Top 10 Things You Oughta Know About School

1. Top 10 Things You Oughta Know About School The 6 Most Important Decisions You’ll Ever Make by Sean Covey

2. School Checkup! No Way! Heck Yes! • 1 2 3 4 5 • Are you planning on finishing high school? • I am planning on getting more education after high school. • I believe that a good education is essential to my future? • I am working hard at school. • I am getting good grades. • I am involved in extracurricular activities at school. • I am keeping up with my homework. • I am keeping my stress levels in check. • I am able to balance school with everything else I’m doing. • I spend time thinking about and exploring what I want to be when I grow up. 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

3. School Checkup Results • Each question is worth 5 points, for a total of 50 points. • Add up your score and see how you’re doing. • Remember, this is only a test. It is a simple self-evaluation, to help you assess the choices you’re currently making. So don’t get hung up about your score. • 40-50 You’re on the right road. Keep it up!! • 30-39 You’re straddling the high and low roads. Move to higher ground! 10-29 You’re on the low read. Pay special attention to this lesson.

4. Sticking it out • Many years ago, the psychologist Walter Mischel conducted an experiment at a preschool on the Stanford University Campus. • He gathered a group of 4 year old kids around a table with an assortment of marshmallows in the middle. Mischel told them he had to leave the room for a few minutes. If they could wait until he got back, he would give them two marshmallows. If they couldn’t wait, then they could have one marshmallow right then. One marshmallow right now, or two later. That was the deal and he left the room. • A few couldn’t resist and ate a marshmallow the second he left. Some lasted for a few minutes before they gave in. Others smelled their marshmallows. One kid even began licking his. A few kids were determined to resist the temptation and wait. So they covered their eyes, put their heads down, sang to themselves, played games, hid in the corner, or even tried to fall asleep. • When Mischel returned, he gave those who held out their well-earned two marshmallows. • The researcher then followed the lives of each of these kids up through high school. Remarkably, those who had resisted eating the marshmallow had done far better in life than those who couldn’t wait. They were better adjusted, more confident, more popular, and more dependable. They also did much better in school.

5. So, what do marshmallows have to do with not dropping out of school? Lots actually! • Quitting school might be compared to eating the marshmallow now. That juicy marshmallow tastes really good. And dropping out of school may taste delicious at first too. For example, if you quit, you can immediately start making more money to buy things, like a car. You may be able to afford your own apartment. And you immediately get rid of the headache of homework and grades. • On the other hand, by dropping out now, you are sacrificing two marshmallows later. And that's a poor trade-off. The two marshmallows later show up down the road in the form of stronger skills, a better-paying job, a nicer car, more opportunities to help others, and a greater appreciation of everything around you. • Oh, sure, you’ve heard all the reasons for sticking it out and staying in school. But have you really thought about them carefully?

6. How Much Money Will I Make? • Do you realize that if you don’t finish high-school, the penalty will be low-paying work for the rest of your life? • Why?? Because you won’t have the skills you need to get a better-paying job. • “Pay now and play later or play now and pay later” • Average high-school dropout: $10.22 per hour or $21,268 per year • High-school degree: $14.50 per hour or $20,316 per year • Four-year college degree: $23.42 per hour or $48,724 per year LIFELONG EARNINGS: • High-School Dropout $850,720 • High-School Graduate $1,212,640 • College Graduate $1,948,960

7. The Brutal Facts • Dropouts have a much harder time finding and keeping jobs: 50 percent of dropouts are unemployed. • Dropouts are often labelled as people who don’t complete things. • Dropouts often jump from job to job instead of building a career. • Dropouts aren’t even considered for most high-paying jobs, even if they’re qualified. • And increasingly, in most countries, a high-school degree is not enough. Says Vlad, a teen from Russia: “Today in Russia, you’re almost nothing if you don’t have a university degree. You won’t find a job without it.”