Yesterday, I wrote about how high school girls should respond when the inevitable arm-twisting starts by teen-age boys who want to get lucky. Today, I offer an update of my top ten list of things that you should do to be successful in the new school year:
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10) Solicitations: Public schools think that students and parents are easy suckers for vendors. You will be hit up incessantly for money during the first month or two that school is in session in a systematic, sequential series of sales campaigns. First, you will be hit up for one sales campaign. Then, as soon as that one ends, you will be hit up by another sales campaign. They don't tell you, in advance, that more sales campaigns are right behind the one that you're in. Your job is to say, "No, No, NO!" You aren't going to school to be separated from your money. You are going there to be educated. This ain't Disney, where an attempt to get you to spend your dough is around every corner. It's school. If you refuse to cooperate with these incessant sales pitches, they just might stop doing it to you in a few years. Remember: Expect a whole bunch of sequential sales pitches, with one starting as soon as the previous one ends. Tell them, "NO!"
9) Seat belts: Refuse to ride on a school bus that doesn't have 3-point seat belts. Go to your school and tell them, "That's not safe." Rosa Parks (any encyclopedia has her biography) refused to ride when she wasn't treated properly by the bus company. When the community went along with her boycott, the bus company caved in and made the necessary changes. Rosa's issue was racial justice. Our issue is safety. If you and your community have the courage to stand up for safety and to stick together, then you, too, can win your victory. Unfortunately, most people, nowadays, only care about convenience for themselves for today, rather than long term benefits for all. Don't ride school busses that don't have 3-point seat belts. Demand that your school busses be equipped with them, or you're not riding.
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8) Names on windows: Some well-meaning teachers try to be so warm and friendly to their newly arriving students that they put their students' names on colorful pieces of paper, and then post the names on the classroom windows facing the outside. Don't do that! The last thing a school should be doing is tipping off passersby as to the names of the young children who attend the school. When school lets out for the day, some creep could pick a name from the window, and then stand in the playground or near an exit and call out the name of that child. When the child answers, the creep could fake out the child into accompanying him to a bad situation. The child would figure that, if the adult knows his or her name, he must be a safe person to go with. Go to your school and say, "That's not safe." If somebody at your school posts the names of the students on the windows so anybody can see them, demand that the names be taken down.
7) Surveys: Public schools are notorious about invading the privacy of families through innocent sounding surveys. They may have a math or writing assignment that asks, "How many people live at your house? What are their names? How many telephones or televisions do you have at home? What publications do your parents subscribe to? What are the names of those publications?" All of that information is private and none of the school's business. Be on the lookout for surveys that attempt to pry into the privacy of your family. Tell them that if they want to conduct an investigation into your family, they are to ask the family spokesman, such as the father or mother, for the information, NOT the kid. The job of the school is to teach, not investigate or interrogate. Don't answer survey questions that pry into the privacy of your family but are camouflaged as innocent-looking writing or math assignments.
6) Walking to and from school: Stay on the sidewalk. Pay attention to your surroundings. Cross at the corners. If you are a patrol boy or girl, don't be horsing around, bouncing a ball, playing with your scooter or engaging in some other kind of distraction. Your job is to protect the lives of the little kids by paying attention to traffic and safety for all of about ten minutes. Wear your safety belt every time and focus exclusively on your safety mission.
5) Back packs: Back packs are terrible for your back and posture. There is a better alternative. Get a rolling carrier, like airline stewardesses use. (OK, they're called flight attendants, now.) Rolling carriers cost about the same as decent backpacks. With a rolling carrier, it is the sidewalk or floor which supports the weight, not your back. If you are concerned about being the only one to use a rolling book carrier, remember that you should never apologize for being right. Be a leader. You may be ridiculed, initially, but after a while, one by one, your fellow students will realize that you're right and they're wrong, so many of them will switch to doing it your way, too. Have the courage to do the right thing. Use a rolling book bag rather than a backpack.
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4) The Pledge of Allegiance: Show your patriotism by standing up and reciting the patriotic part of the pledge: "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands." Then, quietly and quickly, stop and sit down. Iran is one nation under god. The United States is not a theocracy. We're one nation under a constitution. Also, as we all know, this country is hardly a place with liberty and justice for all. Refuse to be coerced into repeating the false right-wing political editorial about purported justice for all and the anti-atheistic editorial, even if you are a god-believer. If enough of you refuse to participate in the editorial part of the Pledge, there may be public support, some day, for dropping the parts of the Pledge that are political rather than patriotic. If anybody gives you a hard time about it, you contact me. (See the bottom of this page for how to do that.) I'll straighten them out for you. Don't say the editorial parts of the Pledge of Allegiance. Say only the patriotic first part.
3) Waivers: Refuse to sign waivers of your rights. If your school designs its programs safely, it won't need to ask you to waive your right to hold them responsible for injuries to students who get hurt in certain activities. The job of the school is to educate, not endanger. If an activity is so poorly designed and dangerous that they want you to sign a waiver absolving them of responsibility in case of injury or death, don't sign the waiver and don't engage in the activity! Tell them, "That's not safe." Refuse to sign the waiver, and don't engage in that activity. Be a leader. If enough people follow your lead, then the school will stop endangering students and, instead, focus on educating them.
2) Think, plan and act: Think about why you are going to school. It's to master the material in each class, not to be cool, clever or goofy. Focus on the educational mission that you are there for. Your plan for success at school should consist of paying close attention to the teacher, getting your homework done the first chance you get, making sure your homework is done on time, and then getting to bed on time the night before so that you can get up on time to get to school on time. When you act on that plan, refuse to be dragged into diversions and be sure to ignore attempts to distract you. Think about why your are going to school, have a solid plan for achieving success and act on that plan while shielding yourself from diversions and distractions.
1) Maintain a Napoleonic complex: You are there to succeed in getting the best education you can. Success doesn't happen by accident. It is a result of having a clear goal (which is to master the curriculum); focusing on how to reach that goal (which is to pay close attention at school and getting your homework done as soon as possible at home); implementing this plan (which is done by excellent time management); and preventing distractions from derailing your plan (by saying, "No," to those who would ridicule you for being focused on a winning plan, and by saying, "No," to those who would try to divert you from success by getting you to waste your valuable time on activities that do not help you to reach your goals or are not safe). If you maintain Napoleonic control over your schedule and your focus, and act aggressively on the carefully designed plan that you thought out, you will be successful in school.
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