on-being-a-student

OnBeingaStudentbyDonaldE.SimanekAnex-presidentofthisinstitution,whenitwasacollegewithanenrollmentofseveralthousand,wasaskedhowmanystudentstheschoolhad.HequippedOh,perhapsadozen.Hewasmakingajokethatisasoldasthehills.Thepresidentofalargecorporationuseditwhenhewasaskedbyareporter(duringastrike)howmanyworkerstherewereinhisplant.Oneofmyjunior-highteachersusedtoremindusthattobeastudentmeantmorethanmerelybeingapupil.Timeschange.Thedefinitionofstudentoncewasonewhostudiessomething.Todayitcanmeanmerelyonewhoattendsaschool,collegeoruniversity.Thismoderndefinitiondoesn'tevensuggestthatthepersondoesmorethanattend.Collegeanduniversityprofessorsstillusethefirstdefinition,andschoolshaveways(suchasrequirements,examsandgrades)toattempttoensurethatthosewhoattendwillalsostudyandlearnsomething.Sowhatdistinguishesastudent?Whatmakesthestudentstandoutfromtherestoftheclass?ThefourAs:attitude,academicskills,awareness,andaccomplishment,certainlyarealargepartofit,andastudentwhohasthemwillbeverylikelytoearnAs:•Attitudeisprimarilyagenuinedesiretolearn,andthewillingnesstodohardintellectualworktoachieveunderstanding.Itisalsoshownbyhowwellyouapplyyourselfeventosubjectsforwhichyouhavelittleinterest,andhowmuchyoucanachieveevenwhenaprofessor'sstyleisn'ttoyourliking.•Academicskillsincludeabilitytoreadwithcomprehension,intelligentuseofresources(includinglibraryandinternetresources),logicalandmathematicalskills,efficientstudyhabits,andtheabilitytocommunicateclearlyandfluentlyinspeakingandwriting.•Awarenessofwhat'sgoingonintheworldaroundyou,andthehabitofintelligentlyrelatingittoyouracademiccourses.Forexample,whentakingacourseinpoliticalscience,youshouldrelatewhatyouarelearninginclasstowhat'shappeningonthenationalandworldpoliticalscene.Whentakingasciencecourse,youshouldrelatescientificprinciplestophenomenayouobserveineverydaylife,andgooutofyourwaytofindapplicationsandexamplesofscienceintherealworld.•Accomplishmentisdemonstratedbysuccessfulapplicationofunderstanding.Theevidenceofthatincludes:1.Correctandconfidentapplicationofwhatyou'velearnedtonewproblemsandchallenges,2.clearandeffectivecommunicationofyourunderstandingthroughspeakingandwriting,and3.possessionofabaseofinformation,skillsandunderstandingsufficienttoallowyoutocontinueyoureducationoutsideoftheclassroom,throughoutyourlife.AlloftheseadduptoafifthA:ability,awordfrequentlyusedabove.Thegoalofeducationistoachievetheabilitytoapplyone'sknowledgeinnew,creative,andcorrectways.Abilitiesarenotentirelyinnate;someareachievablethroughdedicatedandfocusedeffort.Othersymptomsandqualitiesofagoodstudentinclude:1.Self-discipline.Thesuccessfulstudenthaslearnedtobudgettimeanduseitefficiently,andwilldothethingsthatneedtobedone,whentheymustbedone,whetherornotonefeelslikeitatthetime.2.Initiative.Inshort:doingthingswithoutbeingtold.Thestudentdoesn'twaitforassignmentstoreadaheadinthetextbook,ortoseekoutandstudyrelatedbookstogainunderstanding.Thegoodstudentdoesmoreproblemsorexercisesthanassigned,anddoesthemevenwhennoneareassigned.Thegoodstudentworkinginthelaboratorydoesnotmerelyfollowinstructions(thoughthatisanimportantskill)butlooksforopportunitiestodiscovernewthings,trynewthings,andfindbettermethods.Whenanopportunityarisestodoaprojectoutsideofclass,thegoodstudentjumpsatthechanceanddoesn'tevenaskwhetheritwillearnextracredit.3.Breadthofinterests.Collegeprovidesagreatopportunitytobroadenyourinterestsandexplorenewthings.Youmayneveragainhaveavailabletoyousuchaconvenientandcomprehensivelibrary,well-equippedlaboratories,andsuchdiverseandinexpensiveculturaleventsandacademicactivities.Mucheducationcanoccuroutsideofclass,ifyouseekit.Butifyouconfineyourselftothethingsyou'vealwaysdone,avoidinganythingnewandunfamiliar,youwillhavesquanderedavaluableopportunity.4.Anopenmindisamindreceptivetoexaminationofnewideasandfacts.Havinganopenminddoesnotmeanthatonejumpsonthebandwagonofeverynewfad.Abettercharacterizationofanopenmindisonethatiswillingtodispassionatelyandrationallyanalyzenewideas,weighingthemobjectivelyagainstestablishedknowledgeandthefactsathand.5.Acriticalhabitofmind.Educationismorethantheacquisitionofinformation.Itincludestheabilitytoacquirenewinformation,tocriticallyevaluatethatinformation,andtocorrectlyandeffectivelyuseit.Withsomanyinformationsourcesatourdisposalinthiscomputerageweareawashininformation,andindangerofinformationoverload.Butmuchofthatinformationisfraudulent,worthless,incomplete,orjustplainwrong.Ithasalwaysbeenso.Probably90%ofthebooksinanylibrarycouldbelostwithnoharmtohumanknowledge.Butit'snotalwayseasytodeterminejustwhichbooksareworthkeeping.Weareassaultedthrougheverymediumbyfolkstryingtosellussomething(withimpressiveclaimsofitsvalue),topersuadeustoacceptsomepoliticalorsocialidea,toconvertustosomereligionorphilosophy,ortoconvinceusofthevalueofsomemedicalpanacea.Mostofthisishumbug.Oneofthevaluesofagoodeducationistheabilitytoseethroughfalseclaims,unfoundedassertionsandoutrightdeceptions.Bythiscriterion,educationhaslargelybeenafailure,formanypeoplewhohavecollegedegreesarestillsuckersforsnake-oilandperpetual-m