AP Human Geography is SO HARD!!!?

Question

I started school two weeks ago, and am a freshman. I am taking the only AP I can take. We already have five grades and I have a D. We have reading quizzes 2-3 times a week. We have to read 2-3 pages a night. The quiz tho, is only 2 questions. I have gotten 3 100's, 1 50, and a 0. The last 0 was when we had to read an article in school, and I did. It was only one question, and I thought he was talking about something else. I got it wrong, and so it messed my whole average up. I didn't think he was going to count it since he didn't put a grade on it. I always read like the pages 4 times before we take the quiz the next day. He never even tells us when we have a quiz, so I read it 4 times a night. If you miss one, you fail it. Now were having like an essay thing, and have to do good. We also are doing a project. I care about my grades ALOT! I want to go to NYU. I'm doing good in all my other classes for the most part. I'm taking all honors, theater, and health/pe. I know its very early, but I'm scared. They say you get 10 extra points added to your grade, but they lied to me. You get 10 extra points on your report card, but the 10 points dont get added toward your GPA. I dont see the reason of this, if it doesn't count towards your GPA. One reason I took it was of this, he even said it was stupid that they add it but is doesnt help. The teacher is a little wack, but he's ok. He also only gives you 5 minutes on your quizzes. What is your feedback, should I say bye to NYU? I try very hard, and everyone in the class is gifted. I'm just average and not girfted. My teacher said it was hard last year, but thought I could handle it. I don't want to drop it, I'm not a quitter. I want a high B in his class. I just need some advice. Thanks!

Answer 1

First of all - calm down. Don't freak out. You're stressing yourself out unnecessarily, and that's only going to compound the stress you're already feeling. Being stressed out about school is not going to help you do better. In fact, it might make things worse.

The good thing is that you only have to read 2-3 pages a night. That's nothing! Compared to college where you have to read 50 pages a day - trust me, 2-3 pages is absolutely nothing. So take a deep breath and be glad about that.

Secondly, you don't need to read everything 4 times before a quiz. When you do your reading, all you need to do is underline and highlight the important points in the text/article. Find the main ideas, underline AND highlight them - but don't go overboard. Usually the main ideas of whatever you're reading are summarized in a sentence or two. Learn how to look at the overall picture of what you're reading, and break it down into it's logical points. Those are what you underline and highlight. Underlining and highlighting are a great way to help you go back and study only what you need to. You're wasting time by reading over everything again. Books put a lot of unnecessary details in between the main points, and not all of it is important for you to learn. As long as you understand the main ideas that the book or article is trying to get across from you, and you underline them, then that's all you need.

Secondly, whenever I read texts, I ALWAYS annotate them as I read them. Annotating is just writing a summary in the margin of what the book is saying. I usually annotate every paragraph or two so that when I go back to study, I can read my annotations, and usually I remember the details that the book was talking about. For example, if you're reading history and you come across a section that is talking about the Declaration of Independence, I would write next to a paragraph "Jefferson is chosen to write the Declaration" if that is what the paragraph is talking about. That way I can scan my textbook quickly, see what it is talking about quickly by reading my annotations, browse over my highlighted stuff to reinforce my annotations, and that's all you need to help you remember what you read.

One other thing that helps is to annotate any questions or comments on the text as you're reading. Then try to find the answers to your questions or ask your teacher about them. Underlining, highlighting, and annotating is called "active reading" and combined, they help you retain the information much better than if you simply just read over it - even 4 times.

This method is also great for essay, because in college you practically do nothing but essay exams or quizzes. When you've taken the time to break down your text like I outlined above, then the information is much easier to organize in your brain for the essay you must write. So try it, and see if it helps.

Remember - you're only a freshman and it's natural for you to freak out your first year in high school. School is a big adjustment as you move higher up. High school is different than junior high, and college is WAY different than high school. Give yourself time to adjust, but try doing what college students have to do to make good grades - active reading : ) Good luck!

Answer 2

I could be wrong...but I hardly think that the dividing line between NYU and DownTown South Campus is based on 5 questions on life with Monkey's Odds.  You've got a 70 so far .... 2 weeks into a class that doesn't count?!!!  You're teacher is a wack job, and you only have 2 pages a nite to study?  Life is made of much bigger decisions then just missing the boat cuz you misunderstood what the street sign said.  Sometimes the difference between second rate and the man (or woman) that got the job wasn't in what you knew...but rather who you knew.  .....ahhh to be gifted, sounds more like a genetic deformity...I can tell you this...don't drop the class....do the best you can...if you wash out...it wasn't cuz you didn't try.  Life itself has "stopgap measures" to catch accidental slips like that dumb article.  Have faith in the bigger picture, ... I have faith in you.