My family and I never talked about school as the ticket to a future. I was in the classrooms, but I wasn’t there to learn to write, read or even speak. When it was my turn to read, I wanted to hide. I was 13 years old, but I already hated being who I was.

I had an English teacher, Mr. Creech, who knew I couldn’t read. In one of my first lessons the teacher said that anyone who had a reading age below six had to stand up. I felt so embarrassed. But at the same time, it made me realize that I needed to change the situation. I was determined it wouldn’t happen again. Later that day, Mr. Creech encouraged me and promised he would try his best to help me learn to read. From then on, I never gave up practicing reading.

Then when I was 41 years old, one day, I planned to fly back to Texas to visit my friends and family. On my way from the airport, I saw Mr. Creech buying himself a drink. I rushed over and reached into my pocket to pay for him. “Do I know you?” he asked. “Yes, sir, you do know me,” I answered excitedly. “My name is Anthony Hamilton. You taught me English.” The look on his face told me that he remembered the boy he’d once encouraged.

“I’m so glad I had a chance to see you,” I said. “And Mr. Creech, I have great news to share.” I told him I had learned to read. But that wasn’t all. I had become a published author and an active speaker. “The next time you get another Anthony Hamilton in your classroom, please encourage him to read as well,” I added.

The experts say what once worried me has a name: dyslexia (诵读困难症). But I can tell you it was a lack of desire for education.

How can English be learned well? In my view, keeping up with teachers is a good way. Teachers are experienced and their plans are effective. But remember to work in a way that suits you. It’s important to learn from past mistakes as well. Keep a notebook to make a record of the mistakes you make — it’ll help you avoid making the same ones later.

The school life may be hard, but you’re not alone. You may be busy studying, but you can show your care by calling your friends or sending short messages. Don’t let your friendships die.

It’s as important to live well as it is to study well. Going to bed no later than 11: 30 pm is important. It puts you in the right state for the next day. You needn’t follow a special diet, but make sure you are eating healthy meals each day.

The person who plays well studies well. Having a lot of schoolwork doesn’t mean having to quit other activities. Playing basketball or having a talk with your classmates can relax yourself. Time out is not a waste of time but helps you study more efficiently.

Besides taking the College Entrance Examination, you have other choices for college. Some students even apply for studying abroad. Pay attention to the useful information you can find, whether it’s from school, the news media or other sources.

The most exciting kind of education is also the most personal. Nothing can exceed the joy of discovering for yourself something that is important to you! It may be an idea or a bit of information you come across accidentally or a sudden insight, fitting together pieces of information or working through a problem. Such personal discoveries are the "payoff" in education. A teacher may direct you to learning and even encourage you in it, but no teacher can make the excitement or the joy happen. That's up to you.

A research paper, assigned in a course by an instructor, leads you beyond classroom, beyond the texts for classes and into a process where the joy of discovery and learning can come to you many times. Preparing the research paper is an active and individual process, and ideal learning process. It provides a structure within which you can make exciting discoveries of knowledge, which are basic to education. But the research paper also gives you a chance to individualize a school assignment, to suit a piece of work to your own interests and abilities, to show others what you can do. Writing a research paper is more than just a classroom exercise. It is an experience in which learners will search out, understand and compose, forming the basis of many skills applicable to both academic and nonacademic tasks. It is, in the fullest sense, a discovering, an education. So, to produce a good research paper is both a useful and a thoroughly satisfying experience!

To some, the thought of having to write an assigned number of pages, often more than ever produced before, is upsetting. To others, the very idea of having to work independently is threatening. But there is no need to approach the research paper assignment with anxiety, and nobody should view the research paper as an obstacle to overcome. Instead, consider it a goal to accomplish, a goal within reach if you use the help this book can give you.