High School, Here I Come!
Skills needed to be succesful in high school By:Humza Ahmad
Welcome Grade 8's!
Congratulations, you've graduated from Elementary School! But now the real challenge begins. Welcome to High School. A place where you meet a lot of new people and consume a lot of knowledge for your future. Here are a few essential skills to ensure a successful freshman year.
Learning Skills
Learning skill #1 - Organization
Organization is arguably the most important skill a high school student requires to be successful. From planning out your daily timetable to keeping your binder neat, organization skills will keep you in line. It's especially useful when planning out your day. You can tell yourself 'from 6-7 I'll hang out with my friends and from 7-9 I'll do my homework and at 10 I'll go to bed so I can wake up at 7 tomorrow.' This ensures that you will do your homework because you are putting aside time to specifically do that. Compare this with the majority of people who keep saying they will do their homework later until the deadline arrives and they have nothing. Organization is definitely a valuable tool to have in your arsenal.
Learning Skill #2 - Teamwork
Teamwork is the ability to work and collaborate with others to accomplish a task. This skill is extremely important considering the fact that you meet a whole bunch of new people in high school. Teachers love putting together groups of random students so they can mingle and get to know each other. Might as well be prepared for it and start developing these skills. Being a good listener is one of the key elements required to master this skill. You will go far if you learn how to work with the people around you.
Learning skill #3 - Works Independently
Being an independent worker means you can work by yourself without being distracted by the things around you. This is a great skill to get down because the amount of independent work you get. I would say 95% of the work in high school is done independently. If you constantly get distracted by your surroundings you will never get your work done. This is especially for assignments with a short deadline. You have to work fast and efficiently with these kind of assignments, and if you can't stay on task then that will be an obstacle.
Learning skill #4 - initiative
Initiative is when you can complete a task without being constantly reminded to do it. It's kind of like responsibility in a sense. Basically if you know you are struggling in a subject you would take the initiative and ask a teacher for help. You can even think of it like being more mature. You are focused on the task on hand and you positively respond to changes around you. Another great skill to have.
Essential Skills
Essential skill #1 - Writing
I would say writing is one of the most important skills to have. This is because first of all you have to take English all 4 years in high school, second of all you use it in every single class. Every single course requires you to write in some shape or form. Writing is also the main way you communicate with your teacher. It is important to have good writing skills so you can clearly explain concepts to your teacher.
Essential skill #2 - Oral communication
Oral communication is when you successfully communicate with your voice and body expression. This skill is very important because of the presentations you have to do in high school. You might know everything about the concept you're presenting but if you mumble and have a slouching body posture and look dead, you will not get the mark you deserve. It is also used when in a group. If you don't have goo oral communication skills, it will be hard to get your point across to others.
Essential skill #3 - reading Text
Reading is not only the ability to read but also the ability to understand the text. The main source of learning you get after your teacher is your standard textbook, especially for Math and Science. These complicated subjects pile loads of valuable information in a textbook. You need to be able to understand and summarize big concepts if you want to be successful.
Essential skill #4 - Computer Use
This skill shows how well you can work with a computer, pretty self explanatory. As far as the 'why' goes, there are many reasons. The first reason is because many of the assignments either require you to research online or actually email/share it with your teacher. If you know the basics it will make life so much easier. You might also have to communicate with your partner and send them documents. It's is just a really good idea to develop some very basic computer skills. Another reason is because as time passes, the use of computers will only increase.
My personal Learning barriers
During the beginning of high school, I wasn't very organized. My binders were always messy and cluttered, my scheduling was absent, and I simply didn't know how to use my time wisely. I started seeing my marks drop and I immediately knew it was because of my poor organization skills. So I made it my goal to become organized. I punched in every single sheet of paper into my binders. I started setting aside time to specifically conquer homework. Before I knew it, I was more in line then I have ever been. My marks started to rise again and everything was good
This goes to show you if you really want to be successful you will find your own weak points and fix them. Most issues are very minor can easily fixed within a week, like mine. My advice to you is to stay up to date with all your assignments and studying and you will have a successful high school experience. What are you waiting for? You know what skills you need to work on, so go do it!