Some students are constantly getting into trouble at school. There are many causes of distraction and you are certainly not the only one with this type of problem. If you have trouble keeping your attention, sitting up, and being repeatedly called back by teachers, you can still learn to stick to the rules and channel your energy into becoming a better student.
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Learning the Rules
Step 1. Follow the rules
Learning requires behavior that allows you to actively participate in the lesson, for yourself and for other students as well. A great student is prepared, active, serious, attentive and always willing to help. Generally rules and expectations are made clear during the first days of school, whether they are verbal or listed in the curriculum. The most common rules generally include:
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Listen to your teacher and follow the instructions. If you want to do better in class, the first person to ask for advice is your teacher. Always do what he tells you during the lesson. It is important to listen carefully to the instructions he gives you when he tells you how to do a task, to be quiet, to start or stop work, to get in line or to do anything else. If you listen for the first time, you don't have to ask later.
Behave In Class Step 2 -
Stop chatting. Typically, once the lesson has begun it will be time to be quiet. Save the chatter for lunchtime, break or after-school. If you have questions about an assignment, raise your hand and ask the teacher.
Behave In Class Step 4 -
Avoid sitting with peers who get you into trouble. Talking to peers is one of the most common ways a student becomes a nuisance for the whole class. Sit in the first places to eliminate the temptation to talk during the lesson. There is plenty of time to socialize during recess or lunch and after school. If you can choose where to sit, it is also good to avoid bullies and other troublemakers - you could talk about this problem with the teacher and maybe pretend that you can choose to sit in a particular place to avoid that kind of situation.
Behave In Class Step 4 - Be in your seat on time. You must be inside the school when it opens and sitting in your seat at the beginning of the lesson. If you're having trouble being on time, consider getting an alarm clock, which you can set up to help you get things done faster.
Step 2. Raise your hand if you need to speak
If you have a question or there is something you would like to say, don't shout it out and don't ask your peers directly. Raise your hand, wait to be called, then speak when given permission.
- Make sure you have something specific and succinct to say so that you don't waste time in the classroom. The most appropriate time to raise your hand and speak is when you want to ask a question that other students may have as well. "What pages should we read for tomorrow?" and "how do you find the least common multiple?" both are appropriate questions.
- Inappropriate questions are those that are valid only for yourself, or those that relate to irrelevant topics. "Why did I get insufficient?" or "What do you think of LeBron James, Professor?" both are probably inappropriate questions for the course. If you want to talk to your teacher about these things, wait for the end of the lesson.
Step 3. Always work when it's time to do it
If you are given time in class to do your homework, make sure you use it correctly: work on your assigned assignment. This is not the time to have fun with your friends, play pranks, work on other different tasks, or sit idle at your desk - this is the time to do your assigned task.
Do not do your homework for other courses during the class, unless allowed. If you are given time to work on a group project, don't be estranged from doing your math homework. You are wasting your time working and that of others
Step 4. Talk to your teacher
If you are having problems with your behavior in the classroom, let your teacher know that you would like to behave better and come up with a solution to improve with his help. The best person to talk to in this case is always your professor, as he is the only one who sets the rules. If you want to learn how to avoid breaking them, ask the teacher.
- If you have a reputation as a troublemaker, many teachers will be impressed if you genuinely want to do better in class. Making the effort to talk to your teacher is a good step towards changing the way she perceives you.
- Get to know your teacher. Besides being a teacher he is also a person with his own interests, feelings and opinions. Getting to know your teacher better can make it easier for you to listen to and interact with him. Plus, he'll get to know you better too, and this relationship can make working together more enjoyable.
Step 5. Talk to your parents or guardian if you are really in trouble
To some students, it seems impossible to be good at school, and they have good reasons. If you feel behind other students or ahead of the rest of the class, it's important that your parents know that school may not be paying off. If you are in trouble and just don't like school, let your parents know that you want to be good and learn, but just don't believe you can do it in the current school.
Private schools, self-study, and other alternatives may be more suitable for you if you have behavior problems. Talk to your parents about changing schools. If they don't want to hear from you, talk to your current school's student advisor to consider the possibilities
Part 2 of 3: Keeping Up with the Tasks
Step 1. Use your imagination and choose to like the topics
If you have trouble staying focused and doing homework, changing your attitude can help a lot. Instead of rolling your eyes and grumbling every time you have to study history, practice writing or solve math problems, try using your imagination to make homework more interesting and fun. It may sound silly, but pretending homework is fun can make it really fun.
- Don't start "doing math": pretend you're an aerospace engineer learning to design rocket trajectory, or an astronaut trying to plan his return home from planet Zebulon 4. Pretend to be Albert Einstein, uncovering the secrets of nuclear energy.
- Don't "practice writing": Pretend to translate secret messages from a mysterious government agency, or to learn to speak Klingon.
- Don't "read": Imagine that you are a famous writer preparing to lecture in front of a crowd of adoring fans, or that you are a supercomputer feeding information into its positronic network.
Step 2. Take notes
A great way to keep yourself focused on the course topics and the lesson is to take notes. Even if it's a refresher, or if you don't really need the information for the test, if you're having a hard time keeping your attention, focus on writing down the important things the professor says. Don't worry about rewriting them word for word, just try to make a list or outline of the main information that is given in class. This will help you stay focused and you will have something to refer to later.
- Taking notes can also help you with your writing, which can greatly improve your grades and your relationship with the teacher. Nobody likes to read scribbles.
- Don't worry about listening to the whole lesson at once, just focus on getting the next important piece of information the teacher will give. Take it one step at a time.
Step 3. Be prepared for the course
You will not be able to stay focused without having all the necessary tools ready and without being in your place on time. For your reputation in the classroom, there's nothing worse than forgetting your math book or having to ask for a pencil or paper you forgot to bring. For each course, it is usually important to have:
- The course-specific textbook or books
- A pencil, pen, or other writing instrument
- Enough loose sheets or a pad to take notes or complete a task
- A folder or binder for course materials
- The homework, completely finished
Step 4. Participate in class discussions
If you are not used to contributing during these occasions, try to change your habits. Raise your hand if you know the answer and speak during class discussions. Don't talk so much to open your mouth, but try to find a way to relate to the topic and your classmates rather than just sitting around getting bored or confused.
Step 5. Try to improve your grades
As well as changing your attitude to enjoy classes, actively choosing to improve your grades can be an important first step in truly achieving this. If this happens, you will be more involved in the course because you will receive positive feedback and see the results of your hard work.
If you are in trouble, inquire about contacting a tutor or getting homework help available directly at your school. Many schools offer free after-school tutoring programs, available for students who want to improve their grades and get a little help - everyone needs it sometimes
Part 3 of 3: Avoiding Trouble
Step 1. Make good friends
At school, your friends will have a great influence on your behavior. If your friends mess around in class, misbehave, and make jokes, it will be much harder for you to perform at your best. Try making friends with guys who want to do well in school, who behave well, who are fun to hang out with.
- Class clowns will always emerge, but that doesn't mean they're the best friends you can make. Look for quiet guys and try to make contact with them during recess, or sit next to someone you don't usually talk to during lunch, to find out if you get along well.
- Don't be afraid to tell your friends that you can't sit next to them because you don't want to get into trouble. If yours are true friends, they will understand your desire to avoid getting into trouble and will support you.
- Sit down composed. But if you want to behave well in class, it is very important that you learn to stay calm and be careful about meeting your instructions. The best way to do this is to focus on sitting upright. Don't fidget all the time, fiddle with the items on your desk, or annoy your teammates. Just sit quietly and listen to the lesson.
Step 2. Have a lot of fun outside of school
For some students, going to school is the only time to see friends, which makes it much more tempting to joke around and mess around when you should be studying. To avoid temptation, try to plan to hang out with your friends a lot on weekends, after school, and at more appropriate times. If you are very busy enjoying yourself, you may even begin to look at school as an opportunity to finally sit quietly.
Ask your parents to join a sports team or other group if you want to have something to do after school. Chess clubs, music clubs and many other organizations are available to students who want to get involved and keep busy while having fun outside of school
Step 3. Keep your cell phone in a place where you can't pick it up
Checking your cell phone is one of the big bans in almost every course, but it can be such a temptation to check it! If you can't stand the thought of leaving Facebook updates alone, do yourself a favor: make it impossible. Leave your cell phone in the locker before entering the classroom so you can't check it when you want, or consider leaving it at home. If you absolutely must keep it with you, turn it off completely.
Step 4. Get enough rest before school
Being tired can make many students nervous and more prone to misbehaving, such as getting confused, chatting with friends, and even falling asleep in class. Being tired makes it even more difficult to learn properly. In fact, with a full night's rest, you'll be ready to face the day and be careful in class.
- A sleep study at Harvard Medical School led to the conclusion that a higher dose of sleep implies greater memory retention. After memorizing a series of causal terms, subjects who had slept more the previous night scored higher on the test. If you want to improve your behavior and grades, get more rest.
- Don't keep your cell phone next to the bed. Many teens - up to 10%, according to the National Sleep Study - are routinely woken and distracted in the middle of the night by Facebook messages and notifications on their mobile phones, which make it difficult to calm down and fall asleep. If you have problems with fatigue during the day, keep your cell phone out of reach.
Step 5. Have a good lunch
Too often, students are likely to drink fizzy drinks or sweets for lunch, because taking time away from the meal earns it on outings with friends. All of this can interfere with your blood sugar levels, making it harder to stay alert during the afternoon. If you want to have energy and keep your attention level high, it's important that you have a healthy meal in the middle of the day.
- The decrease in the level of glucose in the blood is directly linked to the production of adrenaline: this means that when your blood sugar drops, your body produces it hormonally, putting more adrenaline into circulation and making you more irritable and restless.
- Try your best to avoid candy and fizzy drinks during lunch. Filling yourself with sugar will cause you to crash after a few hours, making it very difficult to perform well in the afternoon.
- If you don't like meals at your school, take some time in the morning to pack yourself a good lunch that you will enjoy eating. Try eating fresh fruits and vegetables, such as an apple, carrot, or other healthy snack that you enjoy.
Advice
- Don't call your teachers out loud. Raise your hand first.
- Don't interrupt while someone else is talking to the teacher.
- Always pay attention to what the teacher says. Don't get distracted by doing things like drawing on your notebook.
- Don't bring distractions, such as marbles or collectible cards, to class.
- Sitting in the front row can be a useful technique - it makes it easier to be careful.
Warnings
- Don't sit next to your friends, especially if you often get into trouble. Even if you're not a troublemaker, just not sitting next to your friends reduces the need to talk and get confused.
- If someone tries to get your attention, tell them you don't care or, even better, ignore them.
