Blog for AVID 4 due Feb. 27

What are your emotions as you now have less than 95 days until your HS graduation? How are you handling Senioritis?

Feb. 20 - Cap and Gown Pictures

Your times should be mailed to you...pictures are from 9:00 - 11:30 in the B&I. I have extra forms for ordering in my office.
Thanks!

BLOG - Feb. 13

Write 2 brief thoughts about the following articles.....

10 Essential College Truths.

Some people have a harder time with the transition to college than others.
College is going to be a rough ride for those of you who have not come to terms with

 certain essential truths,so I'm here to lay some of them out for you. This

 is probably applicable for the rest of life for the most part as well,but I think 

it definitely begins to come into play during college. This is part one of a series.

1 . You do not know anything. I'm not joking about this. High school is when

 you learn everything and college is when you learn you do not know anything. Your 

textbooks are being revised every year. You get to the level of science classes 

where they have literally discovered and rewritten parts of your textbooks. The 

Pluto not being a planet anymore thing? Remember how earth-shaking that was? 

Happens all the time. College is less about  knowing your whole textbook and

 more about realizing how much more there is to learn and how ever-changing 

the nature of knowledge is.

2 . Even so, your classes will often be outdated. Most classes are still based 

off of you having to actually remember and know things. The fact is, in the real 

world, you will have to understand concepts and have a strong and broad overview 

of many topics, but most things can be solved by google and critical thinking 

in the real-world. You will have calculators and the internet and probably a 

smartphone instead of having to have an encyclopediac knowledge of your field.

 This is not true of your tests. Good luck.

3 . Most of your grades will be based on 2 exams and a couple papers. You will 

be used to having a lot of homework and participation type-grades to fluff your 

grades. You will rarely have such luxuries in college. Fail one exam? Get ready to 

fight to the death for a C.

4 . People do not wash their hands as often as you want them to. Beware. Carry hand

 sanitizer and wash your  hands. Dorms are cesspools. You almost definitely will get 

some form of sickness in your first couple months of school due to the new 

environment and the proximity to new people's germs.

5 . Some people are not worth your time. Learn who is and who isn't early on. 

Evaluate the people in your life every once in a while and decide whether or not

 they are worth the esteem you give them. Sometimes it changes. By the same

 token, not everyone is going to like you and not everyone is going to make you a priority.

6 . First impressions and instincts are important but not everything. Remember that

 first impressions are only first impressions, but your instincts will pick up on information

 you don't consciously process. If something doesn't feel right, especially if you are alone,

 do not put up with the situation. 

7 . Everyone changes in college. Yes, even you. This is very much a result of how and

 with whom you spend your time. Expose yourself to as much diversity as possible. 

Once again, it is very important who you spend your time with. They will shape 

your values and ideas and challenge the ones you have already established.

8 . You will make mistakes. Get over it. It is going to happen You're going to make

 a fool of yourself. Someone will over react to something you did. Things will get blown

 out of proportion. That doesn't make things your fault and you are not responsible

 for anyone's actions but your own. Own up to mistakes and let go.

9 . Mental health issues are common. They are extremely common. Anxiety in

 particular is on the rise. It's not a big deal to ask for help. It's not uncommon for

 you to find out about a friend having issues or for you to experience new issues at 

college age. The main thing is not to be free of mental health issues, it's to manage 

them when and if they arise. Take care of yourself and your friends. Don't make it 

a bigger deal than it is but take it seriously. 

10 . You will not wake up as early for classes in college as you managed to do for high school.

 It's just a fact. Anything before 11am will be a struggle, especially if you want

 breakfast. 6:30 was a fine time to start the day in high school. It is not in college

 but for a very select few.

- See more at: http://www.harperhoney.com/2013/04/10-essential-college-truths.html?m=1#sthash.Cav6EBUU.dpuf

10 Truths About College Life

The stuff you don't hear while on your campus tour

Katheryn Lamour Sullivan

College is awesome. College is a special time. College is the best years of your life... blah, blah, blah we already know this. What about the messy stuff that happens while we're here? What about the milestones that are reached that no one seems to notice? What about the never-ending list of tasks that must be completed before you leave here? There are so many wonderful things that happen while you're in your undergraduate years, but there is also some super real and scary events that occur while you're here as well. You know, the stuff that the campus tour guides don't want your fragile high school ears to hear (or your parents). Now that you've already been sold on the fantastic place that's said to be college, let's unleash the truth about this sacred institution.

1. The cafeteria isn't that good: This is unfortunate because we all know that the way to the heart is through food. But, it's true, the caf really isn't all that it's cracked up to be. If you're fortunate enough to be near a good cafeteria, you'll without a doubt be sick of it by the end of the first month of classes. There's just something about caf food that is only appealing sometimes. Oh and you may gain some weight... Holla.

2. You're actually going to really miss home: The yearn for your parents touch and cooking has never been so real. You'll start to miss the annoying sound of your mother's nagging and your dad obnoxiously blowing his nose in the bathroom while you're trying to sleep. This doesn't only apply to freshmen, everyone experiences this.

3. Being independent is harder than you thought: Dragging your butt to class and being accountable for your meals and expenses is tough. Yes, expenses. If you don't already loathe dealing with money, you'll start to as soon as you have to have some sort of budget and start paying bills. 

4. Your heart will get broken: If you didn't find love in high school, you'll find it here. All people won't get their hearts broken, but most will for the simple factor that you let yourself start liking someone and they either don't like you or they fall deeply in love for a month or two and then leave you out in the cold like a lonely, confused, heart broken mess. 

5. Some professors really aren't very good: At all. You either get the professor that has a Russian accent so deep your ears bleed trying to translate his words or the professor that assigns 8 books worth of reading, yet covers none of the material in class. 

6. You will meet your best friend: BFFL was defined at a college campus (not really, but let's go with it). The friends you make at college are without a doubt the friends you will have for life. It's something to do with maturity, finding yourselves together, and having various mental, emotional and physical break downs while you're at college.

7. You will either change your mind a lot or be so certain of everything that it drives you crazy: Even the ones with the set-in-stone four year plan doubt themselves; it's only natural at a place with endless opportunities and constant thoughts that make you second guess yourself. They do say that the average college kid changes his or her mind four times.

8. You will have at least one bad roommate: And that person will drive you to near insanity, I promise you.

9. If you live somewhere cold, you will develop a hatred so deep for winter that you often contemplate on quitting life and moving to Bora Bora: The chill that is winter will never be more real than when you have to walk your butt to class every single day in it. There will be side-ways wind, massive snow masses to walk through, and runny noses that allows snot to freeze to your mouth while outside. It's s'cute. 

10. You will either fall in love with your school or hate it so much that you transfer: More times than not, the first happens. But, if you happen to be the latter, then you will most likely fall in love with your second or third (or fourth) school and finally understand the obsessed freaks who have already experienced this love. 

http://theodysseyonline.com/msu/10-truths-about-college-life/86381

BLOG - for Feb. 6

Typical college assignment:
Read the following studies about the need for Fin. Lit. Education for High School and College Students.    --- Write 1 surprising or interesting bit of information that you learned from EACH article. - 2 comments

https://www.cgsnet.org/ckfinder/userfiles/files/College_Students_and_Financial_Literacy.pdf

http://www.aascu.org/policy/publications/perspectives/financialliteracy.pdf