Being Organized at School
By Lauren, age 16, California
Sweet Designs Featured Writer
With the new school year coming around, it's important to keep those papers safe and sound. Here are some tips to cut down on the clutter and keep your stuff safe.Sweet Designs Featured Writer
1. Use sheet protectors for reference documents. Calendars, periodic tables, formula sheets, and anything else that will be used all year should be protected. Having a special section will also make it easier to find these.
2. Have pockets? Use them! Most binders have pocket sections, and for less than a buck you can pick up some 3-hole-punched plastic pockets that will last forever. These are great for quickly putting away graded papers in an orderly fashion. Having these right up front will prevent that stack of old papers from sliding to the bottom of your bag, as well as make checking test grades easy.
3. Put paper in every corner. If you have multiple binders, keep some blank paper in each. It makes no sense to have a spiral out for notes, a binder out for reference, and have to take out another binder for test paper. If you can, get a spiral with perforated pages.
4. Have a manual pencil sharpener. Most teachers have pencil sharpeners, but chances are some kid will break them within the first two weeks of school. Mechanical pencils are great, but if that's all you're bringing, make sure to have refills on hand (plus erasers). I have a manual pencil sharpener I found for 20 cents that at least 50 of my peers have borrowed - they come in handy more often than you'd think.
5. Lending a pen? Check the person. Most don't do it intentionally, but many people will simply forget they borrowed it. Some may need it for other class periods, but unless you see them in another class, that pen might as well be gone. A polite way to dodge the lending deal is just to say, "This is my last one. Maybe ______ (another classmate) has a spare." Oftentimes the teacher will have a small supply of them, too - usually student discards - but occasionally usable.
6. Leave the iPad at home. Anything with a worth of over $50 should really be left at home. Items are stolen at schools all the time, especially P.E. clothes (disgusting as that is), and while administrators will be sympathetic, they'll ultimately tell you that you shouldn't have brought it in the first place.