Sit near the front for more Success at School

Why sit near the front? Why will I do better and improve my grades if I sit near the front? In some classroom situations this may be hard to do. Some students may harass those who sit near the front. They may be teased as nerdy or trying to be the teacher's pet. It can be a fine and risky balance. Is it worth the risk? Sit as close to the front as possible; even if you move one row forward or one seat closer to the centre of the classroom. If your class is already underway, maybe you have to wait until the start of the next semester to claim your seat. The move will be worth it.
Why move? Next time you go into your classroom, if you do not sit at the back or far away from the teacher's desk, imagine yourself in one of those seats. Note some of the barriers to a smooth learning curve. The things to look out for? Anything that would distract a clear focus on the learning situation. Picture you from the back and the impact of mini events like:

• The person on your right throws some paper over their shoulder
• Diagonally to the left is a conversation going on as soon as the teacher turns away
• Right in front of you is someone signalling another across the room
• Further to the front is someone drawing on their desk
• I'm sure you can add loads more

All these just slightly distract clear thought patterns. So at, or near, the front? Well, you are closer to the action and tend to get a bit more involved both in the real purpose of the lesson and with what you do to record the academic truth of the lesson. The teacher often sees students close to them as their support group and may rely on them that way for input to the discussion and for feedback on the lesson.

If you become a friendly face, even by the default that being involved gives, you are more likely to get favours determined by the de facto relationship due to seating. This may take the face of sympathy for awarding those marginal marks, more generous extension to due dates, even the chance of the reference that teachers are reluctant to give.

That aside, the main advantage is the academic advantage you gain. You may hear more tips than those further back in the buzz zone of the class where there is often more distracting activity going on. Teacher infill comment may help you with your notes, you do not miss the spoken information, especially that inferred by work going up on the board with short anecdotes revealed as the content is delivered. You steer clear of the distractions while maintaining your valued connections with all class members. A teacher who is roaming to see if students need some help or guidance, will stop first with those closest. This is good because you do not have to stand out from the crowd by signalling that you need help. All good. All advantageous. All promote Success at School.

Good luck with your studies.
Have a great day

Don't let a question stop Success at School

Here's the scene. Your teacher is going over new work or may be reviewing past lessons, when you come across a point you do not understand. 'Understand' means you could explain it to a friend clearly enough that they could understand it too. What do you do? Put up your hand to indicate you need a better or fuller explanation? Not a cool thing to do? I wonder if that bit of information is the difference between getting a higher grade and staying where you are; worse still, going down. Do you find that you often have time left in exams; time where you could add a few valuable lines to your paper? Was that the piece of information you could have asked about?

Sometimes it takes courage to put up your hand in a class of students who are too cool to put up their hand. Academic courage is not trained or taught. School systems push us in one end and out the other, over a decade later. Do we learn enough on the way? Some care, others do not. Take heart, you are not alone. There are other ways around this problem.

Be a leader. Someone has to take control. Try to talk to some friends who may be willing, on a signal, to put up their hands, giving strength to others to do the same. Even approach the teacher to see if they will join in your scheme. Most teachers would love to have more students asking questions. Two things happen. Firstly, it makes them feel good and secondly, it's always good to have an ally in the staffroom. That can be useful to you. This 'ally' will feel more inclined to spend a bit of time extra with you to help out.

Take careful notes and hope that between you and your friends you can eventually sort it out. Maybe someone has an older brother or sister who is good at the subject. You can see plan two has a few time constraints that will eat into the time you have slotted into your schedule as 'spare', 'play', 'shopping' and so on.

Even more risky is you could just wait and hope that before next week's test the teacher revisits the topic and you actually understand it. Youtube, Google, Answers and other online sources are other time consuming ways that may give you the answer. The library? Where's that? How about you make an appointment with the teacher to meet with them for help during a break? Lots of ways to get sorted that do not take up too much valuable time.

Read Sun Tzu's Art of War. It's full of strategy that all manner of professions take from the battlefield for which it was written to their own interactions with associates and competition. That may help.

Mostly, get the itch fixed. A small point can make all the difference. At this point, not learning, not finding out is not an option. No one's worry but yours. Get stuck in and do something. Email me if it's a real emergency but do something. Your Success at School is the most important thing to get out of school, right alongside some wonderful lifelong friends.

Get that point clarified as early as you can. These small points are the ones that form really effective stops to further learning in a topic even though, in themselves, they may only need a minor explanation. They create roadblocks to assimilating new knowledge and confuse thought patterns as your brain tries to work its way around what it sees as corrupt information.

Make a plan and carry it through. Tomorrow you'll feel good about it.

Get the most from school. Have a great day.

Participate in school for better school marks

Participating in school will be one of the big obstacles to overcome in your search for better school marks. It may take significant planning and risk, depending on the school and the area it is in. If you do not get negative feedback from classmates try participating in class with questions, answers, suggestions. It will keep you awake and focussed and, more importantly, it will encourage others to join in in a positive manner. What can happen? Well, you could learn more, the teachers would be more helpful when you needed guidance or assistance, you may get leadership approval from your peers. Many positives are there for your taking, not to mention that key of higher grades.

Sometimes you may need to seek approval from some people first if that will help. See if some of your friends may be encouraged to support you with the occasional answer or question, or even some homework done on time. Anything that may improve the learning environment will benefit.

Is it possible to start a study circle. This gives you the opportunity to be a leader, meet new and valuable school contacts, and have more sources of help and interaction. These can be small groups of peers who you can rely on. Meet on or off campus. The relationships formed in these groups are often long lasting, threading way into the future. You can use each others notes and ideas to advantage. Be reliable. Be useful. Be that leader. Make sure everyone's input is valued. Make sure everone has a turn. Make sure there are no put downs, even in fun because you never know how the other person may take it. The individuals in study circles tend to grow rapidly in maturity.

If the classroom is out of the question as a place to stand out, even a little, try putting something back into your community by offering to do a small extra job around campus. It might be that only a few notice at first. It seems that if you put a positive spin into something, the universe in some way rewards your actions. So once you feel a bit more confident about your power, take it into the classroom and work on your academic capability. Do not go for nerd of the week. Go for the likeable all rounder. This is a better target. You are looking for a more comfortable and more enjoyable learning place, that's all.

The teacher picks on me

I often wonder if people should think about this one a bit more and come to the conclusion that in most cases, this is a good thing. Think about this one. Firstly, is your behaviour reflecting that of a good student? Do you, perhaps, talk a little too much, write a little too little, look around vacantly often? Don't say "Everyne else does", because we are looking at you.

Most teachers want the best for their students, whether you like that teacher or not. They stay in their job hoping to be able to influence one or two people in a positive manner along the way so they become successful in the future. Teachers may annoy you but most of what they do is driven by outside influences. The content of classroom lessons is prescribed by State or other central bodies, so what they teach you is usually not of their choosing. They are just trying to lead you through it as best as they can. Their interactions with you is also governed by School Boards, parent groups, lobby groups, and Government legislation. Often they have a dress code just as the student body does. Often they do not like aspects of the dress code too. As you can imagine often the poor teacher is retricted and feels confined and frustrated by over regulation just like you do.

So, look at it a different way if a teacher says something to you and don't put yourself into a basket of talkers or non-homework doers or others like that just so you feel better because you have an excuse. Maybe the teacher  has your needs at heart and wants you to do well and just wants to remind you what you should be doing. If you get annoyed at that, of course they get annoyed too. Wouldn't you get a bit annoyed if you thought you were trying to help someone and they said something smart or angry back at you? You should actually, usually, be pleased because they may be more interested in your success than some others. They want you to be on task for success and try to keep you on track. Maybe they can see a lot more potential in your ability than you are showing. Your welfare and success is often at the top of their consideration. The more you work with them the easier school gets and the more likely you are to reach your success goals. Try it.