hackerspace.lifehacker.com: I've been teaching intro courses of one form or another for a couple of years now, so I'm gonna share a few tips on how to endear yourself to the average instructor. My hope is that if you're on hackerspace/lifehacker, you're probably the sort of proactive student who's gonna read 'em and go "duh".
15 comments:
Well, these "tips" are pretty obvious- so obvious, in fact, that I would hardly classify them as tips. These are all things that are generally expected for a student to do- doing them is just part of your job as a student, and not exactly deserving of a pat on the back. I don't think any of these will get you on your professor's "good side" exactly- if you don't do them, you're definitely going to be on their bad side, but if you follow these instructions you're going to be putting in the minimum amount of effort to be a mediocre student, and your professor most likely won't notice you at all. There are lots of ways to actually get on a teacher's good side that this article doesn't include, such as asking intelligent questions, talking to them outside of class, or turning in excellent work that goes beyond the minimum requirements of the assignment. It would be nice if it had included proactive things like that, instead of a list of "don't"s.
So basically what this article is saying is don't be stupid. It annoys both the teachers and the other students in the course when you ask the question when the answer is clearly the syllabus, or all of the other annoying things that you know you do. Teachers aren't mean and scary people (surprising right). They are actually really nice and friendly people! They care a lot about your education (and sometimes even more than you). If you do your work, and keep a good attitude that you will doing amazing! (It also is probably a good idea to be nice and friendly back to them!)
These are pretty much common sense. These are required to be a good student, not just please the teacher. Doing these will definitely not make the teacher angry, but I highly doubt that the teacher will love you just because you did those few things. You'd have to work a lot harder to be a favorite student.
These all boil down to respect for the teacher. By not reading the syllabus, you are indirectly saying that their class isn't worth the time it would take you to read it. Same with following instructions. That goes under the "reading your stuff isn't worth my time" header. Same with the next one actually too. By not putting in effort, you are saying that their class isn't worth your time. Asking about exam contents is just stupid. If he's teaching it, you should pay attention even if it isn't on the test. Why would he waste your and his time going over it? He knows it already, so it's not for him. The last one is just dumb, and I don't think that I need to go over it.
Oh, so that's what you're supposed to do when you're enrolled in a class! I had no idea! Oh wait, I made it through the first grade twelve years ago.
This is a list of pure common sense that I hope other people are similarly insulted by. This list assumes that students are, from the start, uninterested in being- or uninformed of how to be- good students. I wonder why the author chose to include the things that are obvious to most people, such as following instructions, rather than actual constructive help like seeking professors out during office hours or coming to class with good questions or managing time well enough to maintain a good quality of work.
Ummmm ok. Obviously??? This is actually hilarious. It's sad that these these things need to be brought to the attention of the students of my generation. Some people see this as common sense, as it should be. Yet when I reflect on high school and classes in college, a lot of people really don't understand these very simple points. We are so used to getting everything delivered to us on a silver platter with very little or no effort on our parts. We are lazy. We don't even think to look at the resources provided by the professor because that involves turning on a computer and clicking the mouse a few times. Way too much effort. (sarcasm) So yes. Do the things listed in this article if you don't want to look like a complete imbecile. But if you want to be on the "good side" of the professor, you should probably put in more effort than "pretending to care." Laziness is so prominent in my generation and it drives me crazy. Especially when I am guilty of it myself.
I really feel for the professors whose students don't follow these simple "life hacks" automatically. These things are common sense! Pay attention ask substantive questions, don't expect from your teachers what they cant expect from you. Not only that but if more kids used these tips they'd do better overall and would have to ask questions that have been defined on the syllabus, and be more motivated to show up to class. And one other thing, if you come with a positive attitude not only will you enjoy the class more, but your professor will react to that positively and enjoy having you more.
These tips are pretty obvious. They are common sense for the most part. If a person cares about their class and grade they will probably do all of these things anyway. They are mostly about respect and being prepared for class. You shouldn't act like everyone needs to do everything for you in order to get a good grade. Take your education into your own hands and read the syllabus before class and know all the work that needs to be done in class. If you miss a day it is your responsibility to make up the work and not fall behind. Professors do not baby you anymore.
These are some pretty basic tips that I hope everyone can figure out by this point. However, I still see people that have this attitude where they're "too cool for school." The I don't really like this class I just have to take it is always annoying. It doesn't impress anyone and it just pisses the teacher off. If you go into a class and are just pissed off all the time and a grouch, then why are you wasting your money on school. While everyone says that this list is basic and obvious, it's upsetting how so many people do this. On top of that, I'm sure there's things on here that everyone is guilty of every now and then. Sometimes you just forget, but to those who go into every class making these mistakes, I have nothing else to say other than I shake my head to you.
Thank you lifehacker for once again bringing us five riveting tips on how to get on our professors good sides. Having gone to school for almost 14 years I would've never guessed that this is all I have to do to get on a professors good side. This article looks like it should be geared more to the average middle schooler or young high schooler. When I was in middle school I could see this having any use in these tips but if any college student looks at these tips and has a revelation on how to get professors to like them they should really reconsider all of their life choices.
I agree with basically everyone else who has commented, saying "duh, of course." In general with the advent of services like buzzfeed online, Ive found the "list article" online, more and more prolific. Many of them I like or I find funny, but so many of the advice ones these days are just common sense that someone with too much time decided to write up and call an article. Like, whoa. if you want your teacher to like you, you should put some effort into their class!!?? WHAT A CONCEPT!? This author deserves a prize for that original idea.
I'm not sure if this article is worse or better than the "duct tape as cable ties" article. Next thing you know lifehacker will provide instructional content on how to breathe or more efficiently consume water. Not to be reductive, but I feel like several of the Gawker media sites have gone downhill in the past several years.
Anyways, regarding the content of this article, I think the bigger takeaway is that anybody should exercise a modicum of common sense in any interactions with ANYBODY. If every sentence carries with it an implied attitude or emotion, then one must be careful to only express the exact attitude that you want to get across.
I didn't realize that not pissing off other people was such an artform.
Like many of my peers, I would hope that every tip on this list is obvious, but unfortunately I know that isn't true for everyone. I have been in classes where every homework assignment, quiz, test and presentation has been laid out very clearly on the syllabus and students still act as if they are being blindsided by the amount of work. People seem to regularly disregard their syllabus and notes that their professor has give in class in favor of asking questions that have already been answered or trying to skirt around the requirements of an assignment. These tips are the just the bare minimum of being a passable student and I would hope that any list created for the purpose of giving advice on this subject in the future would cater to students who want to be more than passable.
Like everyone else is saying, these things are pretty obvious. However, a lot of people don't do them. It's like using your turn signals. You might think it's obvious, and an important thing to do, but how many people do you see every day who don't do it even though they know thy should? At least one. I don't know if reminding people via articles will help, maybe it will in some cases. In others probably not. But writing the article is not a complete waste of time. It could help some people, somewhere, remember what it is to be a good student and a respectable human being. It's not groundbreaking, but it may have it's place.
Uh..... Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this something to be considered as "common sense"? I don't think this article is useful unless if you are lack of common sense or trying to be a bad student.
Like.... Come on, I was hoping it to be something more useful. Like... uh.... I don't know. Ok I think the most useful way of this article is if you are a mom or dad or if you have a small kids in your house you can print them out and take it to the kids and by that you can prepare them for school. Now, That's when this becomes useful. Really, this is not all, there are something else apart from this that you should do to.. Not to get on your professor's good side, but to become a good student who knows how to play the game.
But ok, to be fair, some people actually have no idea of how they should do and that's when we see people struggle through their semesters (this is for the case of regular school when they don't have to run 5 shows at the same time of keeping their good grades)
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