Back to school | My tips

So in about a month the new schoolyear starts again. For some this will be exciting, because they can hang out with their friend again, or you start at a new school because they are going to secundaire school, college or the university.  Other might be scared or just don't like school. Whatever your feelings about school are, you need to make sure you make the best of it and learn the most you can. 

At the moment I am on college, learning the become a social worker, but to get there it took me a long ride. And in this long ride (that took about 7 years of secundaire school but in the end I did walk away with my A-levels, proud me!) I learned quite a few things that can help you, or your kid or just someone you know who goes to school. 

One of the most important things I found out myself, and I was probably one of the few who thought about it, as I saw my classes, is that make the time you have to be at school usefull. See it like this, you have to be at school. Especially when you still are at secundaire school. So why not use the time you have to be somewhere to do the things you most likely are doing at home now. Another plus side of this is that you have your teachers to answer questions, the more you learn then the less you have to learn before tests. And at the end you will have much more spare time you can do much more fun things, instead of having that little bit of fun at school. (And teachers will be happier and will give you much more freedom which is a plus side too!)

Another thing that helped me a lot, and still is, is having a good planning. By planning I make sure that I know what I have to do and when it has to be done. Then I plan little bits in. Doing a bigger assigment in smaller bits makes it easier and you remember more. An example, let's say you have to do 5 questions for mathematics for the lesson in 4 days. Then you have 3 days to make the questions. It probably takes a long time to do it all in one. So split it up, do 2 today, 2 tomorrow and one the day after. Or anyother way, because maybe you have to work tonight and you only have time for one question today. Instead of doing nothing, you already did one and now you only have 4 left! This again means you have to learn less before tests. So it's even time saving! 

A way of learning is making mindmaps. Mindmaps combine colour, draws and text made by you in an easy way to learn. Yes, it takes a long time to make them, but this already makes you learn much. Then checking the mindmap again and again helps too, because the use of different sides of your brain ( colour/draws vs text) makes that you rememer better. This is a good way of learning for more theoretical subjects, like history or geography. 

For the words I had to learn I made flipcards. On one side I wrote the dutch word and on the other side the word in the language I had to learn, like English, Deutch or French. Then I placed them on a pile and went through them one by one. The ones I knew I placed on one pile, the ones I didn't on another one. The second pile I had to re-do time after time untl there was non left. Here you can also use colours, if you have to learn the Deutsch prepositions. You give each word with one preposition a colour, then if you see the word on the test you remember the colour and know the preposition! You can also do this with concepts you have to learn. 
This way also takes a bit of time make but it will help on the end.

My last tip is to learn throughout the semester. If you do one of the two things I just told you about (or both) during the term, you will remember it better because it are small bits and by repeating you remember long term, instead of short term. 

I hope these tips will help you during your time at school, and get amazing grades! Make the best of it and learn as much as you can (just a second reminder) because you will only have yourself with it if you dont.

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