CONTENTS

COVER PAGE

TITLE PAGE

COPYRIGHT

INTRODUCTION

SECTION ONE: MIDDLE SCHOOL BASICS

1. Whose Idea Was School, Anyway?

2. Why Learning Is a Good Thing

3. Did Jesus Go to School?

4. Why Do We Need It?

5. So Many Classes, So Little Time

6. Why Is It So Boring?

7. Will I Ever Use the Stuff I’m Learning?

8. Learning about Life, Not Just Algebra

SECTION TWO: WHERE SCHOOL HAPPENS

9. Why Your School Setting Should Influence How You Read This Book

10. A Special Chapter for Public School Students

11. A Special Chapter for Christian School Students

12. A Special Chapter for Home School Students

SECTION THREE: THE PEOPLE YOU MEET @ SCHOOL

13. The Cafeteria Lady

14. The School Bully

15. The Jock

16. The Gossip

17. The Loner

18. The Geek

19. The Popular Kid

20. The Rude Kid

21. The Principal

22. The Substitute Teacher

23. The Strict Teacher

24. The Teacher’s Pet

SECTION FOUR: HOMEWORK AND GRADES

25. Why Do My Parents Make Such a Big Deal about Grades?

26. What Difference Do Grades Make, Anyway?

27. This Class Is Tough!

28. Study Tips

29. How to Make Homework Not So Horrible

30. Getting Ready for a Test

31. How to Do a Long-Term Project

32. How to Raise Your Grade in Three Easy Steps

33. When to Ask for Help

34. My Mom Wants to Get Me a Tutor!

35. I Have Trouble Paying Attention in Class

SECTION FIVE: MAKING THE MOST OF AN AVERAGE DAY

36. How Not to Be Tardy

37. How to Make the Bus Ride Fun

38. Carpooling with Brats

39. Food Stuff

40. The Terror That Is...the Bathroom

41. The Pop Quiz—The Surprise That’s Never Fun

42. I Sit Next to Somebody I Don’t Like

SECTION SIX: THE P.E. PUZZLE

43. I Hate the P.E. Uniforms (and School Uniforms)

44. I Hate Changing in Front of People

45. I Always Get Picked Last

46. Why Do They Make Me Run the Mile?

47. Dodgeball Strategies

SECTION SEVEN: THE UGLY SIDE OF MIDDLE SCHOOL

48. Cheating

49. Fights

50. Peer Pressure

51. Mean Kids

52. Drugs

53. Drinking

54. Gangs

55. Feeling Left Out

56. Being the New Kid

57. Science Class

SECTION EIGHT: MIDDLE SCHOOL URBAN LEGENDS

58. Trash-Canning

59. Cafeteria Mystery Meat

60. “My Dog Ate My Homework”

61. The Mystery That Is...the Teachers’ Lounge

62. The Pool on the Roof

SECTION NINE: CAMPUS KINDNESS

63. Making Friends with the New Kid

64. Using Your Gifts to Help Others

65. The Power of Your Words

66. Sticking Up for the Underdog

67. “Did You Bring Enough for Everybody?” “Why Yes, I Did!”

68. Birthday Cards for Homeroom

SECTION TEN: MISCELLANEOUS SURVIVAL TIPS

69. Life with a Locker

70. Choosing What to Wear

71. Bad Hair Days

72. The Comparison Game

73. The Popularity Problem

74. Three Final Thoughts from Marko

75. Three Final Thoughts from Kurt

ABOUT THE PUBLISHER

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