My Thoughts on Learning + Some School Tips.

"Any fool can know, the point is to understand"

-Albert Einstein//

Blogs are full of these posts, posts with countless numbers of the same thing. Every single post about school talks about being organised, having the right attitude, and studying. Today I am going to be different, because today's post- while it is called school tips- is about school in a different kind of way to post other school posts. Looking at what is written ahead, it might be a good idea to get comfortable- this post is going to be a long one.

First of all I want to get something straight, I love learning. Being able to discover, understand and explore new things excites me. "Learning excites curiosity we never knew we had". I enjoy reading, watching videos and looking at diagrams until I understand something. And more than that, I love understanding something and doing something with that knowledge- I like watching it become real, reading about it in books, seeing references to it in movies. I love learning new things and expanding my knowledge.

That however, is not what today's post is about, today's post is about school, and school is not something I love.
At the same time, I don't hate school. I don't wake up dreading the day (at least not most of the time), I don't do anything I can do avoid it. I don't sit in class and waste my time, I don't avoid class and spend all my time in the principle office either. I put up with it and do my best to get what I can out of school.

For me, it just feels like school isn't really about learning things. A lot of emphasis is put on assessment. Being ready for the test, doing well in the assignment. I feel like we focus too much on the result rather than the process. Because, isn't the grade supposed to be a reflection of what you have learnt. Shouldn't it be showing that you have learnt something and understand it, rather than that you did well on  a test once.

I am guilty of this personally, but I think that most students worry about memorising things for a test, rather than actually understanding and applying them. Instead of understanding why a maths formula is the way it is, we focus on remembering it for the exam- and forget it as soon as the teacher collects the paper- because hey, it's not important.

But you know what, it isn't our fault- and it isn't the fault of the teachers either. We just don't know how to test understanding and knowledge. We know how to test memory and guess work. And realistically how much can we actually memorise.

At primary school things were a bit different, we didn't have exams or assignments- all the work we did in class was part of  our grade. I feel like that gave us a better opportunity to actually understand, and show our understanding.

I feel like our main issue is focusing on the grade rather than the understanding. We measure grades right? And reports are a list of letters to summarise your understanding?

We can learn just as much from weeks of class notes about life in Japan as we can in 2 days in the country. Experience is a valuable way to learn, and class is not the only way to learn.

Unfortunately, there isn't really anything we can do about this. We can hate it all we want, but things aren't going to change overnight.

Anyway, today I am actually going to share some tips. Things that I have learnt about getting the most out of school, even if you don't love it that much.

"Don't study because you need to.

Study because knowledge is power.

Study because they can never take it away from you.

Study because you want to know more.

Study because it grows you."

1.Study what you like
I get to choose 4 electives each year, and this is a great opportunity to choose things that you want to understand. Make sure that you make the most out of this opportunity if you get it, and don't make your choice lightly.

2.Spend the time and make sure you understand
This is a tip for everyone (even if you love the exam system). Taking the time to ask questions, watch videos in your own time and make sure you fully understand the topic is the best way to get the most out of school. If you do this the exam will be easier because you will know rather than having to memorise. (take it from me, I had a science quiz today that I didn't study for and got 10/10 because last week I took the time to watch a video at home and fully understand what we had done in class).

Ok, rant over. I've been planning this post for a long time, and I just haven't had a chance to put it together, anyway I'd love to hear your thoughts and ideas, in the comments below.

If you enjoyed this post check out this one and this one (they are similar)

xxxPoppy

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50 Things that Make me Happy

Everyone has certain things that make them happy, and often we don't even realise what these things are. Today I have been thinking about thing that make me happy, and I am sitting on the couch watching the rain (one of the things that makes me happy), which inspired me to make this list. I think it is super important that we know what makes us happy, that way when we are having a bad day we have a full list of things we can do to be happier.

  Flowers in spring

Leaves in autumn

Music

Hugs

Taking photos

Sunset

Smell of rain

Watching summer thunderstorms

The smell of coconut

Finding matching socks

Having painted nails

Netball

The beach

Pattern on my tissue box (trust me, it's cute)

Friends

Friday afternoons

Saturday mornings

Cinnamon scrolls (best invention ever)

Vanilla

Fresh cookies/brownies

Cold nights

Sunrises

Sunday markets

Holidays

When Abi writes a blog post :-)

Ice cream on a hot day

When my room is clean

Finding a good books

Books

Travelling

Hot Chocolate

Washi tape

New stationary

Looking forward to something

Christmas Lights

Popping bubble wrap

Sunshine

Waffle breakfasts

Rainy afternoons

Cacti

Sleeping on fresh sheets

Roses

Chocolate

Lemon sparkling water on a hot day

Bed socks, during winter.

Birds chirping

Waking up early enough to read before school

Pastel Colours

The snow

Having no schoolwork to do.

I'd love to hear what makes you happy, maybe I could add some to my list?

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Letting it Go

I have been going through a bit of a hard time with  some people recently and I am sure everyone has been through something similar at some point.  It is a horrible feeling, and can make simple things feel a lot harder.  I am not going to share the story here as it involves other people but I will share what I have learnt from the experience. Maybe it will help you if you are going through something similar.

The main thing I think that I learnt from this experience is that if you want something to change, you have to do something about it.  It may seem easier to sweep everything under the rug and pretend that nothing ever changed but this won't fix anything.  You need to stand up for yourself, and not let other people walk over you.

I have also learnt how to deal with stress and managing my anger (because a lot of this has made me really angry). I would have preferred not to go through this horrible experience at all, but to draw something good from it- it has taught me a few valuable skills;

-dealing with people I don't like

-ignoring things, rather than replying in anger

-and, most importantly, how to let something go and move on.

-and more, which you can read about in this post.

If you are going through something similar I would urge you to;

 -tell someone, like a parent or teacher. Not to make them fix it, but just to let them know what you are going through.

-try and be reasonable and calm. Don't reply when you are angry and always think before you say.

-not give the other person the power to hurt you (easier said than done), don't listen to what they might call you, and don't let them tell you that you did something you didn't do.

xxxPoppy

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5 Benifits of Playing a Team Sport

Hi there,

On the weekend I played my last netball game of the season, unfortuneatly we lost but it was still really fun playing with my team. That got me thinking about some of the ways that playing a team sport is good for you. I did some research and have put together this list for you.

1.It teaches and improves goal setting and teamwork skills.

2.Playing sport, particularly a team sport, can help improve your self-confidence and confidence in general.

3.You learn and improve leadership skills.

4.You become more persistance and resilient and can manage stress better.

5.Sports improve memory and concentration.

I am sure most of you have played a team sport at sometime in your life, and I encourage you to take on up if you don't already. It is fun, good for you and has lots of hidden benifits. Let me know in the comments what sports you play.

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G E T A C T I V E// by mop

Hey guys :) it's mop. I'm not dead, ik.

Today's post is all about getting active! I'm not going to sit here and preach at you to be active, but I am going to tell you why, and how to be active if you so desire.

Why you should be active

Being active has so many health benefits that if I wrote them all here I would probably have enough writing for blog posts for the next seven years, so I thought I'd list some of the ones that I feel directly benefit me the most.

-happier mind

Yes, sometimes doing the harder thing (a.k.a running when you could be a snail) is good for your mental heath. By waking up every morning and doing some form of physical activity you are giving yourself a better outlook on the day. Personally, I dislike (hate with a passion) waking up early, but I definitely do have a better day if I exercise first thing in the morning. Some good activities to try are shuttle runs, yoga and stretching, jogging or walking.

-better breakfast

As a person who struggles every day to even think about eating before 9:30, doing something that makes me hungry definitely makes eating a lot easier. Some great things I like to eat are crumpets (not very healthy but oops), carrots, honey and bread, but most mornings I make a breakfast smoothie using whatever fruit there is around.

-lowers risks of illness

Exercising regularly and keeping healthy drastically lowers the chances that you might get sick. This all comes down to everyones different immune systems (I exercise a lot and got really sick recently). However, being active and healthy really can make all the difference when it comes to bouncing back from a cold or other illness.

How I get active

I exercise quite a bit, and I'm going to share my favourite ways to do so with you :).

-organised sport

Playing an organised sport is probably my favourite and by far the easiest way to get active. Many schools in Australia have sports teams, and even if yours doesn't, there are always clubs. I play hockey, netball and volleyball through my school, but many girls at my school play sports through a club. Another reason why playing an organised sport is great is because it isn't self-directed and you owe it to your team/ squad to be at training and games and competitions. Most teams have one to three training sessions per week, depending on the intensity and level it plays at, with one competition/game per week. Personally, I love team sports because not only is it a great way to get healthy, you make some great friends.

-running

There really is nothing like just going out and running (it is actually one of the things I do when I should be writing blog posts). Most districts have a local oval that you can run on, or you can just run around the block. Running is a great way to see how much fitter you have become because you can time yourself, but you can also see how fast you run and how much stamina you have built up.

-at home yoga and stretching

Stretch out your muscles and relaxing is the best thing to do after a workout. It lowers the chance of getting cramps, stressed ligaments or other injuries if you have a good stretch every now and then. I like to try and touch my toes, stretch out my shoulders, stretch my joints and work on my ankles. 

So there it is. How and why to get active *jazz hands*. I did put research into this post, but I'm not health professional, so remember to seek professional advice if you have any concerns. I hope you are inspired to go and get active, and do the better thing for your health. Make sure you find some funky workout songs too.

qotd: What is you favourite workout song?

aotd: I really like exercising to Teenage Icon by The Vaccines, buy I think that's just my music taste. I don't mind anything as long as it has a good beat.

Comment your answer xx

Follow us on ig: @poppyandmop.blog

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Winter Wonderland...

 Hey there all,
Hope you are having a fantastic week (I am now that my science test is done).
It appears that winter has decided to pay a visit to this part of Australia and now it is absolutely freezing (and I mean below zero temperatures). We've had both the fire and heater on and it's the kind of weather that makes you just want to stay cuddled up in bed, under the doona, drinking tea/hot chocolate, and not really focusing on anything.
But I've been thinking... everyone seems to love summer and spend all winter complaining about the cold and wishing it was summer. While I love being at the beach and not having to go to school during summer I also love winter and here are the reasons why:

1. SNOW. I love skiing and while it doesn't snow where I live it snows not too far away and I love travelling to the snow for a weekend and spending some time skiing.

2.MY BIRTHDAY. My birthday is coming up!!!!

3.Hot Chocolate and Tea. I love drinking tea and hot chocolate and winter is the perfect time for it.

4.It's not stinking hot. The good thing about winter is that it is so much easier to warm yourself up then cool down. This is probably my favourite thing about winter (apart from my birthday and skiing)

5.Cuddling up under the doona with a hot water bottle. No more needs to be said.

So hope you are feeling a bit better about heading into winter now (and anyone who isn't when it is your winter remember this). Let me know what your favourite things about winter are below.

PS. I've decided that I am going to post every Monday, Wednesday and on the weekends, Mop will probably not be posting every week.

Image featured in the background of the header of this post was found on canva.com as a free image. 

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