What They Didn't Learn: Bliss Davis Bliss Davis says that what she didn't learn in school included how to absorb reading material deeply over a long period of  time versus skimming reading assignments and cramming for  exams. by Rachel Abbey April, 2008

Bliss Davis

2006 graduate, Cleveland Metropolitan School District
What she didn’t learn: Strong math skills
How to absorb reading material deeply over a long period of  time versus skimming reading assignments and cramming for  exams

Age: 20
High school: John Marshall designated “continuous improvement” by the Ohio  Department of Education 2006-07; graduation rate 65.6 percent 2005-06
First generation college: No. Her mother and her sister both attended college.
College: Bowling Green, a public, four-year university, 15,000 undergraduates;  accepts about 88 percent of applicants.
Current college GPA: 2.98; high school GPA 3.8
Major: Journalism.
Minor: Ethnic studies.
Scheduled graduation date: 2010. Davis wanted to graduate early, but she changed her major after freshmen year, which put her back on a four-year plan.


Journalism has been one of Bliss Davis’ passions since middle school. But the super-active teenager – a former high school athlete, reporter, tutor and mentor, and National Honor Society and Angels member – didn’t want to tie herself down to one career path too soon. She chose Bowling Green because she was interested in journalism and education, and the school had good programs for both.
Davis began freshmen year as a microbiology major, hoping to eventually teach the subject, but found the math courses frustrating.
Davis feels journalism is the right major because she loves going to class every day and keeps busy working on a myriad of student publications.

What was your biggest academic challenge freshmen year?
Today, Davis recognizes that she only felt “sort of” prepared academically when she started college.

In high school, Davis’s GPA soared, but first semester of college per her in “grade shock,” she recalls. She found freshmen courses tough. She’s worked hard to get her grades up the past few semesters, and now that she’s done with math classes – her weakest point – it’s getting easier. “If you don’t like something, it’s probably going to be something that helps you the most,” she says of math. If Davis could redo high school, she says she would listen to that same advice and would have paid more attention during math and Spanish, because the material she ignored in both classes would have helped her in college courses.

What do you wish your high school teachers had done to better prepare you for college?
Davis says that while she was never offered a specific study skills course, the teachers at John Marshall were proactive about teaching students how to outline and take notes while reading. Knowing how to outline has paid off at Bowling Green. “I am the worst at studying, but I can outline in no time,” she says.

It was easier to skim in high school and still get a good grade, Davis admits. But in college, students have to closely read the entire assignment to be able to participate in class discussions and to understand concepts – something Davis struggled with at first.
“I kind of overestimated myself,” she says. She thought she could cram for tests at the last minute or put off reading until right before class, but those practices caused trouble a few times. Davis says she had to learn better time management and began planning more time for work outside of class.

At John Marshall, self-motivation was key, because many teachers had a “glass-half-empty” mentality, Davis believes. “A lot of people were defeated,” she says, especially teachers who “acted distant” and did not challenge students in the classroom, she observes.
Davis did get help from an English teacher whose style was more personal, giving her incentive to succeed. Plus, Davis says she was motivated because she knew she wanted to go to college. Still, she wishes more of her teachers had been supportive and positive.