Fundamental Differences of Junior and High School

Whether or not you pass your classes in junior high, you’ll still be able to enter into the next year through to promotion.  In high school, however, you are required to pass certain courses in order to graduate. If you do fail, you have a choice on whether to get the credit through summer school or take the same class or a class with the same credit during the school year.

You cannot rely on “BS-ing” your way through your classes. In junior high, the teachers are more lenient and the coursework is simple enough, but in high school, the atmosphere is different. You’re expected to give it your all and more. There may be some teachers who are lenient on students, but that also means there will be teachers who will grind you. Make sure you do not to give them a chance to fail you. There will be times where you need to balance your classes on a scale and determine which you may need to work harder in.

Also, despite what I said about some teachers grinding you, don’t be afraid to communicate with them. If you have something going on in your life, explain that personal situation to them and ask for a compromise, maybe doing notes on your own for missing a day, moving a project deadline a day or two later or going to tutoring sessions in the morning, lunch or after school to catch up on things you missed or don’t entirely understand. Additionally, always take responsibility for late work. If given a chance to turn it in late for full credit, take it, if not, apologize for turning it in late and ask for partial credit. It looks better, builds you up as a person of integrity, and the teacher is more likely to take it.

Slacking in High School Costs You

High school is a paradox. While it is very significant to your life, it will be the least lasting memory of your life. Work hard to keep it that way.

Despite having plans for your future where high school is irrelevant, securing the chances of a different path is important. Your mind can change and in a year or more or less from now, you may discover something you are unaware of at this very second.  A chance you’ll be dying for, but can’t get because you slacked a few months ago and now your GPA isn’t what it’s required to be.

Failing a class will cost you time and by extension money, because you could be using that time to do something more productive to advance your potential career and livelihood.

Extracurricular Activities

Not so extra, actually. Remember that thing I mentioned about the different atmosphere in high school? Most of that is because of how competitive everyone is going to be. Everyone, no matter what they say, will be judging you. That’s a bit harsh, but it’s what happens naturally and it’s not always a bad thing. It’s mostly categorizing people. People you think you can be friends with, nice people you might want to be closer to but only in the classroom, people you think you should avoid, and every person has been in every category.

I’m Asian, people expect Asians to be smart. That’s how we were made to think. But I wasn’t the level of smart they were expecting from me, and even if it’s only slight, I can see the sort of judgment they have when they figure it out. And I know it’s a bit random to mention that here, but it relates, you’ll see.

Being smart meant being eligible for valedictorian or salutatorian, being eligible meant I would be competition. Being Asian usually automatically meant a person was smart. Therefore, after getting to know me, people vying for those positions mentioned earlier, automatically put me in the category of ‘not competition’. All’s well for me, I didn’t care about valedictorian. I’m okay with not being the smart they were thinking I was.

Straying from the flow of this again for a second and returning to the extracurricular subject, Popularity. It’s defined as being liked, admired, or supported by many people. Which is true, but I mainly think of it as a person who everyone has heard about and everybody knows of. Generally, well-known. And those people are everywhere. In sports, clubs, ASB, etc.. The teachers all love them, they’re smart, well-rounded. Their personalities are outgoing, mostly extroverted, and they know how to work with people. You don’t have to be this person, but be a person like them.

To elaborate, these people are well-known, everyone knows their accomplishments because they do things that stand out, activities that suit their ability of being out there. They have so many things under their belt, and that’s admirable. But just because some people aren’t well-known doesn’t mean they don’t have the same amount of experience.

You’ll need to have some collection of extracurriculars in your life. Ensure that you aren’t underqualified compared to the popular people everyone knows works hard at school. If clubs don’t suit you, do volunteer work. If the big sports don’t suit you, join a competitive club like ping pong or chess. If school doesn’t suit you, seek out jobs and experiences outside of it, but make sure it’s safe and consult you a trusted adult before initiating any contact.

People are different and are suited for different activities. Be competitive in your own right.

There are different types of intelligence. Find yours and treasure it.

Make Use of Your Opportunities

No matter how much we complain about school, it’s a free resource for all of us to take advantage of. Art classes and computer courses are all going to cost you more in college, more than the other subjects because they either require additional fees to take tests you need to pass or else buy all the materials with your own wallet. Technology Applications, for example, lets you take the certification examination up to three times for free when it’s usually seventy dollars to take it once.

Being A Student Is A Job

To elaborate, it’s an experience you get to learn to be a better person and student from, and a chance to build up your imaginary, internal and external resume. The opportunities mentioned earlier will expose you to progress in your life whether it be to teach you a lesson on character or something more technical. It will also offer you more resources and give you a chance to network.

This is no time to be shy. Teachers want to help you, ask for it. Teachers know more and have experienced more than we have, learn from them. Talk to councilors, teachers, administrators, and any other adult on campus.

If it’s too much of a step for you or you’re not as outgoing as other people, start by greeting them in the morning, or telling them to have a good day after class ends.

And once you get the information, take it and run with it.

In my experience, I signed up for a technology application class and was placed in Mr. Cabal’s class. There, he announced how there would be mock interviews at the College and Career Expo at Norco Community College. I signed up for it and learned interview skills and met people in the career I was interested in. Now I am more confident during interviews because I knew what to do.

I also took Journalism, which was a new experience. It was a mix of incredibly diverse people I usually wouldn’t associate with outside of class. Through them, I learned about many different things I, again, don’t usually look into. Also, a bit embarrassing since I was taking the class, I didn’t usually read the news so that year was the most involved I’ve been with the happenings of the world. I think taking this class when you’re taking AP United States History or any other history class, along with AP Language Arts and Composition, would be a powerful combination, because you’ll be able to utilize all the information and knowledge the to utmost and most probably ace the exams.

Your peers are also a great resource. People have different interests and unique skills, and you can always learn something from another. And just like teachers, they can inform you of opportunities you’d otherwise be unaware of.

I somewhat digressed from the main point, so reverting back, network and build your resume. Go to events where general skills like interviewing can be taught, or events where you’ll learn something you aren’t interested in at all or vice versa. Expose yourself to new things and do it for you.