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    Make It Plain: Keys to Being a Successful High School Student
    Make It Plain: Keys to Being a Successful High School Student
    Make It Plain: Keys to Being a Successful High School Student
    Ebook117 pages1 hour

    Make It Plain: Keys to Being a Successful High School Student

    By Dr. Marvin L Byrd

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    About this ebook

    What does it take to succeed in High School?

    You have four years to prove you want to go to college. Its called high school and getting there is not as difficult as you might think. Make it Plain is an excellent resource for any middle or high school student dreaming of great things in the future.

    In Make it Plain, author Dr. Marvin L. Byrd plainly tells students how to graduate from high school with a key that will open the golden door that leads to a bright future. Make it Plain will help students

    Create a vision
    Sustain effective effort toward making the vision a reality
    Properly establish priorities
    Manage work and play time effectively
    Make wise decisions
    And much more!
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAuthorHouse
    Release dateAug 2, 2012
    ISBN9781477232804
    Make It Plain: Keys to Being a Successful High School Student
    Author

    Dr. Marvin L Byrd

    Dr. Marvin L Byrd has served as an educator of young people in various roles over 10 years including as a public school teacher in Joplin and Hazelwood, Missouri. He is the founder of Vision Chasers, an organization dedicated to inspiring students to achieve their vision of success.

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      Book preview

      Make It Plain - Dr. Marvin L Byrd

      © 2012 by Dr. Marvin L. Byrd. All rights reserved.

      No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

      Published by AuthorHouse 12/21/2012

      ISBN: 978-1-4772-3281-1 (sc)

      ISBN: 978-1-4772-3279-8 (hc)

      ISBN: 978-1-4772-3280-4 (e)

      Library of Congress Control Number: 2012911487

      Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

      Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

      This book is printed on acid-free paper.

      Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

      Contents

      Introduction

      Sight vs. Vision (1)

      Personal Development (2)

      You Must Read! (3)

      Accept the Challenge (4)

      Organization and Time Management (5)

      Stay on the Path (6)

      How to Study (7)

      Conclusion (8)

      Resources

      Last Words

      To my virtuous woman,

      Tamara for all of your support through the years…

      truly, all things are possible.

      School%20Picture_EDITED.jpg

      Proof… I was once a teenager too.

      Introduction

      When I was younger, I used to wish that people were born with all the necessary knowledge and wisdom that they needed in order to be successful in life. Unfortunately, this was not the case, so I had to get up in the morning and go to school whether it was raining, snowing, or well below the freezing point. There were a number of things I could think of that were much more desirable than going to school. Furthermore, once I got to school, I found other distractions to be more entertaining than what the teacher was talking about. I went through a time when I was that student who interrupted class with jokes and side conversations while the teacher was talking. I did these things because I didn’t understand how to see education correctly. I felt that school was this place that I had to go because my parents wanted to be rid of me for eight hours out of the day. There were a million other things that I would rather have been doing instead of sitting in school. It wasn’t until my 8th grade year that I understood how to see it all correctly. School not only gives us the necessary educational information, but school also helps everyone to lay a foundation that we will need for the rest of our lives. A famous adventurer said, Education is the means to answer all questions. Throughout your lifetime, numerous challenges will be presented to you. Your education will assist you so that you can make good decisions. Life is all about making a series of decisions. Those who make wiser decisions are likely to realize the life that they desire in the future. I am writing this book primarily for middle and high school students because I want you to understand that there is a purpose to education. I also want you to understand that what you do now will affect your quality of life, employment, salary, and the next generation of your family.

      The primary purpose of education is to teach the content (math, science, social studies, communication arts, etc.), but the secondary purpose of education is to teach students how to manage themselves so that they may use their acquired knowledge to benefit them in the future. There is a beautiful pay it forward side to education as well. When you become an adult, you will be asked to replace the resources that you consume. Currently over $10,000 in taxpayer money is used to educate each individual public school student per year. The government invests these resources in you because you will be the next senator, doctor, teacher, lawyer, chef, police officer, writer, etc. You realizing your dream will benefit society because when you begin your profession, your tax dollars will be used to educate the generation that will follow you. I am grateful for the public resources that were used to educate me even when I showed a lack of interest. When you start to look at things properly, you will realize that it is imperative that you maximize your educational opportunities so that you can contribute to the next generation.

      Consider this: Rosa Parks was a key person who contributed to the Civil Rights Movement in America. What if she decided that she was going to simply go with the flow and follow the discriminatory law that made African-Americans sit in the back of the bus? Things would look differently. Rosa Parks and others paid a price so that we could enjoy the way things are today. The work of that generation has allowed me the opportunity as a Black man to educate a diverse group of students in the same classroom. Hopefully, you are beginning to see a cycle of giving that benefits everyone. We need you to contribute to this cycle of good fortune by taking full advantage of your educational opportunities. You achieving your full potential benefits yourself, your family, your community, your state, and your country.

      I graduated from McCluer North High School in Florissant, Missouri, with a 3.6 GPA. Afterwards, I went to the University of Missouri in Columbia. My dream throughout high school was to attend the university and be a Tiger. I had crazy hoop dreams about making the basketball team and playing for Norm Stewart. I also had the idea of being so good that I could go pro and play in the NBA. However, things didn’t work out the way that I wanted them to. I never played for the basketball team, and after my first semester I earned a 1.7 GPA. I was too scared to try out for the team, and even though I performed well academically in high school, there was a major problem with my abilities as a student in college. I didn’t know how to truly study. I compounded this problem by deciding not to seek help, so I was eventually dismissed from the university. Thankfully, I didn’t let the story end there. At that point, I had two options. Quitting was one. I know many people who started college with me and never finished. I chose to keep trying even though it was a very difficult time in my life. I wanted to stay in school and get my degree even though it would not be easy. The process of getting back in school was not simple. I had to write letters and meet with administrators in order to get back in school. I’ll never forget ironing my best clothes an hour before I was to meet with the dean of my school. He had the power to allow me back in school. I hadn’t told my parents about what I was going through because I didn’t want to disappoint them. The weight of this situation was so heavy that I cried a lot about it. Thankfully, the dean was willing to give me a chance. I didn’t waste it.

      In 2003, I graduated from Mizzou, and I have since gone on to earn three more degrees. On the first day of each school year, I share this personal story with my students. I remind them that it doesn’t make me better than anyone else, but I offer it as encouragement. As you read this book, my words may seem harsh at times, but I promise you that they come from a good heart. You may not have the chance to know my character to understand that I absolutely mean no harm by the words that I speak in this book. However, I hope that I have done a decent job of explaining my passion for education and that I want the best for each and every one of you who have picked up this book. By writing this book, I want to help others learn from my mistakes so that their path will be easier. I will also share with you practical tools that you can use to help you be a successful student. By making it plain, I hope to level and straighten your path to success.

      Acceptance%20Letter%20to%20Mizzou%20(2).jpg

      Obviously, I was very excited to receive this letter.

      I want you to experience that same feeling.

      Sight vs. Vision (1)

      To begin this chapter, I want you to consider The Story of the Three Little Pigs. Many of you are familiar with the story of how the first pig builds his house out of straw, the second pig builds his house out of sticks, and the third pig builds his house out of bricks. The evil wolf comes to the houses of the first two pigs and blows them down causing the first two pigs to run to the third pig’s house where they are safe. The evil wolf can’t blow the house of bricks down, and he ends up dying trying to get the three little pigs. Many don’t know that the version many of us heard as children is not the original version of the story. The truth is that after

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