Balancing School and Cheer

By Alaina Walker

HOW TO MANAGE SCHOOL WITH CHEER

1. Pay attention in class.

• Paying attention in class saves you time later when doing your homework and reviewing because it will not be the first time you have encountered this material.

2. Ask your teachers about doing things EARLY so you are not super stressed out.

• This is extremely important during the lead-up to a big cheer competition because you won’t have to think about homework at all during the competition!

• If your teachers have a syllabus, use it to your advantage and get assignments done AHEAD of time.

3. Ask your teachers about extra credit. Most teachers will give it to you if you ask about it!

4. Communicate with your teachers.

• If you are going to miss class, let them know ahead of time so that they can give you work and work with you to plan accordingly.

• If you cannot hand an assignment in on time, let them know ahead of time (at least 3 days before) and provide them with the specific reason why. note that this depends on the teacher/school and may not work all the time which is why it is so important to stay ahead of your work and not behind.

5. Maintain your grades by:

• Asking questions. Asking questions helps you better understand what is going on and get clarity on your work.

• Doing your homework. When doing your homework, don’t look up the answers because you do not want to train your brain to look up answers. Rather, you should be practicing and maybe even getting things wrong so your brain knows how to do it in the future.

• Studying for a test. When studying for a test I recommend using Quizlet. This app helps you study really well. If you are not able to use this app I also recommend using flash cards. This is great if your classes require a lot of memorization.

• Studying also helps you gain confidence with the material!

6. Be the best student you can be!