For this article, each person was asked what they would like advice about, and then they answered someone else’s question in return.

First, I asked Alex Tun if he had any advice about his best subject, math. Tun said, “Math assessments are often cumulative from previous units and can be challenging and confusing, especially when many formulas and multiple topics are being covered. To begin, paying attention in class and taking complete notes in class based on the teacher’s explanation is essential, but that’s the more obvious of the techniques. Moreover, it is of imperative importance that you know the material very well, but that begins only by understanding fully why certain complex formulas or functions or mathematical laws and theorems work the way they do.”

Tun further emphasized understanding over memorization, however acknowledged memorization is also a crucial aspect of any math course. “I stress understanding over memorizing because memorization without understanding leads to confusion and it is likely that you will forget. Understanding core concepts and why they work has a higher success rate regardless of any math class from Algebra I to AP Statistics to AP Physics C.

In summary, a high level of understanding enforces concepts in your head better and is better than confused and endless memorization. Additionally, it prepares you better and reduces headache and anxiety last minute before test day. Follow this method to be successful mathematically in the future!”

Alex wanted advice on: “How to approach a test in a critical thinking and abstract classes such as Honors English or Honors History. How do you absorb such a large volume of information, tie concepts together, memorize key facts and theories and concepts and characters or events, and apply this to a cumulative test.” So I asked English student of the year last year, Madison Clubb.
Her Advice : “In order to be successful in history or English you have to actually understand what you’re being taught; the “why’s” and the messages hidden beneath the surface of an idea or concept or piece of information. You have to change how you approach these subjects as intensity increases (as you advance throughout high school). If you begin to make sense of what you’re learning as opposed to straight up memorization, you’ll find it much easier to write essays without knowing the prompt beforehand, and you’ll be able to better recall the information(or at least reason your way through whatever you’re being faced with). For some people, this kind of stuff comes naturally, but if it does not, then you’ll just need to put a little more effort into it.

She wanted advice on “new music to listen to.”

Avery Mae Saltmarsh, who has a wide range of musical interests, said “My favorite place to find new music is from my friends! They all have such different tastes and that truly gives variety to my playlists. It gets me more exposed to different genres and music that I would have never listened to before. I owe all my interest in music to my brother who started my craze! Spotify is my favorite way to listen to music and to make playlists. I will sometimes just click a different genre of music and listen to it whether it’s pop, indie, rap, oldies, or EDM just to see a different side of music. But the best way is to expose yourself to other genres and not just stick to one type of music. You will find that your taste in music will become more broadly liked by more people and you can be able to listen to more that one station of the radio now!”

Avery wanted advice on “new movies to watch.”
Barbie Goldstein, connoisseur of the Harry Potter series, said “Personally, I enjoy movies typically originated as books. Harry Potter, my favorite book series, is also my favorite movie ever series. If you’re looking for advice for a movie, I recommend finding one in a certain category you enjoy. If you’re someone who enjoys action movies, romance, horror, etc., then look for movies within the categories and enjoy! If you come to a realization that the movie isn’t one that is of your interest, you can simply pick another one.”

She wanted advice on“ time management for homework.”

Ethan Das, frequent procrastinator, advised “My advice for time management on homework is trying to get homework done during any available hours, and forcing away distractions. I try to do homework on the bus home from school, and I try to finish bigger, harder work first leaving reading assignments or worksheets for last. Always try to get a good bedtime, and If you ever can’t finish work during the night, do it the next morning on the bus and/or zero-hour.”

He wanted advice on “how to pass a driving test.”

Jared Demarco says “A good way to pass a driver’s test is to do research on what exactly you will be tested on. Find out each item in the test and practice them until you can do it easily. Also, on the day of your test, be sure to be well rested and wide awake. This will help improve your driving.”