A Teen's View

Looking Back: Eight tips for new high school students

Danielle Ryan

(8/2011) Well school is coming upon us faster than we know it! I will be entering college this month and my sister will be entering high school. I thought I would take this time to write a set of guidelines for her as she enters her first year of high school. These helpful tips are ones that every incoming student should know. The first four tips are common rules that should be followed by every student. The last four are rules that may seem silly, but I find them useful.

Rule number one:

Treat all students and faculty members with respect. There is nothing worse than a student who is disrespectful to his or her fellow students and teachers. Everybody deserves to be treated with respect even if you think they may not deserve it.

Rule number two:

Always remember to get to know your teachers. In high school, you will not always be handed answers and help; you must ask for help if you feel you need it. The teachers are almost always willing to be there to help you if you are struggling in a class or even if you are having trouble outside of your academics. It is always a good idea to find at least one teacher who you know you will be able to trust and talk to.

Rule number three:

Get involved. There are many activities, clubs and sports that a student can become involved in when he or she is in high school. Getting involved in at least one activity not only keeps a student busy, but it allows a new student to make friends with people that may have similar interests with him or her. Also, in the long run, a student’s involvement in various clubs and school activities looks very good on a college application, as well as scholarship applications.

Rule number four:

Follow the rules. I know that there will be some rules that you may find pointless and not worth following, but each school rule was placed for a reason. You can avoid any unnecessary confrontations with faculty members if you just follow the rules.

Rule number five:

Do not be one of those kids who think that you can get in front of upperclassmen in the lunch line. I will say that one of the most annoying things about some of the underclassmen is that they always thought that they could get in front of other students who were standing in the lunch line. This rule goes with the rule regarding respect. It is extremely disrespectful to blatantly cut in front of anyone as they are standing in line waiting for food. I know that in past years this has caused arguments between students, and if a confrontation with an older student can be avoided, it is best to see that it is avoided.

Rule number six:

Do not, under any circumstances, mess with the senior class. In high school there is definitely a social hierarchy, as unfortunate as that may be. Freshmen stand at the bottom, and seniors always stand at the top. It is always advised to treat the senior class with respect, even if they may seem rude or ruthless. I promise that they will treat you with more respect and kindness if you show them their respect.

Rule number seven:

I strongly ask all students to avoid standing in clusters in the hallway. At the high school that I attended, students only had three minutes in between each class and the hallways were not that wide. There was enough room for students to be in their lockers and allow other students to walk in both directions to get to their classes. There was not enough room for large clusters of students to stand around and talk while clogging up the hallway. There is a reason that only three minutes were given in between classes: to go to your locker and get to class, not to socialize in huge masses in the hallways.

Rule number eight:

Do not feel like you need to run to lunch, I promise you that there are only a select few lunches that are worth running for. When I was in high school there were four lunches that were justifiably fit for a student to run for. Those lunches were hot wigs, chicken fingers, slop (basically my school’s version of a thanksgiving dinner), and bricks (grilled cheese). If one of these four lunches is not being offered then there really is no reason to run to lunch.

I hope these eight tips are helpful for any incoming freshmen high school students. I know that as I figured out each of these tips, I was able to get along much better as a freshman in high school.