The High School Balancing Act – Academics – Sports – Volunteering – Extra Curricular’s

One of the first things high school students are told is to become involved in school! Join that club, participate in that sport, and make the most of their high school years! Great advice, but many students find their homework alone to be challenging and time-consuming, and before they know it, they are doing poorly in classes, and are wondering how in the world they are supposed to balance school and extra-curricular activities.

At WSEA, we know how hard it is to perform this balancing act, but we have found the key to success: Organization! It’s a simple concept, but we cannot count how many times a student will come in and not know his or her upcoming test or paper due dates. We work with students to fully utilize their assignment notebooks. First, we have them write in all tests, quizzes, papers, projects, etc.

Then, we have them write in all extra-curricular activities, both in and out of school. Finally, we have them write in all family commitments, like birthday parties and weekend trips. We work with the students to look ahead and see if there are any conflicts.

We teach them to plan ahead: if they will be gone this weekend, but the paper’s due Monday, then they should finish it Friday. If they have a test on Monday, they should bring their notes to study in the car. If they have two big tests on the same day, perhaps they can talk to their teachers to see if they can help out. Yes, it’s a lot, and it’s a balancing act, but it can be done. Organization is the key!