Six Principles for Every Student to Live By
1. You're not nearly as smart nor as dumb as you think you are.
2. Do the Reading. If you cannot read well, get some help. If you don't like to read, get over it.
3. Do your Homework. If you're "too busy," then cut something out of your life that interferes with school. We make time for what's important in this life, and if you're "too busy to do your work," then you're saying you don't consider learning to be important.
4. Look in the mirror every once in a while. Ask yourself, "What have I done to make this better/worse?" "What can I do in the future to make this better/worse?" Stop blaming the school/administrators/teachers/government/nation/society for things YOU can control.
5. Most reputations are deserved. If every teacher expects you to be a jerk based on what they've heard from your previous teachers, there's a reason...you act like a jerk. They're not out to "get" you. Stop acting like a jerk!
6. Each class is what YOU make it. There are good teachers and bad teachers. Good teachers can definitely help you learn and enjoy a class. Bad teachers can make a class into a frustrating, even miserable, experience, but it's still possible to learn something and at least pass.