Avoid trouble during high school - Revision history

Vipul: /* Overall remedies */

2014-03-17T03:20:16Z

Overall remedies

← Older revision		Revision as of 03:20, 17 March 2014
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	==Overall remedies==		==Overall remedies==

			===Find better outlets for your creative talents and curiosity===

			Consider, for instance, our [[core reading recommendations]]. Consider [[maintaining your online presence\|building an online presence]]. Learn [[high school mathematics learning recommendations\|high school mathematics]] or [[online programming learning resources\|programming]]. Get into useful [[high school extracurricular activities\|extracurricular activities]]. Expand your mind in other ways that simultaneously build human capital and send positive signals to the people around you as well as to colleges.

	===Understand and internalize the consequences of getting into trouble===		===Understand and internalize the consequences of getting into trouble===

Vipul: /* Boring work, insufficient stimulation, and an authoritarian environment */

2014-03-17T03:00:20Z

Boring work, insufficient stimulation, and an authoritarian environment

← Older revision		Revision as of 03:00, 17 March 2014
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	* '''Most common''' -- ''open (confrontational) rebellion'': The student might get into confrontations with teachers or school administrators, including some who have fragile egos. This could involve direct face-to-face confrontation in the classroom (for instance, correcting a teacher about a factual error, or loudly complaining about having to do an exercise that seems pointless). It could also involve comments that students make on Facebook, Twitter, or in other forums that are critical of teachers or school administrators.		* '''Most common''' -- ''open (confrontational) rebellion'': The student might get into confrontations with teachers or school administrators, including some who have fragile egos. This could involve direct face-to-face confrontation in the classroom (for instance, correcting a teacher about a factual error, or loudly complaining about having to do an exercise that seems pointless). It could also involve comments that students make on Facebook, Twitter, or in other forums that are critical of teachers or school administrators.
	* ''Silent (zone-out) rebellion'': Students out of it, such as by failing class, refusing to study, etc. Unlike open rebellion, in the case of silent rebellion, the student may pass under the radar of teachers. Whereas students engaged in open rebellion may get the label of "smart but badly behaved" those engaged in silent rebellion may simply be considered unpromising, and their intellectual abilities may be unrecognized by them or by others.		* ''Silent (zone-out) rebellion'': Students zone out of it, such as by failing class, refusing to study, etc. Unlike open rebellion, in the case of silent rebellion, the student may pass under the radar of teachers. Whereas students engaged in open rebellion may get the label of "smart but badly behaved" those engaged in silent rebellion may simply be considered unpromising, and their intellectual abilities may be unrecognized by them or by others.
	* The student might turn to drugs to dull the pain of school or for external stimulation.		* The student might turn to drugs to dull the pain of school or for external stimulation.
	* If the student experiences bullying for being too smart or nerdy, the student may try to overcome the problem by becoming part of a group of bullies or other people with high stature within the school power dynamic. A disproportionate fraction of these may be involved with drugs, alcohol, or underage sex.		* If the student experiences bullying for being too smart or nerdy, the student may try to overcome the problem by becoming part of a group of bullies or other people with high stature within the school power dynamic. A disproportionate fraction of these may be involved with drugs, alcohol, or underage sex.

Vipul: /* =Understand and internalize the consequences of getting into trouble */

2014-03-05T18:37:14Z

=Understand and internalize the consequences of getting into trouble

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:37, 5 March 2014
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	==Overall remedies==		==Overall remedies==

	===Understand and internalize the consequences of getting into trouble==		===Understand and internalize the consequences of getting into trouble===

	You and the people around you are probably bombarded with messaging highlighting the dangers of doing drugs, cheating, or overdosing on alcohol. So what more is needed to help you understand the consequences of getting into trouble?		You and the people around you are probably bombarded with messaging highlighting the dangers of doing drugs, cheating, or overdosing on alcohol. So what more is needed to help you understand the consequences of getting into trouble?

Vipul at 18:36, 5 March 2014

2014-03-05T18:36:50Z

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 In high school, you can get into trouble in ways that could radically alter your future life trajectory in ways that are (for the most part) bad. Examples:
 * Drugs, alcohol, or smoking, both the activities themselves, and getting caught doing them.
 * Getting pregnant, as well as other problems related to sexual activity, such as getting in trouble with your school for sexual activity, getting a sexually transmitted disease, etc.
 * Getting a police record due to violent or property crime or gang activity.
-As a general rule, we recommend avoiding these while in high school. A couple additional points:
+If you've led a comfortable, law-abiding and rules-compliant life so far, you may dismiss the above possibilities as things you're highly unlikely to get involved with. However, complacency on these fronts is best avoided, because it may lead you to be less on guard against small steps in that direction. Keep in mind the following two points:
-* Some of these activities are not unsafe or undesirable in principle but they can be started later. Delaying parenthood (and sexual activity) to after high school is better both biologically and socio-economically. Moderate alcohol consumption is claimed to have health benefits, but that too can be begun later.
+* Globally, the rates of substance abuse, pregnancy, and crime or gang activity among teenagers is sufficiently nontrivial.
 * In some cases, it is not the activity itself but the implicit social context and the maturity level of the other people around you that makes it dangerous. The examples of drugs, sex, and alcohol are particularly noteworthy.
 * While it may be the case that some people are unwilling to be friends with you if you don't engage in these activities, you should weigh this downside based on the probability (generally low) that you'll need to rely on their friendship or being part of their social circle over the long term. There may be ways of navigating these issues while minimizing social friction.
-The good news is that avoiding trouble of the above sorts is generally easy if you put your mind to it -- the hard part is just deciding to avoid them.
+==The early signs: what attracts smart, curious kids into these activities?==
-Some people gravitate toward trouble because the day-to-day academics and school activities feel boring, and they do not have an outlet for their creativity and sense of adventure. if that describes you, then look below at the section ''The positive''.
+{{further|[[treat others with kindness and respect]]}}
-There are also somewhat more mild forms of getting into trouble, that do not leave a permanent black mark, but can still be a big liability in the short term. These generally center around relationships with your teachers and fellow students and your academic performance in specific subjects.
+One problem that unusual people have is that they find the ordinary people around them unimpressive, and might see through the hypocrisy and shoddiness of the actions of people around them. This can make it hard for them to be kind and respectful to those other people. Read the link [[treat others with kindness and respect]] for pragmatic and ethical reasons to treat others nicely despite lacking respect for their abilities or character traits.

Vipul: Vipul moved page Getting into trouble during high school to Avoid trouble during high school

2014-03-05T17:36:28Z

Vipul moved page Getting into trouble during high school to Avoid trouble during high school

← Older revision	Revision as of 17:36, 5 March 2014
(No difference)

Jsinick: Created page with "In high school, you can get into trouble in ways that could radically alter your future life trajectory in ways that are (for the most part) bad. Examples: * Drugs, alcohol, ..."

2014-02-16T18:11:29Z

Created page with "In high school, you can get into trouble in ways that could radically alter your future life trajectory in ways that are (for the most part) bad. Examples: * Drugs, alcohol, ..."

New page

In high school, you can get into trouble in ways that could radically alter your future life trajectory in ways that are (for the most part) bad. Examples:

* Drugs, alcohol, or smoking, both the activities themselves, and getting caught doing them.
* Getting pregnant, as well as other problems related to sexual activity, such as getting in trouble with your school for sexual activity, getting a sexually transmitted disease, etc.
* Getting a police record due to violent or property crime or gang activity.

As a general rule, we recommend avoiding these while in high school. A couple additional points:

* Some of these activities are not unsafe or undesirable in principle but they can be started later. Delaying parenthood (and sexual activity) to after high school is better both biologically and socio-economically. Moderate alcohol consumption is claimed to have health benefits, but that too can be begun later.
* In some cases, it is not the activity itself but the implicit social context and the maturity level of the other people around you that makes it dangerous. The examples of drugs, sex, and alcohol are particularly noteworthy.
* While it may be the case that some people are unwilling to be friends with you if you don't engage in these activities, you should weigh this downside based on the probability (generally low) that you'll need to rely on their friendship or being part of their social circle over the long term. There may be ways of navigating these issues while minimizing social friction.

The good news is that avoiding trouble of the above sorts is generally easy if you put your mind to it -- the hard part is just deciding to avoid them.

Some people gravitate toward trouble because the day-to-day academics and school activities feel boring, and they do not have an outlet for their creativity and sense of adventure. if that describes you, then look below at the section ''The positive''.

There are also somewhat more mild forms of getting into trouble, that do not leave a permanent black mark, but can still be a big liability in the short term. These generally center around relationships with your teachers and fellow students and your academic performance in specific subjects.