If You Can Survive High School, You Can Survive Anything!
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Have you ever been on a family vacation? Were you involved in the planning aspect of the trip? The family organizer scheduled the date, reserved a place to stay, determined the transportation, and managed the spending money. Directional guides are an integral part of any vacation. The driver may use a road map or a GPS satellite system to find the most direct route and to avoid detours. Descriptive brochures offer a variety of fun activities. Most travelers will squeeze in as many activities as possible to get the most out of their vacations.
High school is a very long adventure, much like a vacation. The tourist brochures include the clubs, sports, dances, musicals, and other events. The road map is your educational graduation plan - will it be college preparatory or vocational / technical? Like a vacation, high school takes adequate preparation and planning to avoid detours and to arrive safely at one’s destination.
I also like to compare high school to a four-year American Idol contest. The students are the contestants vying for that No.1 position - Captain of the Football Team, Valedictorian, Homecoming Queen, First Chair in Band, Class President, Student Council President, National Honor Society President. The teachers, the coaches, the counselors, and the principals are the judges.
Some teachers are kind and sensitive; they offer constructive criticism in a gentle manner, like (current and former) American Idol judges Paula Abdul, Kara DioGuardi, and Randy Jackson. Others teachers are cold and direct; they are blatantly critical and often offensive, like American Idol judge Simon Cowell. However, their goal is the same - to help you improve your performance in some manner and to become as successful as possible.
If you watch American Idol, you may observe more than just the talent. Have you ever noticed how some American Idol contestants respond to the judges’ advice? Some contestants thank the judges for their advice, and they use that advice to improve their performances the following week. Other contestants defend their choices of song, styles of dress, or some other aspects of their performance even before the judges have a chance to finish their critiques.
In Season 8 of American Idol, Danny Gokey was my favorite contestant. Even when Simon Cowell told him his performance was clumsy, Danny laughed and admitted he can’t sing and dance at the same time. Danny knew how to take constructive criticism. He didn’t take himself too seriously. Danny used Simon’s critique to improve his next week’s performance, which was followed with abundant praise from all the judges, especially Simon. Danny finished Season 8 in the Top 3.
During your high school years, some teachers will be nurturing; they will speak to you as though you may break if they offer a negative comment. Others will treat you as though you need to toughen up and hear the cold, hard truth. How you respond is up to you. You may take the teacher’s advice and learn from it, or you may become defensive and ask for a different teacher. As a counselor, I regularly get requests from students and their parents for a particular teacher. Perhaps students have had an encounter which resulted in negative feelings, or they feel there is a personality conflict. However, changing teachers is not always the best option.
School Board Members create rules for the school system. Principals create rules for the high school. Teachers create rules for their classrooms. Students must follow these rules. A few teens are used to calling the shots at home. This doesn’t go over well in high school. And it doesn’t go over well in the adult world. When you have a job, you will be expected to follow the boss’s rules. If you don’t like your boss’s rules, Mom and Dad won’t be able to call your workplace and request a new boss. While you may not always like your teacher or other person in authority, you must still follow his/her rules. Remember, high school offers many opportunities to prepare you for your adult life.
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About the Book
High School, the best years of your life. . .? For some, this may be true. But for others, the high school years may be the most challenging years of one’s life. Teens need to prepare for the many challenges they may encounter in high school. With the proper support, teens can turn negative high school experiences into positive learning experiences. By remaining true to themselves, they can avoid involvement in unhealthy relationships. And by gaining insight to their senior year, they can prepare academically for a successful future.
Because teens generally think adults are clueless, this book is full of suggestions, advice, and survival tips from the experts - Graduating Seniors from the Northwest High School Class of 2008.
About the Author
Trish Long has a Bachelor’s Degree in Education with certification in Social and Emotional Behavioral Disorders, Learning Disabilities, and Elementary Education. She has a Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction and a Master’s Degree in School Counseling.
Trish’s 23-year teaching career included students from kindergarten to graduate school who came from a wide variety of abilities and socio-economic backgrounds. Her 11-year counseling career focused solely on high school students.
In addition to advocating for children, Trish actively advocates for all animals, particularly those confined inhumanely in factory farms, puppy mills, and experimental laboratories.
Trish and her loving husband live with their four dogs and two cats. She shares a beautiful relationship with her own mother and daughter and feels blessed to be part of a large, peaceful family.