Dear High School Teachers,
I have recently finished my freshman year in college, it went insanely well. Though, there were a few things I wish I would have known before entering, it would have made my life a lot easier and I wouldn't have had to stay up late on certain nights trying to teach myself how to do certain things.
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I want to start off, though, by saying thank you! Thank you for teaching me what was required of you to teach me in order for me to reach the place where I am at today. Learning how to solve complex math problems and write long papers has helped me so much in college, but there were still a few things that weren't covered that I wish would have been.
I am a social science major (Psychology) and I have had to write many research papers for many of my classes; this is only the beginning because I have just only achieved sophomore status. So, imagine my surprise when I was assigned my first APA style paper and I had no clue what to do! English teachers, I know you love MLA style and it is amazingly fun for you to grade, but please make your students explore the other styles of writing as well. I had to stay up until the early hours of the morning trying to teach myself how to write an APA paper. This does not mean get your students to write just MLA and APA only, get them to explore Chicago as well, that one is even more difficult. For those of you students who just graduated and plan on attending college this coming fall, I would start looking over the other writing styles starting now.
Math teachers, as a pre-med student, I thank you! Humbly! I learned so many valuable mathematical principles in high school that I will not soon forget, because of you. But, like the English teachers, I would like to give you a small word of advice as well. Please teach your students how to do certain things without a calculator, such as basic graphing and learning how to find the domain's and range's of a quadratic function or polynomial without it. My college doesn't allow calculators in any math class, even the ones that are in the upper level areas (Euclidean Geometry and Calculus III). It would also prove to be beneficial in the long run because it works out the brain and the IQ of students as well.
Teachers in general, care for your students! Many times, in every grade I have been in, there are teachers who show up just for the paycheck. They could care less if their students achieve success, as long as they get their money at the end of the day. Do NOT turn away at children who can't seem to grasp a certain topic, they may not be interested because they want to do something with their life that does not involve math, english, history, or science, help them anyway! This is especially true if they need the class to graduate!
Tell your soon to be graduating seniors some of your college experiences so that they aren't going in completely blind. Teach them that they may have not had to study much in high school but they would not be able to pass without studying in college. You can study for 30 minutes in high school and get an A+ 100% on an exam but you can study for 4+ hours in college and still make a C+ 75% on an exam. Teach them that they can do amazing on all homeworks and quizzes in college but if they get a low grade on their exams, their overall grade can drop dramatically.
But most of all, teach them that they are human and that humans make mistakes. Teach them that they can use those mistakes to better themselves later on in life, teach them to learn from their mistakes, not to give up once they make them!
Teach them how to be amazing, whatever the costs are.
Teach them that you love them.
Teach them that there are people who care.
Teach them using quality scenarios, because the little boy who wants to be a Doctor and the little girl who wants to be a lawyer are not going to care about how many watermelons Johnny buys.
Teach them that you're there for them.
Teach them that you are there to help them if they fall.
Teach them that YOU care.
But most importantly of all, teach them.
Sincerely,
A high school alum who is in no way complaining, just offering up some tips to make sure that more high school graduates become successful!
