secretsofstraightastudents.docx

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secretsofstraightastudents

SecretsofStraight-AStudents

Educationexpertsandstudentsrevealthesecretsofmaintaininghighgrades.

ByEdwinKiester,Jr.,andSallyValenteKiester

FromReader'sDigest

YouCanBeASuper-Achiever

Everyoneknowsaboutstraight-Astudents.WeseethemfrequentlyinTVsitcomsandinmovieslikeRevengeoftheNerds.Theygethighgrades,allright,butonlybybecomingdullgrinds,theirnosesalwaysstuckinabook.They'reklutzesatsportsanddweebswhenitcomestotheoppositesex.

How,then,doweaccountforDomenicaRomanorPaulMelendres

RomanisonthetennisteamatFairmont.）SeniorHighSchool.Shealsosingsinthechoralensemble,servesonthestudentcouncilandisamemberofthemathematicssociety.Fortwoyearsshehasmaintainedagrade-pointaverage（GPA）,meaningA'sineverysubject.

Melendres,nowafreshmanattheUniversityofNewMexico,wasstudent-bodypresidentatValleyHighSchoolinAlbuquerque.Heplayedvarsitysoccerandjunior-varsitybasketball,exhibitedatthesciencefair,waschosenfortheNationalHonorSocietyandNationalAssociationofStudentCouncilsanddidstudentcommentariesonalocaltelevisionstation.Valedictorianofhisclass,heachievedaGPAof--straightA'sinhisregularclasses,plusbonuspointsforA'sintwocollege-levelhonorscourses.

Howdosuper-achieverslikeRomanandMelendresdoitBrainsaren'ttheonlyanswer."Topgradesdon'talwaysgotothebrighteststudents,"declaresHerbertWalberg,professorofeducationattheUniversityofIllinoisatChicago,whohasconductedmajorstudiesofsuper-achievingstudents."Knowinghowtomakethemostofyourinnateabilitiescountsformore.Infinitelymore."

Infact,Walbergsays,studentswithhighsometimesdon'tdoaswellasclassmateswithlowerForthem,learningcomestooeasilyandtheyneverfindouthowtobuckledown.

Hardworkisn'tthewholestory,either."It'snothowlongyousittherewiththebooksopen,"saidoneofthemanyAstudentsweinterviewed."It'swhatyoudowhileyou'resitting."Indeed,someofthesestudentsactuallyputinfewerhoursofhomeworktimethantheirlower-scoringclassmates.

Thekidsatthetopoftheclassgettherebymasteringafewbasictechniquesthatotherscanreadilylearn.Here,accordingtoeducationexpertsandstudentsthemselves,arethesecretsofstraight-Astudents.

*Setpriorities.Topstudentsbrooknointrusionsonstudytime.Oncethebooksareopenorthecomputerisbootedup,phonecallsgounanswered,TVshowsunwatched,snacksignored.Studyisbusiness;businesscomesbeforerecreation.

*Studyanywhere--oreverywhere.ClaudeOlney,anArizonaStateUniversitybusinessprofessorassignedtotutorfailingcollegeathletes,recallsacross-countryrunnerwhoworkedouteveryday.Olneypersuadedhimtousethetimetomemorizebiologyterms.Anotherstudentpostedavocabularylistbythemedicinecabinet.Helearnedanewwordeverydaywhilebrushinghisteeth.

Amongthestudentsweinterviewed,studytimeswerestrictlyamatterofpersonalpreference.Someworkedlateatnightwhenthehousewasquiet.Othersawokeearly.Stillothersstudiedassoonastheycamehomefromschoolwhentheworkwasfreshintheirminds.Allagreed,however,ontheneedforconsistency."WhateverIwasdoing,Imaintainedasloteverydayforstudying,"saysIanMcCray,aMiddleburyCollegestudentfromNewJersey.

*Getorganized.Inhighschool,McCrayrantrack,playedrugbyandwasinthebandandorchestra."Iwassobusy,Icouldn'twastetimelookingforapencilormissingpaper.IkepteverythingrightwhereIcouldputmyhandsonit,"hesays.

PaulMelendresmaintainstwofolders--onefortheday'sassignments,anotherforpaperscompletedandgraded.TraciTsuchiguchi,atopstudentatClovisWestHighSchoolinFresno,Calif.,hasanothersystem.Sheimmediatelyfilestheday'spapersincolor-codedfoldersbysubjectsothey'llbeavailableforreviewatexamtime.

Evenstudentswhodon'thaveaprivatestudyarearemainorganized.Abackpackordrawerkeepsessentialsuppliestogetherandcutsdownontime-wastingsearches.

*Learnhowtoread."ThebestclassIevertook,"saysChristopherCampbell,whograduatedfromMoore（Okla.）HighSchoollastspring,"wasspeed-reading.Inotonlyincreasedmywordsperminutebutalsolearnedtolookatabook'stableofcontents,graphsandpicturesfirst.Then,whenIbegantoread,Ihadasenseofthematerial,andIretainedalotmore."

InhisbookGettingStraightA's,GordonW.Green,Jr.,saysthesecretofgoodreadingistobe"anactivereader--onewhocontinuallyasksquestionsthatleadtoafullunderstandingoftheauthor'smessage."

*Scheduleyourtime.Whenateacherassignsalongpaper,DomenicaRomandrawsupatimetable,dividingtheprojectintosmallpiecessoitisn'tsooverwhelming.

"It'slikeeatingasteak,"shesays."Youchewitonebiteatatime."

Melendresresearchesandoutlinesareportfirst,thentriestocompletethewritinginonelongpushoveraweekend."Iliketogetitdownonpaperearly,soIhavetimetopolishandreview."

Ofcourse,eventhebeststudentsprocrastinatesometimes.Butwhenthathappens,theyfaceuptoit."Sometimesitcomesdowntolatenights,"admitsChristiAnderson,anathlete,student-councilmemberandtopstudentatLymanHighSchoolinPresho,."Still,ifyouwantA's,youmakesuretohitthedeadline."

*Takegoodnotes--andusethem."Readingthetextbookisimportant,"saysMelendres,"buttheteacherisgoingtotestyouonwhatheorsheemphasized.That'swhatyoufindinyournotes."

Thetopstudentsalsotakenoteswhilereadingthetextassignment.Infact,DavidCieriofHolyCrossHighSchoolinDelran,.,uses"myhomemade"systeminwhichhedrawsalinedownthecenterofanotebook,writesnotesfromthetextononesideandthosefromtheteacher'slectureontheother.Thenheisabletoreviewbothaspectsoftheassignmentatonce.

Justbeforethebellrings,moststudentsclosetheirbooks,putawaypapers,whispertofriendsandgetreadytorushout.Andersonusesthosefewminutestowriteatwo-orthree-sentencesummaryofthelesson'sprincipalpoints,whichshescansbeforethenextday'sclass.

5MoreSecrets

#Cleanupyouract.Neatpapersarelikelytogethighergradesthansloppyones."Thestudentwhoturnsinaneatpaper,"saysProfessorOlney,"isalreadyonthewaytoanA.It'slikebeingservedacheeseburger.Nomatterhowgooditreallyis,youcan'tbelieveittastesgoodifit'spresentedonamessyplate."

#Speakup."IfIdon'tunderstandtheprinciplemyteacherisexplainingineconomics,Iaskhimtorepeatit,"saysChristopherCampbell.Classparticipationgoesbeyondmerelyaskingquestions,though.It'samatterofshowingintellectualcuriosity.

Inalectureoncapitalismandsocialism,forexample,MelendresaskedtheteacherhowtheChineseeconomycouldbebothsocialistandmarket-driven,withoutincurringsomeoftheproblemsthatbefelltheformerSovietUnion."Idon'twanttomemorizeinformationfortestsonly,"saysMelendres."Bettergradescomefrombetterunderstanding."

#Studytogether.ThevalueofhittingthebookstogetherwasdemonstratedinanexperimentattheUniversityofCaliforniaatBerkeley.Whileagraduatestudentthere,UriTreismanobservedafreshmancalculusclassinwhichAsian-Americans,onaverage,scoredhigherthanotherminoritystudentsfromsimilaracademicbackgrounds.TreismanfoundthattheAsian-Americansdiscussedhomeworkproblemstogether,trieddifferentapproachesandexplainedtheirsolutionstooneanother.

Theothers,bycontrast,studiedalone,spentmostoftheirtimereadingandrereadingthetext,andtriedthesameapproachtimeaftertimeevenifitwasunsuccessful.Onthebasisofhisfindings,Treismansuggestedteachinggroup-studymethodsinthecourse.Oncethatwasdone,thegroupsperformedequallywell.

#Testyourself.Aspartofhernote-taking,DomenicaRomanhighlightspointsshethinksmaybecoveredduringexams.Latersheframestentativetestquestionsbasedonthosepointsandgivesherselfawrittenexaminationbeforetestday."IfIcan'tanswerthequestionsatisfactorily,Igobackandreview,"shesays.

ExpertsconfirmwhatRomanhasfiguredoutforherself.Studentswhomakeuppossibletestquestionsoftenfindmanyofthesamequestionsontherealexamandthusscorehigher.

#Domorethanyou'reasked.Ifhermathteacherassignsfiveproblems,ChristiAndersondoesten.Iftheworld-historyteacherassignseightpagesofreading,shereads12."Partoflearningispracticing,"saysAnderson."Andthemoreyoupractice,themoreyoulearn."

Themostimportant"secret"ofthesuper-achieversisnotsosecret.Foralmostallstraight-Astudents,thecontributionoftheirparentswascrucial.Frominfancy,theparentsimbuedthemwithaloveforlearning.Theysethighstandardsfortheirkids,andheldthemtothosestandards.Theyencouragedtheirsonsanddaughtersintheirstudiesbutdidnotdotheworkforthem.Inshort,theparentsimpressedthelessonsofresponsibilityontheirkids,andthekidsdelivered.