The organized student

Students struggle to manage time and assignments to keep ahead of schedule

By Laura Johnston ~ Southeast Missourian

A month into the school year most students know whether they're on the fast track to failure or bound for academic achievement. The key to success, area students say, is in staying organized.

Students at Central High School use an array of methods for staying organized -- some use daily planners to keep track of assignments, others write them on a slip of paper or on their hands so they won't forget -- and found their system through trial and error.

And a few admit to never even bothering to keep track of homework. If they remember, great; if not, that's OK too.

"Once you get behind it's hard to catch up," said sophomore Daniel Martin.

With tough classes, homework assignments and sports practices, there are days when he's too tired to finish an assignment.

Some students know that once they fall behind in classwork, they're never likely to catch up. For juniors it seems even harder.

"We tend to have classes that give more homework," Amy Bickings said. The majority of classes students need for graduation credit are completed during the junior year, which can fill a schedule with courses in Algebra II and Chemistry.

Few of the teachers Whitney Blattner has for her classes will accept late assignments. If you turn in your work after 3 p.m., they just won't take it, added Brianna Stevens, also a junior.

Planners are an essential tool for Bickings. It helps her keep track of class assignments, projects and test dates for the ACT college entrance exam. The school district allows students with electronic organizers to use them as well.

But Kayla Scurlock and Kim Hill prefer a simpler method to keeping their school work up to date. Both freshmen use additional folders and spiral notebooks to separate their assignments.

Extra folders were a requirement for their biology and English classes. Other students also said composition notebooks were useful for writing assignments.

"You have to have them to take with you to class," Scurlock said. And in her algebra class, she turns in a folder of assignments prior to each test.

Keeping good grades isn't that hard, she said. "You have to stay awake and not talk too much and you have to listen a little bit."

But keeping tabs on schoolwork isn't a student's only task. They also have to keep track of an ID badge while they're at school. At Central Junior and Senior High schools, the badges are also their lunch cards and get them entrance into certain school functions, like dances.

Some students find it easier to wear the badges on lanyards while others tuck them into the pockets of their backpacks.

Sophomore Lance Altenthal knew he'd lose his badge so he has four just in case. He carries two in his backpack, one in a wallet and keeps one in his locker.

"You have to have them to eat and whenever you check out a book at the library and they have random checks," he said.

ljohnston@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126