BY U. ABBAS

Source: https://centennialcounseling.wikispaces.com/

A very common issue that every student at MD has to go through is the pressure of getting good grades. School is one thing that students can’t afford to fail. It ties in directly with their future and if anything goes wrong, they can only blame themselves.

Senior year comes by pretty quick in high school, and if one’s studying strategies aren’t already  mastered, they will face a tough time when they’re in their post-secondary fields. Along with that, there is probably four times as much homework in grade 12 than in grade 9, most students have part-time jobs, and students want to participate with extracurriculars. Juggling all of these tasks require time management skills, but how does one acquire those?

The most effective way to manage time is having a planner. Mark all important due dates for tests and assignments ahead of time; this way, there will always be time for studying and to get everything completed by required deadlines. Your school load is managed more efficiently this way, but the pressure for good grades only gets worse.

When students do acquire good time-management skills, they often put twenty times more pressure on themselves in an attempt to get a perfect average. This isn’t exactly impossible, but half the time students aren’t motivated enough to study. There are many distractions when teenagers finally sit down to do homework, and in today’s generation, it’s hard to turn them down. Wi-fi is the life source of young adults.

Believe it or not, there are creative ways to study. Teens can set up reward systems for themselves, for example having a candy for each chapter reviewed. Creating acronyms within notes helps with memorizing, and sometimes if one’s favourite smell is present in the room that they’re studying in alerts senses and has a calming effect while teens are studying.

Overall, there are three ways to deal with pressure in order to get good grades.First, stop complaining about school work. Nothing ever gets done by complaining. Second, creating study groups can help since two heads work better than one. Last, but not least, take a walk before studying for anything. It calms your mind and a bit of exercise actually stimulates more blood flow to the brain. It helps to think more clearly.

School is hard, but nothing is impossible. Most important thing is to not panic! You can make high school a great time of your life as long as you work hard and manage your time.