Counselor's Corner

Your George Ranch counselors want to shout out a big HOWDY to all the Longhorns!

Our goal here at George Ranch High School is to assist you, the student, with all of your academic and personal needs.

Need to Talk to a Counselor?

If you need to see your counselor you can visit them daily at the Counselor's Corner located inside the cafeteria, or you can fill out a purple  appointment request form (located in your counselor's office or the student service window). We will call you down as soon as possible to assist you with what you need.

Study Skills

Usually students want to do better in school but do not know where to begin. The Study Skills topics included in this website can help students with studying, test taking, time management, and setting goals. The information includes approaches and suggestions for students to improve in school. To look for help on other websites that contain study skills information, please click on the links below:

• www.studygs.net
• www.educationatlas.com/study-skills.html
• www.how-to-study.com
• www.infoplease.com/homework/studyskills1.html

Good Study Techniques

Study skills provide you with the ability to learn effectively and are fundamental to your success in developing your talents in communication, mathematical sciences, and reasoning. To develop the skills that you need for training/education after high school, here are some suggestions that may help you.

1. Set aside a period of time to study, even on weekends, and always study during this time. If you have absolutely nothing to study or review, have a good book at hand to pick up and read, one that stretches your vocabulary and one that extends your present information.
2. As you study, pace yourself; work 20-25 minutes, then take a short break. Try to increase the concentrated work period. Strive for 50 minutes before you take a 10-minute break.
3. Teach yourself to increase your reading skills by practicing in a quiet place with no interruptions.
4. Review as you read. If you find that your mind wandered and you really do not know what you have just read, reread those pages. Otherwise, ask yourself some questions about what you have read and answer your questions.
5. Take notes in class but keep them short and to the point so that you can keep your mind on the teacher. Using your text or reference materials, fill in the notes later. Underline points emphasized in the lecture or written on the board. Abbreviate when possible.
6. Do your hardest homework first. Efficiency drops sharply towards bedtime.
7. Turn off the radio, stereo, and TV while studying.
8. Make sure your study area is well lighted.
9. Keep a dictionary handy and use it.
10. Keep your homework up to date. Once you are behind, it is difficult to catch up.
11. Notice summing-up paragraphs in textbooks and thoroughly learn them.
12. REVIEW -REVIEW - REVIEW

Thinking, understanding, and problem-solving, not rote memorization, are the basis for post-secondary education. They require persistence, flexibility, experimentation, and concern for accuracy. Development of these skills should be your major goal throughout high school. It is important that you gain confidence in your abilities.

Time Management

In high school you will spend from 8 to 12 hours each day on school activities. These are some suggestions about how you can get the most out of your time, both for school and recreation.

1. Keep a record of how you spend your time.
2. Determine what you want to get done or need to get done during the week.
3. Rank these objectives in order of priority.
4. Draw up a time schedule, but do not schedule all of your time because then you will not allow for flexibility.
5. Develop a good filing system both at school and at home.
6. Finish one task before going on to the next.

At the end of the day, plan what you need to do the next day and write it down.Sometimes writing your list helps you see how you can combine several tasks to be more efficient.

Setting Goals:

Road Map to Success

To know where you are going in life, it is important to decide in advance how to get there. Goals are signposts on the highway to the future. They serve as your road map to personal and career success. By keeping a definite goal in view, you can steer all your energies to it.

Choose goals that are important to you, that can help you achieve personal balance.

1. Put your goals in writing. Seeing your goals down on paper encourages you to be serious about making them happen.
2. Keep your list short. Too many goals at once may over-whelm your good intentions.
3. Divide goals into short, medium, and long-range plans.
4. Make others aware of your goals. Family, friends, and teachers can help you reach them.
5. Visualize achieving your goals to give yourself a sense of excitement and further inspiration.
6. Review goals often; maker larger goals easier to achieve by breaking them down into small steps.
7. Celebrate when you reach a goal or any step along the way, for showing determination and follow-through.