What does it mean to be a stellar student and when is it important to be?

Well, the definition varies based on the standard a student has set for themself. However, I could honestly tell anyone that grades matter.

For Ben Davis specifically, the Ninth Grade Center is operated similarly to a middle school. There, teachers remind students that they’ll be in “real” high school the following year, and that freshman year is a good time to practice balance, responsibility and accountability. Demonstrating academic excellence can be extremely rewarding. There is potential for induction into honor societies, opportunities to represent your respective school, and/or priority status when it comes to filling out college applications. 

It’s never too soon to start thinking about colleges and what you may consider to be your best fit. It is also never too late to “wow” admissions directors, and secure a spot at your top college for your graduating class. Transcripts document all four years of high school, meaning there is no opportunity to slack. Every grade you make leads up to your college acceptance letters. If college isn’t for you, you’ll still at least graduate from a high school that cares about you, and wants to see you succeed in the outside world. 

The pandemic changed the way we do school.

Change isn’t always a bad thing, it just means we’ll have to evaluate the circumstances and figure out how we can adjust to them. A lot of Wayne Township students reportedly made worse grades with the full-online or hybrid learning.

This being said, the pandemic is NOT over, and we should all prepare ourselves for the possibility that we could return to this scholarly dynamic. How will we use self-discipline to wake ourselves up and complete our assignments? How will we advocate for ourselves and let our teachers know that we require a little bit of extra help? All of these are things to consider if we return to foreign ways of schooling. 

High schools and colleges are full of instructors and professors whose teaching style varies. This means we often find ourselves adjusting our learning style to gain an understanding of the curriculum. You may grow frustrated if a teacher is moving too slow, or may have an ineffective way of teaching, but you’ll have to adjust. It’s not the teacher that matters, it’s one’s own dedication to achieving the best education possible.

It all pays off.