A lecture hall should be like a church-a little too dark,much too cold,and uncomfortably silent.You should feel guilty opening your water bottle,because all 200 people in the room can hear it.

So when I’m trying to pay attention,the last thing you should be doing is carrying on a conversation about your last weekend party or anything else.

During the past school term,I’ve had enough.One of my biggest complaints of large class sizes is the tendency for three to five friends to sit together and loudly whisper each others’ ears off for an hour and 15 minutes straight.My stupid monkey brain can’t help but focus on your conversation about the difference between ash blonde and light blonde colored hair that look exactly the same.

To me,it just feels like a waste.You’re actively wasting money,and missing vital information.We(and the government)pay quite a lot for our education,but you are here to ignore someone significantly more experienced than us,in classes we picked,for hours every week.

I know major requirements can be boring,but this is still an education.It requires two-way effort.Most of students here have at least one goal in common:success.Not every checkpoint on that path is going to be filled with joy.Sit down,shut up,and force yourself to listen to your professor.Society tells us it will eventually pay off.

Or maybe it won’t because you don’t want to.

I actually don’t care if you decide to pay little or no attention to the lecture itself,so long as you’re not being disturbing.

For those willing to try,in 20 years when you finally pay off your debt with your fairly secure white-collar job,you’ll look back and be happy that you went through the lectures.

Getting your kids organized for the new school year

Parents can begin good organization habits with preschool-age children, said Elana Spira, Ph.D., co-author of The Organized Child. She suggests asking them to do small, simple actions on a regular basis. Maybe they unpack their backpacks and bring their lunch bag to the kitchen, or take their shoes off at the door.【小题1】. Doing small things at a young age helps children exercise discipline(自律) and attention, all of which they’ll need later on.

When kids enter elementary school, they’re ready for more responsibility. This is the time to teach them about daily activities, and help them take control over theirs.   【小题2】. When do children do their homework? How long do they need? Where do they do it? Where does the homework go once it is done? Figure it out all before, and keep to the schedule as much as possible.

As children get older and their schedules get busier, they need their parents ‘ help in recognizing priorities(优先处理的事) and understanding what it takes to make it all work. As with younger children, the goal is to help them figure out what will work for them — and then help them keep to it.

【小题3】. Julie Morgenstern, organizing and productivity expert, suggests keeping a family calendar—paper or electronic—and keeping it regularly. Each family member should have a color belonged to their activities, so it’s easy to see who is doing what, when. “You can’t expect people to look at the calendar on their own. You should have a family sit together every day to look at it, and look at three days ahead,” Morgenstern said. “【小题4】.”

“Set the child up for success by changing gradually,” Spira advises. “【小题5】. Wait until the child has been consistently successful with one solution, before moving on to the next.”