Jessica Baldwin

My Reading Secret Formula is: 1. Remove Distractions + 4. Take notes + 5. Stop When You’re Confused + 6. Set Aside Time to Read= Success

Throughout high school, I never liked reading. I didn’t like doing anything that involved reading, like studying. I was one of many people who hate to open a textbook because you don’t feel like doing anything or because it was intimidating. Once I started taking this course, I realized that, “Hey! Reading isn’t so bad!” I now have new resources to use when I read. Throughout the next four years of college, I am studying to become an elementary teacher. I will need to read student work, teacher manuals, lesson plans and keep updated on the curriculum and how it’s changing. I know that I will need to manage my time better and take time to do my work. AS a result, I will need to remove distractions, take notes, set aside special time for work and to stop when I don’t know what I am doing.

I was always struggling with time management. I would wait until the last minute to study for a test and end up failing it. Or when writing a paper, I would end up finishing a 10 page paper in the last week and a half I had left to do it. I knew it was a problem, but I would just never try to change it because I would still get bye. I found myself doing this even in college. I would tell myself I need more studying time, but I could just never follow through.

During this class, I started to set aside time. It helped open my schedule so I could study more. I also learned that highlighting in different colors will help sort out the information I found, so I could make my study time short and sweet, but get all the information I needed. Because of this, I don’t waste my time doing stupid things instead of studying. I am getting better grades and seeing that I’m doing much better in my classes and on my tests. I also started to write down my assignments more so I could remember what I needed to do for class.

When I find myself going back to my old ways, I’ll be able to stop for a minute and think, “Is this really worth it?” And from there I will go onto remove my distractions and keep them away and to make sure I have time to do my work or assignments. I will also be able to use the different ways of studying I learned to use and apply it to each class.