How do you define ‘good student’, accurately? Someone who has many friends in class or college?
Someone who has good scores? Someone who is liked or loved by their teacher?
Personally,
I have no specific facts about this topic, which I believe to be more
opinion-based. Different people have different ideas regarding how to be a good
student, and may offer different characteristics about ‘how to be a good
student’.
Therefore,
in this article I am going to write all the characteristics of a good student
solely based on my personal experience.
I
honestly hope that you (students) reading this article can learn from and adopt
the following characteristics as yours so that you can become one of the good
students in your class and college.
1. Treat the instructors with respect and courtesy.
Really,
I needn’t mention about this point because almost all students know that they
have to show their teachers, instructors, lecturers, trainers, tutors or
coaches respect, one of the greatest values that people should have for one
another.
A lot
of students know this, but very few students actually follow this advice. I
myself used to one of the most disrespectful students, so I can
understand students’ feelings of not liking or wanting to make friends with
their teachers, thus choosing a way to humiliate or challenge their teachers.
Whether
you like it or not, teachers are one of the most important contributors to your
academic and life success. Teachers of any subject are necessary for the
students, for they act as compass and guidance for the students to head to
right directions and leading them to right goals.
Undeniably,
any student is still able to learn without instructors, but the pace is surely
slower and the probability that the students are able to walk on the right path
is also slimmer.
Before
I became a teacher, I was also a student and learnt that my relationship
(teacher-student relationship only) with my teachers had got to have to be
strong and bound. The stronger the relationship was, the more knowledge I
learnt and the more scores I got. Having said like that, I mean that I got very
good result when I attended classes whose teacher liked me and whose teacher I
liked and respected.
Personally,
even though respect and like are two almost completely different concepts, I
honestly believe that they are related to one another in some circumstances and can bet used
interchangeably since we sometimes like people
whom we respect,
and sometimes respect people whom we like.
I
don’t know whether you know this, but like and respect are good
motivation for learning. As humans, you and I learn more from those people whom
we like and respect and who like and respect us because we actually believe
that we are able to talk openly to
these people.
Plus,
we know that we are mentally and physically safe being around these people,
thus allowing us to originate thoughts,
ideas, wisdom and knowledge freely without
fear of being criticized or condemned.
When I
was (and actually still am) a student, I think I was very good at showing my
teachers respect. How do I know that? It is simple; I was given back respect.
(In order words, my teachers respected me back).
2. Be honest.
A good
student is very honest with his teachers, classmates, and especially himself
about his study progress, academic performance and anything. He/she doesn’t lie
because He/she knows that lying doesn’t bring any long-term benefits, and lies,
even if they are white lies, can lead to other people’s losing trust in herself
if she is caught lying.
In
case you are ignorant about this, honesty or sincerity is one of the most
important qualities that a person must have in order to be successful in life.
Regardless of your capability, qualification, and experience, people do not
want you to be a part of their life or work unless you are honest. People
including you and I don’t want to be cheated or worked over by anyone.
Personally,
I strongly recommend that you, rather than lie about being late or not having
an assignment, tell the truth and accept the consequences, which will be less
severe than those of lying.
Please
take note that your teacher is not an alien or robot and he/she also used to be
a student. They have feelings and are surely able to relate to yours. Tell them
all the truths and I assure you that they understand your truths and you as a
person. Your instructor will respect you more if you tell the truth rather than
make up some obvious lies.
Warning: Don’t
overuse this sincerity. No
matter sincere you are, you will still face consequences if you repeat the same
mistakes or fail to live up to expectations over times. This confession of
sincerity can save you once a while only.
3. Come to class on time.
If you
are a university student, you may see one instructor 1 or 2 times per week.
These meeting times during the sessions are important; for they help you show
the instructor commitment to learn and thrill to better yourself through their
lessons. So, you cannot afford to mess up such precious opportunities.
Coming
regularly to class is one thing that you’ve got to have to do. However, coming
to class early or on time is indeed another thing. They should not be counted
as the same thing by using expression as ‘better late than never’.
Based
on my experience, I can say that missing a class once a while is not a crime.
All students are lawfully allowed to be absent from class provided that they
have valid reasons and follow college
policy.
Therefore,
if you have to miss a class, why not use your given rights? Write your ‘leave
form’ to show your instructor that you respect him and his class. However, if
you are not able to pre-inform ahead of time, you can just let the instructor
know 15 minutes before class (not many instructors like this) and promise to
complete ‘leave form for after leave’.
Personally,
I think it is morally important and right to say sorry and clearly explain to
your instructor your reasons for being absent from class when you come back the
next session; such act can actually melt your instructor’s heart (only if your
explanation is sincerely convincing).
If you
clearly show your teachers respect and follow all the required procedure, I
guarantee you that you will see their kindness toward you; some instructors are
so kind that they even arrange to get the homework for you so that you aren’t
behind the class when you return.
4. Classroom
participation
Undoubtedly and obviously,
classroom participation is one of the keys to becoming a good student. If you
don’t believe me, go and ask any top-performing students you know. If you are
bold enough and serious about improving your academic performance, approach one
of your classmates who is doing better you do in class, ask them about the
importance of classroom participation, and listen attentively to their answer.
If I am not mistaken, a lot of
colleges give a strong emphasis on this very point, classroom
participation, for it is believed that student who is active in class tends
to learn more quickly and has deeper understanding of the lesson than those who
are not. Some instructors literally give a big chunk of score (up to 20%) to
classroom participation; if 100 is the full score in the whole semester,
students who are exhaustively active in class receive 20 marks and those not
active at all 0 marks.
To put in simple terms,
classroom participation is any activity you do in class so as to catch up with
the lesson and so as not to get behind anyone. Usually, students who fail to
fully participate in class miss instructions of homework or assignments, detailed
information related to lesson, etc. Actually, classroom participation can be
done in many ways as follows:
- Asking
questions if you have doubts or need clarification about any lesson.
- Answering
questions, making comments, or sharing ideas if you have any. (If
possible, you should volunteer to answer since it shows the instructors
your great attention and activeness).
- Maintaining
attention with your lecturer through the use of eye contact.
- Joining
peer work, group work and discussion.
- Doing
presentation (slide presentation or just verbal presentation).
- And
possibly, many more positive things.
Actively participating in class,
you show your instructors that you respect them a lot and that you’re paying
attention and are actively applying the information. Remember, your instructors
don’t stay with you 24 hours a day. They only have very little time, maybe 1 or
2 hours per week, to monitor and get to know you. Therefore, you should use
this little time to express to them that you are working hard (and smart) and
impress them that they are not wasting time on you because you are
someone serious about improving yourself.
5. Submit all your assignments and projects on or even before
deadlines.
If
compared, assignments given by your teachers are like work assigned by your
employer. If you fail to complete those work on time, it is like you fail to
generate money for the company or lose your company money, thus making you a
bad employee who deserves to be fired or replaced.
After
you get fired, you will look for a new job hoping that you will survive.
However, if you still keep the same habit of not completing your work on time,
you will get re-fired for no employer ever wants to pay to hire incapable
people who are not able to accomplish any work on time.
Productivity
is actually one of the most important aspects of life. Regardless of whom you
are and what you do, you need to produce to survive and live up to today’s good
living standard (demanding, competitive, and intense).
As
students, your job (and maybe only job) is to complete your homework and
assignments on time. I don’t know whether you have any other roles to play or
work to do, but you cannot let those things be your excuse for not having
completed your homework or assignments on time before class or deadline.
Even
though they do not have any direct link with financial benefits, homework or
assignments do have huge impact on your academic results and future. The more
assignments you do, the smarter you become in the field you are studying, the
better scores you get, and the more and higher professional opportunities you
will have after your graduation.
To be
a really good student, you must prepare for not only college assignments, but
also tests. You have to be more than ready even before your exams come. Like
championship boxers, you have be train yourself regularly and right, endure
some (read: a lot of) pain, rehearse your tactics right, prepare your nerves
and confidence, and most importantly, make sure that you know exactly what you
are going to do when your exams come.
Even
though they are able to take on surprise tests (if they have to), good students
do not like to be surprised by any kind of tests, for such surprise doesn’t
bring enjoyment, but fear, sorrows and regret. Having said that, I have learnt
that good students make fear their friend through their powerful discipline of
constant and adequate preparation.
6.Be well-informed and updated.
A good
student is a goal-oriented person, who has both short-term and long-term goals
in life. S/he wants to make sure that their life is completely on-tracked,
which is why they make it their daily habit and effort to find out interesting
and important things going on in their college (and life, if I am not wrong).
A good
student has reliable relevant information about their study program,
extracurricular activities in the college, special upcoming academic events,
etc. S/he knows exactly how many clubs available in their college and other
colleges within their community, what services such as library they are
officially allowed to use, what scholarships are being offered to students
annually, etc.
A good
student is like a rich businessman who pays very close attention to
information. They are willing to pay for latest news which is beneficial to
their study because they know those who get the hottest news are usually one
step ahead of the game.
To
keep themselves updated, a good student builds a relatively strong bond with
college personnel, friends in class and college, instructors, and other people.
With these people, they collect and share important information related to
their academic development.
7. Have good results.
When
everything is all said and done, it comes to good students’ having good
academic results. Rules may change but the game remains the same. A good student is
someone who is able to get good scores, if possible the highest ones in their
class or college. One
of the ultimate goals of becoming a good student is getting good scores. So, if
you fail to get high scores, I can say that you are not a good student even
though you do all the above-mentioned points.
Whether
you know it or not, life is a number game. People really do not care about how
you do things (even though they may say they do); they just want to
see the results.
Therefore,
gaining the highest scores in your class and college should be your priority
goal.
In conclusion, if you are a student, you may have so many choices to
become who you want to be. You can be an always forgetting person, a loving
friend, an always learning student, a good student, etc. It’s all about you and
who you choose to be. Therefore, choose well based on what you really
love. And if what you really love is to become a good student,
please have a good study of all the above-written points. Honestly, they don’t
include everything, but they can be a good summary
and starting point for you to search for more solution.
Go for
it and I wish you all the best of luck.
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