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Everyone knows about straight-A students. We see them frequently in TV sitcoms and in movies like Revenge of the Nerds. They get high grades, all right, but only by becoming dull grinds, their noses always stuck in a book. They're klutzes at sports and dweebs when it comes to the opposite sex.
How, then, do we account for Domenica Roman or Paul Melendres? Melendres, now a freshman at the University of New Mexico, was student-body president at his high school. He played soccer and basketball, exhibited at the science fair, and did student commentaries on a local television station. Valedictorian of his class, he achieved straight A's in his regular classes, plus bonus points for A's in two college-level honors courses.
How do super-achievers like Roman and Melendres do it? Brains aren't the only answer. Top grades don't always go to the brightest students. IQ doesn't count everything. Knowing how to make the most of your innate abilities counts for more. Hard work isn't the whole story, either. It's not how long you sit there with the books open; it's what you do while you're sitting."
The kids at the top of the class get there by mastering a few basic techniques that others can readily learn. Here, according to education experts and students themselves, are the secrets of straight-A students.
Set priorities. Top students brook no intrusions on study time. Once the books are open or the computer is booted up, phone calls go unanswered, TV shows unwatched, snacks ignored. Study is business; business comes befor e recreation.
Get organized. Paul Melendres maintains two folders -- one for the day's assignments, another for papers completed and graded. Even students who don't have a private study area remain organized. A backpack or drawer keeps essential supplies together and cuts down on time-wasting searches.
Learn how to read. The secret of good reading is to be "an active reader"---one who continually asks questions that lead to a full understanding of the author's message.
Schedule your time. When a teacher assigns a long paper, draw up a timetable, divide the project into small pieces so it isn't so overwhelming. It's like eating a steak. You chew it one bite at a time.
Take good notes -- and use them. Reading the textbook is important, but the teacher is going to test you on what he or she emphasized. That's what you find in your notes.Just before the bell rings, most students close their books, put away papers, whisper to friends and get ready to rush out. You may as well use those few minutes to write a two- or three-sentence summary of the lesson's principal points, which she scans before the next day's class.
The most important "secret" of the super-achievers is not so secret. For almost all straight-A students, a love for learning, high standards for themselves and a sense of responsibility do the spell.
