for them whenever you think someone will write you one. Try to add them slowly. There is no rush to do it all at once. People are suspicious of super rapid change. Maybe you could volunteer for something outside of school, something close to your heart. Help out in the community in an area you can see yourself working at for a while. Do not do it just for the sake of doing it. Have a serious think and do something useful; something that has some meaning for you. Selfish purpose always shows up. Written comments from the community are powerful allies in your step into the future.

Mixing work at school with that in the community reflects someone with maturity and can do attitude. It will gradually change you in a positive way. As always, make it small and grow the commitment to suit your timeframe and ambition. You will find that people come to rely on you, will ask for advice; you will become an expert. As your skills and knowledge grow, so will your position of authority. 'Good for you', 'Thank you for helping', 'I don't know what I could have done without your being here' are phrases you will be hearing. Hmmm. Don't they sound good. Very well worth it.

You will find it quite hard at first to juggle school with this new direction but stick with it and the world around you will change. Positive things will be attracted to you. The feeling of joy within will transfer to the sometimes mundane school classroom because you know there is more to it than those four walls. Success At School within those four walls will seem to flow more readily as planning and management skills grow. You will feel well rewarded.

So you may say your teachers don't like you, especially when you want to start improving your marks and make use of school while you are there. You may not fit the image of your teacher's ideal student at the moment but that will change. Good thing is, you don't have to change much to be successful and change your future to a full and prosperous one. Community work will lead to many crossroads and will definitely give you the positive comments you need written about who you really are to supplement improving grades and comments from the school.

Good luck. Have a great day.

There isn't a switch, there is a method

You have made the choice to ignore others, to give yourself a future career and do what you need to do to make that future align itself with your vision. It will not be a future determined by circumstance and environment that overwhelms your ability to choose life's course, pushing you into that rut that so many remain stuck in. Absolutely fantastic and good job for having the courage and strength to make the choice. Don't forget, you will always be able to find some sort of support; friends, family, teacher, fellow worker, even supportive blog. Be assured that once you get going, the whole process becomes easier and more obvious the more you do to make it happen.

So, now what? Flick the switch and instantly I'm on my way to a wonderful career and future happiness. Not so fast There is no switch that makes you go from off to full on. You can't expect to go from neglect of your learning and having vague goals, from little or no participation in group discussion, to become a focussed and achieving student overnight. Do not let anyone tell you there is a quick fix. That's often the way to make things stay just as they always were. So don't be fooled. Also, don't be talked into spending lots of money on a system guaranteed to change your life around. Often the only thing these 'kits' and 'solutions' change is that your bank account looks more sad.

Not to worry, it can still be done, at vey little cost, except for a bit of time and effort. The best sort of changes you want to experience are more a gradual build up of what you need to do, little by little, in order to set yourself up for a greater chance of Success At School. The growth you envision will come if you follow a few simple steps. Do not be worried or concerned that you will make mistakes, we all do. Do not be worried that it could get a bit hard at times. You will be able to overcome obstacles if you just persist with your plan to set your future along a positive path.

The further you go, the easier the path to Success At School becomes and the clearer your goals emerge in your mind. So don't look for that magic switch or a 'guaranteed (for just a few measly dollars) system', just begin. Use your energy and learn to use all the help and energy around you. Find the support that is there. Commit to some changes. Success will be yours through sustainable improvement.

Good luck. Have a great day

There are no "Ten Best Rules" for success

I am sorry to inform you that there is not a set of "ten best rules". Many sites give you a list that appears to be a cure all for all people in all situations, forgetting how individual we are and forgetting to say: "Here is a list of ten points that may help you gain Better School Marks, the list is nowhere near complete." Already in these support pages, you may be getting the idea that there are dozens and dozens of ideas that can be used to help people improve. Some will suit you, some won't. As you read with us, try some, reject some, go back to others, and then make up your own to share with friends. Once you start to form your own you can really give yourself just cause for celebration. You have then fully taken control of your own future prospects.

"Ten Best Rules" is too tempting. Do not get sucked into thinking that: "If I do all these, I am sure to be successful." What if none of the hints suit your style? What if none of the hints refers to the learning expected of you? What if you take a lot of time to put the idea into place and find that it's nothing like you wanted? Be cautious.

Do not be put off looking for ideas but approach with caution anything that offers to fix all your problems. Find new thinking that you are comfortable with. Do not try to implement ten new things at once or you will be swamped with too much to change, making the process of renewal and road to Better School Marks a winding, rocky road with few signposts, driven mostly in the dark. Small changes with a great probability of reaching each goal should be the start point. These then form the foundation and strength to make larger changes and more ambitious plans for targets that really stretch you.

The planning will become easier once you get going. Targets will be easier to come up with. Time estimates will be more realistic. Please, at this early stage of renewal, don't put too much expectation on yourself. The entire focus is on improvement at a sustainable level. A level that is a measure made up entirely of steps toward sealing greater opportunity in your future. Step up and enjoy the feeling that success brings.