How come when I do my best, I don't do as good as other students who are, mostly, slackers?

[tigEro1426]

Hello, everybody. I'm tigEro1426, and considering I've started high school this year, I've been working really hard to come up at top within most of my classes. I'm really academic focused, I often ask for extension booklets from teachers, and I'm involved in academic clubs, such as Future Problem Solving. I've written a lot, but, please, just bare with me. I just want you, as readers, to fully understand my situation.

 

Before I had started high school, the other new students, and I had to take entrance examinations to see where each student would be placed in which academic class. We had three hours worth of examinations: English, mathematics, and writing. These examination tested us on the skills a year eight student should, in theory, know already. In result of my examinations, I was placed in the academic band '9B2'. There are eighteen different academic bands for both year nine, and year ten students, which are: A1 - A6, B1 - B6, and C1 - C4; A1 being the highest (English, and mathematics extension), and C4 being the lowest (people who are as brain-dead as a zombie is). So, with that, I had done good, but I felt like I can do better. So, that kick-started my desire to do really well, and, hopefully, to move up academic classes. Within my classes, there were so many people who would just play games, talk too loudly, or too much, and so on. To me, they didn't seem to be trying at all, and keep in mind that this is most of my class. A lot of them were told off, and given detentions, and such. I thought to myself that they didn't care so much about school as I did. But, that didn't drop my spirits to do really well.

 

I tried really hard through out the entirety of the first half of the year. I always tried to work as productive as possible, ask questions regarding work if I didn't understand something, and so on. I was excited for my mid-year examinations, I really tried hard, and I felt like I could do really good. So, after I had attended, and sat all of my examinations, I felt I had done really bad; I didn't know what I was expecting, and I didn't know how others within my classes would stack up to me. So, when I received my results, I was disappointed. I was still in 9B2, and, even worse, on the first day after students had received their results, most of the people within my class either: Stayed where they were, or were moved up, but still attend the same classes as I do.

 

If you need more information, or medical information (which I don't know affects my performance), ask me.

[minibois]

In what did you feel like you did not do well? Were you having trouble with math not knowing the formulas needed, did not know some English words that were needed? Etc.

 

Also, and please do not take this the wrong way, do you only do school stuff at school or also at home? If you, for example, don't do any school work at home and your peers do, that might explain the difference in grades.

[tigEro1426]

2 minutes ago, Minibois said:

In what did you feel like you did not do well? Were you having trouble with math not knowing the formulas needed, did not know some English words that were needed? Etc.

 

Also, and please do not take this the wrong way, do you only do school stuff at school or also at home? If you, for example, don't do any school work at home and your peers do, that might explain the difference in grades.

The only real trouble I had was French, but I still managed to pass. And as for doing work, I actually prefer to take the time to revise work before school, at interval, and at lunch, and sometimes after-school, but, I do work at home as well. I prefer not to do work at home considering that's what I usually do at school, but when I have to, I do take the time to do work at home.

[minibois]

Just now, tigEro1426 said:

The only real trouble I had was French, but I still managed to pass. And as for doing work, I actually prefer to take the time to revise work before school, at interval, and at lunch, and sometimes after-school, but, I do work at home as well. I prefer not to do work at home considering that's what I usually do at school, but when I have to, I do take the time to do work at home.

It might benefit your learning process to spread out the work more over the day. If you do all schoolwork in the span of 7 hours a day (which you might be doing, if you're also focussing on schoolwork on your breaks) your brain will likely forget stuff quicker.

For example an hour of school work every evening might improve your learning process.

 

With different languages, it personally helped me to just write down the entire list of words for example that I needed to remember (as in when I was learning English especially, writing down the English word and my native language next to it).

 

If you're having trouble with some piece of work, you can also ask your parents for help and get a different type of explanation, compared to asking the teacher at school (who might give you the same explanation as he/she first did).

[Guest]

These things have helped me:

 

 

Sleep at least 8 hours a day, and get a good sleep cycle going.

Drink a cup of water when waking up, and drink enough water at the course of the day.(about 4 cups)

Be active, do some sports.

Eat healthy, not only junk food.

When learning for tests etc, don't leave it on the last day, spread it out evenly over multiple days/hours.

Write down the things you forget for the test. (for example the historic dates for history test and write a short explanation about each date, or when studying french the words)

Dont drink coffee.

 

[AskTJ]

Your best off coming home and doing your homework for 1 hour, and revising over class notes for 30 minutes. If your jamming 4PM - 12PM of just homework, your going to have some problems.

[kokakolia]

I was a slacker student. I have always been. I was getting straight B’s without studying much or at all. I would quickly glance over the text book and my old assignments for 1 hour the night before an exam to see what I didn’t know. The thing is, I never really did well in classes full of memorization. I loathed history class because the amount of effort was never worth the grades. I also gravitated towards easier courses in college like geology and environmental sciences.

 

The thing is, I raised my hand a lot in class. Whenever something didn’t make sense to me I would immediately raise my hand. Then other people in my class were doing the same. The profs actually liked that because they felt like they were actually teaching and not talking to a brick wall. Word of caution, this only works with small classes < 30 people. Big classrooms suck because nobody is paying attention and nothing makes sense. 

 

I did two or three things:

 

- active participation in class

- study what I didn’t know before an exam

- asked people stuff 20 minutes before an exam 

 

I am probably the worst example. I just think that people put too much responsibility on themselves to learn at school. Let yourself be helped by people that are smarter than you. 

[bimmerman]

Also, keep in mind that people drastically underestimate how long they are spending on a task, i.e. "i spent an hour on it" could mean that literally or they really spent a lot longer.

 

The best advice I can give is what I figured out in college. Find / form study groups with smarter people than you, and re-do every assignment (for technical subjects) before the exam, since you now have ideally had the solutions provided. Follow the format structure of your lectures when studying -- 45-50min of study, 10-15 min off, repeat until it's done. Take exhaustive notes in a way that is helpful to you (since you're starting high school, you'll start figuring out what this means, so try some different ways of doing it). When studying for the exam, pull up a piece of paper and jot notes down on that as a "cheat sheet". We were allowed to bring those to exams in college, but honestly the act of creating them was far more useful than referring to them in the exam, so I recommend writing them even if you can't use them in the exam (just leave them at home). Lastly, go to the teacher and ask for assistance with things you don't understand or aren't comprehending fully. You need to understand the underlying principles, not just the specific examples.

 

I was a major slacker in high school because I could rely on my memory. I got good grades anyway, and didn't put in a huge amount of effort until AP/IB classes my last year or two. That's when shit got real, and it becomes a constant grind. Do whatever you can your first couple years of taking the easy classes to pad your GPA for when the actually hard ones start.

[Zodiark1593]

11 hours ago, kokakolia said:

I was a slacker student. I have always been. I was getting straight B’s without studying much or at all. I would quickly glance over the text book and my old assignments for 1 hour the night before an exam to see what I didn’t know. The thing is, I never really did well in classes full of memorization. I loathed history class because the amount of effort was never worth the grades. I also gravitated towards easier courses in college like geology and environmental sciences.

 

The thing is, I raised my hand a lot in class. Whenever something didn’t make sense to me I would immediately raise my hand. Then other people in my class were doing the same. The profs actually liked that because they felt like they were actually teaching and not talking to a brick wall. Word of caution, this only works with small classes < 30 people. Big classrooms suck because nobody is paying attention and nothing makes sense. 

 

I did two or three things:

 

- active participation in class

- study what I didn’t know before an exam

- asked people stuff 20 minutes before an exam 

 

I am probably the worst example. I just think that people put too much responsibility on themselves to learn at school. Let yourself be helped by people that are smarter than you. 

My learning experience is quite the opposite. I've an excellent long term memory, and things that stick there I can't easily lose, such as history, stories, scientific facts, computer stuffs (programming aside). Random odds and ends I read I can easily recall down to the punctuation, even material from elementary school days. For an English class in college, I wrote an entire research paper in the span of a day, complete with sources and correct spelling + punctuation. (The paper itself scored an A, though I got marked down for never turning in the nonexistent "rough draft").

 

My capability with equations, on the other hand, could be better. Broken down into simpler bits, I'm good for most basic algebra, and geometry was quite easy as well. Advanced Algebra and Trig, not my cup of tea. I can do some simple programming, though I don't particularly enjoy it.  

 

I seldom ever asked for help though (to be fair, I'd probably not ask for medical help either unless I was impaled, or otherwise already dying, soo...) I'm (very) far from the example of the ideal student, btw, so don't do as I do.

[Hyp3rion]

I have been lucky with schooling and had always have concepts come very easily to me, so what I do may not work for you. With that said I always try to get the work done on a schedule before its due but also not so early that I forget the material. For example if I'm taking notes over a section of one of my AP books I do it starting the day it was assigned until a bit before its due. That way the information stays fresh in my mind and I don't have to stress as much about studying later. I of course will study and revisit concepts before an actual test, but I also do that during the whole time I take notes. That way I have time to process a hard subject. I save what I think is going to be important and what the teacher has said will be important and reinforce that the most before a big grade. Now I really only do this with my exceptionally hard classes, so not math and science, as those come naturally to me. But if I think something is going to be hard in any class I try my best to make time for it. I will say that I don't always do that though and I need to work on it. I find that doing it this way helps lower my overall stress and boost my confidence which is what test taking is really about. If your confident you know it, then you're more likely to remember it. Also, in project oriented classes, get it done up front so you can have a month of free-time later like I did in my compsci class. Also just participate in class(some teachers give extra points), and talk to other students or even the teacher after class if you don't get a subject.

 

Quick edit - When things are especially busy, I find study groups help me not only with studying but to actually remember to study. For me its during finals or during marching band season(I know I'm a nerd) when I have from 3 hours of marching to not getting home from a game/ competition until 2 AM(seriously). Trust me if it weren't for the fact I am friends with other band kids, I would have no time for any sort of social life.

[kokakolia]

12 hours ago, Zodiark1593 said:

My learning experience is quite the opposite. I've an excellent long term memory, and things that stick there I can't easily lose, such as history, stories, scientific facts, computer stuffs (programming aside). Random odds and ends I read I can easily recall down to the punctuation, even material from elementary school days. For an English class in college, I wrote an entire research paper in the span of a day, complete with sources and correct spelling + punctuation. (The paper itself scored an A, though I got marked down for never turning in the nonexistent "rough draft").

 

My capability with equations, on the other hand, could be better. Broken down into simpler bits, I'm good for most basic algebra, and geometry was quite easy as well. Advanced Algebra and Trig, not my cup of tea. I can do some simple programming, though I don't particularly enjoy it.  

 

I seldom ever asked for help though (to be fair, I'd probably not ask for medical help either unless I was impaled, or otherwise already dying, soo...) I'm (very) far from the example of the ideal student, btw, so don't do as I do.

Math, Chemistry and Physics in school are a cruel farce. These subjects don't have to be hard, but the problems and tests are. To this day, I am still flabbergasted why I spent so much time and effort learning how to derive and integrate the most complex equations. Yes, it was useful for doing Newtonian physics. But c'mon! Even the equations in physics are not as complicated. It's kind of funny because I am awful at "basic math", a.k.a. addition/subtraction/multiplication. But I can derive and integrate like a boss. Because that's 90% of what you do in school anyways. The other 10% is geometry. And there's something fundamentally wrong with this because math isn't just equations.

 

My point is, everyone can understand and appreciate physics, math or chemistry. But that is practically impossible in a school setting, because you'll feel like an absolute moron, even if you understand the concepts because the hardest problems will be thrown at you. And you'll never even touch on the practical stuff...because the practical stuff is deemed "too easy" and everyone would get an "A". I just wish that schools would teach math/physics/chemistry at a far more basic level and gradually ramp up the complexity. But the base level for these subjects in school is too darn high!

[wasab]

1 hour ago, kokakolia said:

Math, Chemistry and Physics in school are a cruel farce. These subjects don't have to be hard, but the problems and tests are. To this day, I am still flabbergasted why I spent so much time and effort learning how to derive and integrate the most complex equations. Yes, it was useful for doing Newtonian physics. But c'mon! Even the equations in physics are not as complicated. It's kind of funny because I am awful at "basic math", a.k.a. addition/subtraction/multiplication. But I can derive and integrate like a boss. Because that's 90% of what you do in school anyways. The other 10% is geometry. And there's something fundamentally wrong with this because math isn't just equations.

 

My point is, everyone can understand and appreciate physics, math or chemistry. But that is practically impossible in a school setting, because you'll feel like an absolute moron, even if you understand the concepts because the hardest problems will be thrown at you. And you'll never even touch on the practical stuff...because the practical stuff is deemed "too easy" and everyone would get an "A". I just wish that schools would teach math/physics/chemistry at a far more basic level and gradually ramp up the complexity. But the base level for these subjects in school is too darn high!

Practical stuff is too easy, what???

I struggle way more in applied word problems than just ones that test you on the theories.

 

To me theory is how and why which are spoon fed into you.

 

Applied problems actually require you to think a step further and use that knowledge to solve. 

 

I highly doubt anyone will say making a nuclear bomb in real life is easier than simply solving e=mc^2.

[Eduard the weeb]

FYI being someone who is currently a HS student like everyone cheats and it sucks ass trying to not cheat when cheaters are doing better wall you are actually studying and shit.

[Guest]

There are always people who are better at tests, no matter how hard you work. But it doesn't matter. Comparing yourself to another person is silly. You are you, and you can only improve yourself. Just work hard, study as much as you can, and try your best, thats all that matters. Some people are good at tests, but thats it. You are better in other areas (Or just not working whenever you can). 

 

Then there are people who just do well no matter what, but those guys are dicks. 

[Worstcaster]

You might want to try experimenting with other learning styles.  For example you might try reading you notes into a audio recorder and playing them back if you are a better audio learner.  On tests never check your work.  This sounds counterintuitive, but statistically your first answer will be the right one.  I've seem lots of students change a passing grade into a failing grade by second guessing themselves.

[Froody129]

As one of the guys who did really well without studying that much I will say the biggest thing for me is to understand the work. Don't chase marks too much because it's stressful and isn't going to teach you anything. Most things you can simply figure out in the test if you understand the work. 

 

Also remember that if you're starting high school now and already working your ass off then it means that workload is only going to increase, so work smart, not hard.

[spwath]

On 6/18/2018 at 12:11 PM, kokakolia said:

I was a slacker student. I have always been. I was getting straight B’s without studying much or at all. I would quickly glance over the text book and my old assignments for 1 hour the night before an exam to see what I didn’t know. The thing is, I never really did well in classes full of memorization. I loathed history class because the amount of effort was never worth the grades. I also gravitated towards easier courses in college like geology and environmental sciences.

 

The thing is, I raised my hand a lot in class. Whenever something didn’t make sense to me I would immediately raise my hand. Then other people in my class were doing the same. The profs actually liked that because they felt like they were actually teaching and not talking to a brick wall. Word of caution, this only works with small classes < 30 people. Big classrooms suck because nobody is paying attention and nothing makes sense. 

 

I did two or three things:

 

- active participation in class

- study what I didn’t know before an exam

- asked people stuff 20 minutes before an exam 

 

I am probably the worst example. I just think that people put too much responsibility on themselves to learn at school. Let yourself be helped by people that are smarter than you. 

I do the exact same thing, but I only study about 20 min, and I get A's (maybe some B's, and that one C in AP physics...). But yeah, the memorization stuff is where I fail, as I don't put in the effort. Luckily my largest class in college freshman year was like 25 people, so I allways will have small classes.

[kokakolia]

22 hours ago, wasab said:

Practical stuff is too easy, what???

I struggle way more in applied word problems than just ones that test you on the theories.

 

To me theory is how and why which are spoon fed into you.

 

Applied problems actually require you to think a step further and use that knowledge to solve. 

 

I highly doubt anyone will say making a nuclear bomb in real life is easier than simply solving e=mc^2.

I'll always remember this physics problem that was part of an assignment that took 8 hours to complete because the problems were so absurd. It was an exercise on torque with 8 pipes and it took about 1 hour to solve, and if you do a mistake anywhere the answer was wrong. And I'm thinking "why would anyone build pipes that way!?". I would have maybe solved the problem if it had 2~3 pipes and that's more realistic to me. That's the kind of stuff that really grinds my gears: intentionally hard problems that would be absurd in the real world. And that was part of a first years physics course in university. The same exact course in a tech school was 100 times easier and people actually learned stuff instead of getting frustrated and giving up. The only difference was the pacing and the difficulty of the problems.

 

 

[Unhelpful]

On 6/18/2018 at 6:31 AM, tigEro1426 said:

 

Some people will just be smarter than you. That shouldn't make you feel bad, it's true for literally everybody.

[Tsuki]

On 6/18/2018 at 4:03 AM, Some Random Member said:

Sleep at least 8 hours a day, and get a good sleep cycle going.

Drink a cup of water when waking up, and drink enough water at the course of the day.(about 4 cups)

Be active, do some sports.

Eat healthy, not only junk food.

When learning for tests etc, don't leave it on the last day, spread it out evenly over multiple days/hours.

Write down the things you forget for the test. (for example the historic dates for history test and write a short explanation about each date, or when studying french the words)

Dont drink coffee.

 

i did the exact opposite and still did above average (until my last year when i just stopped going to school entirely)

 

maximum of 3 hours of sleep per night

chug a rockstar when waking up

play video games and not do any sports

survive on nothing but cheese its and dr pepper instead of real food

when learning for the test, cram all my study time into the class right before the one with the test

i actually did take really good notes in class though

3-4 rockstars per day.

 

 

it depends on the person and their particular learning style.  some people need to really take the time and study and focus on the things that they dont know. other people, like me, are just really good at taking tests with very little study time due to being able to cram a shit ton of knowledge in a very short period of time.  that being said, a week later, i'd forgotten everything but i couldnt retain it long term.

 

school isnt about learning the knowledge.  school is about learning to play the system and pass the tests. once you understand that, and play to your strengths, you'll excel.

[Teddy07]

I study computer science and put in many hours. I still suck and my friends are better. Just keep going and give your best.

[mrchow19910319]

1 hour ago, Teddy07 said:

I study computer science and put in many hours. I still suck and my friends are better. Just keep going and give your best.

> *trying to solve one algo for 5 hours.

> *co-woker did it in 10 mins.

 

> "Good from now on you handle all the backend logic stuff while I do front end UI"

[mrchow19910319]

There are always gonna be people around you that seemed did not do all the hard work. And yet they have much more than you. 

 

It  is a part of life. 

But dont stop there. Keep on trying. 

[SlipperyPete]

As one of the "slackers" who is now in college, it is not always beneficial. I was always told growing up i was very smart and i excelled in all my courses up through high school with little to no real work put in.

Now that i am in college however it is an entirely different story. I struggle in most of my classes due to me poor time management and my lack of knowledge on how to prepare for exams and tests. 

As much as it may seem like your getting the short end of the stick now, these habits you are building will help you for a long time to come. your education is a marathon, not a sprint.