Homework and Organization
For many students, getting homework done can be very challenging and sometimes frustrating. One Reason for this is that some students are just not organized. There are as many reasons for being disorganized as there are students but some common reasons are over-scheduling, lack of planning, and not having all the information and materials needed to complete assignments. As you can see, organization applies to many aspects of academic life, which include time, homework, and materials. Here we will discuss specific study strategies to assist you in becoming better prepared to succeed.

Planning: School, Sports, Work, and Fun
In general, high school is a very exciting time filled with friends, fun, sports, proms, and oh yeah, classes. One of the most difficult challenges facing students is how to organize their time so that they can participate in many of these extracurricular activities and still succeed in school.

The most critical tool you can have is a daily/weekly organizer. If this seems "juvenile," just remember that successful professionals of all types rely on organizers as part of their daily routine - just ask. Organizers of this type can come in many forms, from calendars, to assignment notebooks, to palm pilots. Regardless of what an organizer looks like it must have a daily calendar that has enough lines to write in homework assignments for each subject, times to block off for sports, work, and homework, and a monthly calendar that allows you to plot out long term assignments.

Unfortunately, the assignment book doesn't fill itself in every day and it is up to you to record correct assignments for each class as well as after school activities. Writing down assignments can be a very challenging thing to do, especially when the bell is ringing and you're thinking of what you need to bring to next class. It can be helpful to keep your assignment book on your desk, as a reminder, until you actually write the homework in it. Don't forget to ask your teachers for help in remembering - they want you to have the right information as much as you do.

Joan Sedita, M.Ed., an experienced educator, nationally recognized speaker, and author, is director of Sedita Learning Strategies, a consulting and teacher-training service.

This article is excerpted from the Student Newsletter for Success, Volume 1, January 2003, published by LDW through a generous grant from Commonwealth Learning Center. The purpose of the Newsletter is for parents to share with their children, for teachers to distribute to their students, and for pediatricians to leave in their waiting room for clients. Please let us know your suggestions for feature articles by contacting the editor, Teresa Allissa Citro at 781-890-5399.

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