Adventure is a crazy place with some teachers that are very interesting and all have very different classrooms and teaching styles. Throughout the 4 years I’ve been at Adventure, I have gathered much experience and wisdom about how to do assignments, how to not get in trouble, what is allowed and what rules the teachers are lenient about. In Adventure, I have found that it is actually impossible to “survive”. Yep, in Adventure, there is no surviving. No matter what you do, there will always be things that will throw you so far into the pits of hell that you will feel dead. On the other hand, there are also some things that will lift your spirits high enough to reach Mars; however, they don’t come around as often as the pits of hell stuff. While this sounds bad, there is plenty of advice that will keep you from falling as far, but you will still fall. Sound confusing? Allow me to explain.

 

In Adventure, we often have projects that, as you progress through the grade levels, get harder. Sometimes you will have projects that are so overwhelmingly hard you want to break down and cry, then procrastinate to the end and do a half-witted job. The best thing to do in these projects is to pay attention to the teacher and do the work to the best of your ability. On some projects, there will be choices that will affect what you do through the entire duration of the project such as your partners or the topic. You need to make sure that when you make these choices, you choose partners that will help you finish the project well and will make doing the project enjoyable and not a nightmare. When you choose the topic, choose your passion, not the easy way out as you will output a much better final product/presentation if you love what you are doing.

 

Another thing to remember, your grades do not matter. First, let me clarify that this does not mean that it is okay if you get only F’s the entire year. You still need good grades to graduate to the next grade level, and high schools and colleges will have access to them, although they might not care as much. This does mean that if your grade bumps down to a C, it is okay.

Especially at the beginning of a grading period, when you only have one assignment to define your grade, which makes a 7/10 an immediate C, and that could be from a minor mistake. The most important thing to remember at these times is that it is not that hard to repair your grade, as you can easily regrade most assignments. Not that you should rely on this, and you will get more assignments very quickly to bring your grade back up.

 

Listen to what the teachers have to say, read the descriptions to their assignments, and read Ms. Garcia’s blog! Many times students will have assignments and not know what they are doing, or are confused on an assignment because they didn’t listen to what the teacher had to say about it. This is easily prevented, and if not prevented, fixable by simply listening to the teacher or reading the description of the assignment that most likely exists. This usually clears up all confusion. If you are needing to write your blog for Ms. Garcia’s class or you are needing any information whatsoever about an assignment in her class, look at her blog. Many people forget to do this and end up embarrassing themselves by asking Ms. Garcia a stupid question.

 

Following these tips will help you through the 8th grade, and maybe even other grades such as 5th,6th, or 7th. Remember, Projects are hard. Do them to best of your ability. Your grades are not your top priority. Pay close attention the the directions and double check them for clarification on things. Lastly, If things seem a bit down in Adventure or you aren’t learning as much as you need to be, be proactive and make sure that you are doing what you need to do in order to succeed.