College Readiness

What does it mean to be college ready? I believe that it’s basically being able to function in higher-level classes, meaning that you know the basic skills for each subject you take, and aren’t afraid to put them to use. Plus you’re mature enough to get along with people you wouldn’t usually interact with, and able to schedule and prioritize.
    This excerpt “A Definition of College Readiness” is very interesting. The point of the writing is obvious, after you read it twice through. It uses very complex language to say very simple things. For example:
“2. Deep understanding of and facility applying key foundational ideas and concepts from the core academic subjects” (Redefining College Readiness, pg. 18)
Could be simplified as:
“Is able to understand and apply basic ideas for the core academic subjects”
    I admit that I had to read the entire excerpt as a whole about three times through to be able to fully comprehend it. Because I was having trouble with it, I took it to my father, who took one look at it and told me that I needed to look at it in sections and break it down into its basic elements, and then I could try reading it all together. And well, I realized that that little episode was a good example of one of the skills the excerpt defines as a good one to have; the ability to work in a study group (in this case my dad and I) or rather, the ability to ask for help.
    When I was about 2 1/2, my dad decided to go back to college to get another degree, so we packed up and moved from Billings, Montana to Santa Cruz, California. I remember my dad taking me with him to his classes (I was about 5). We would sit in the back. I had a little backpack filled with drawing stuff and various toys, I would sit at a desk next to him or behind him and keep myself entertained. Some days I would pretend to be just like him, pretending to take notes, and asking my dinosaur figurine the definition of various words (I never did get answers). And some days, I remember dad keeping me there after class with him while he would ask the teacher about various things he didn’t quite understand the first time. My dad was always a good student, and he always asked for help if he needed it, no matter how embarrassed he was. He’s the one who taught me that asking for help is essential to learning.
    So I’m good at asking for help (and I often need it) but there are a lot more things I’m really bad about. Organization is one thing I need to work on. I’m better about it then I was in 5th grade, but I still tend to loose a lot of important things, my pens, pencils, essays, etc. In fact, I’ve spent some time this summer trying to teach myself to keep things a bit more organized. Recently, I found that index cards are my best friends, along with my iPod and lots of folders.
    I’m also really bad about getting started on assignments… that’s one major problem I will need to fix fast within the next few years. This specific problem is actually how I became aware that index cards are great. I’ve found that these essays are easier to write if I simplify the prompts down to their most basic meanings. For example, here’s how the index card for this essay looks:
In own words --> college ready
Any college ready skills rep. you?
Skills to work on?
It’s much simpler and much easier to understand with a cursory glance.