Thursday, August 24, 2006
Disorganized Organizer
Hello Guidance Guy!
I've asked advice from you in the past and it's been incredibly helpful. Now I havea school related question for you. I am going into my Sophomore year taking APEuropean History, Pre-AP English, and Honors Biology. Needless to say I have a loton my plate. I have a habit of having an organized mess and not really studying. Upuntil now I haven't really felt the need to study and it hasn't really helped meanymore when I've tried it, but I think with an AP course I'm going to have toswitch things around by getting a system of organization that works for me and studytactics that work. I've tried the whole one big super-binder bit AND one littlebinder for each class and it didn't seem as though either of those worked for me. Doyou know of any other ways of organization that might be a little less hassle? Or ofany ways to improve one or the other? And last, how should I prepare for an APcourse?
Thanks!
Disorganized Organizer
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Dear D.O.
When you say the two types of binders didn't work for you, what do you mean? If you haven't seen your grades go down and haven't lost any papers or assignments, your system has been working.
Just about any system of organization works, as long as you are consistent with it. I like the binder system to keep things in place. I also like a date book or Palm Pilot to help you organize what you have to do and when you have to do it by. If you will get an increase in your workload this year it will become more important to plan your time. This will be mostly about your commitment to doing your best. If you make that choice, the right organization sytem will be easy to find. There's a chapter in my book, So, You Wanna Go To College... called "Organize and Systematize" that addresses this issue in more detail.
As far as how to prepare for AP courses, the best thing to do is follow the advice of your teachers. They don't just teach the material; they start to show you how to study for college level work. It's great practice for the real thing! There are also preparation books for most AP courses you can get at bookstores or through the College Board, the organization that designs AP tests. I would hold off on getting those for now unless your teacher recommends them.
Have a Great School Year,
The Guidance Guy
I've asked advice from you in the past and it's been incredibly helpful. Now I havea school related question for you. I am going into my Sophomore year taking APEuropean History, Pre-AP English, and Honors Biology. Needless to say I have a loton my plate. I have a habit of having an organized mess and not really studying. Upuntil now I haven't really felt the need to study and it hasn't really helped meanymore when I've tried it, but I think with an AP course I'm going to have toswitch things around by getting a system of organization that works for me and studytactics that work. I've tried the whole one big super-binder bit AND one littlebinder for each class and it didn't seem as though either of those worked for me. Doyou know of any other ways of organization that might be a little less hassle? Or ofany ways to improve one or the other? And last, how should I prepare for an APcourse?
Thanks!
Disorganized Organizer
*** *** ***
Dear D.O.
When you say the two types of binders didn't work for you, what do you mean? If you haven't seen your grades go down and haven't lost any papers or assignments, your system has been working.
Just about any system of organization works, as long as you are consistent with it. I like the binder system to keep things in place. I also like a date book or Palm Pilot to help you organize what you have to do and when you have to do it by. If you will get an increase in your workload this year it will become more important to plan your time. This will be mostly about your commitment to doing your best. If you make that choice, the right organization sytem will be easy to find. There's a chapter in my book, So, You Wanna Go To College... called "Organize and Systematize" that addresses this issue in more detail.
As far as how to prepare for AP courses, the best thing to do is follow the advice of your teachers. They don't just teach the material; they start to show you how to study for college level work. It's great practice for the real thing! There are also preparation books for most AP courses you can get at bookstores or through the College Board, the organization that designs AP tests. I would hold off on getting those for now unless your teacher recommends them.
Have a Great School Year,
The Guidance Guy
# posted by Larry Hochman : 6:38 AM
