about college, part 2
The conclusion to the article Catherine's father wrote this to some students he knows who are entering college this semester. Part 1 is here.
Part Two: How to succeed in college
Intending to go to college is one thing; accomplishing it is another. (I'm not going to discuss financing it here.) If you see the social aspect (e.g., having fun) as primary or even coequal to getting the education, you have set an obstacle for yourself (probably bigger at Texas State U, and smaller at Middlebury). The social side is a side effect, a great benefit, but should not be primary.
Nine rules for success in college
All nine recommendations here are served by good habits and hindered by bad habits. You cannot say, "I'm in college! Today I will begin using good habits and stop my bad habits." Good habits have to be cultivated, and bad habits slowly driven into extinction. Thus if you have bad study habits you will develop good ones incrementally. If you find it difficult to study more than fifteen minutes at a time, study fifteen minutes at a time until it is more doable, then try, say, twenty. If you play video games (for instance) an hour a day, try limiting yourself to fifty minutes, and then do that only after you have finished your homework.
1. PRIORITIZE. What are your goals? You might start by listing them (yes, having a good time is a legitimate goal). By writing them down you might reveal to yourself that one goal is incompatible with — even inimical to — another goal. Now take the resulting list and prioritize your goals. With this list of priorities you can now decide how to divide your time. Some goals on the bottom of the list might even have to fall off due to lack of time. Without such a list of priorities, you might hurt an important goal by spending too much time on an unimportant one.
2. FOCUS ON YOUR MOST IMPORTANT GOALS. "I don't feel like working today": if that thought guides you dozens of times each semester the cumulative effect will divert you from your goals. Sometimes hard work, even drudgery, today will help you get the life you want in the future. Less play time with your friends this year may help you get the job that will give you more time with your family in the future.
3. LISTEN. Cultivate paying attention in class. A wandering mind signifies danger in your life. Focus — "listen" — when reading. You can too easily run your eyes down a textbook page without absorbing anything.
4. INTERACT. With your textbook. With the lecture. With yourself. Ask questions. Ask questions. Did I say ask questions? Sometimes asking questions can clarify your thinking, sometimes it's as simple as "What did I just read?" Sometimes an out loud question to the instructor (if allowed!) can correct a misunderstanding or fill in a gap.
5. THINK SKEPTICALLY. ("sceptically" is OK, too) "Where is the evidence?" is the number one question of skeptical thinking. "Is that logical?" is probably the number two question. Practice skeptical thinking. Being skeptical is not the same thing as being cynical.
6. BE TEACHABLE. Learning can come from any source. I was always happy to learn something from someone much younger than me, especially if it was to correct an error. (Correcting errors in our understanding is an important part of our growth.) Why do babies learn so fast? Because they are teachable and never defensive when corrected.
7. STUDY. Don't try to get by on your intelligence alone (you know who you are!). You have two full time jobs: going to class is one; studying is the other. (You can't work at a full time money job and take a full load at college. You might have a full time money job and go to school half time. That would give you two full time jobs.) Use those odd-moments to study — on the bus, on the toilet, while eating. We all have 24 hours each day — the question is what can you wring out of that?
8. STAY IN REALITY. Don't make plans or set goals that are unrealistic. You probably shouldn't plan on running the mile in 3:45. If you don't achieve way beyond your high school level in your first college semester, that may be a sign that you were thinking unrealistically, rather than you being a failure. Adjust your aim as you see what is possible for you. Doing the above should enable you to meet realistic goals and gradually set higher ones, if you so wish. Not doing the above will probably require you to lower your sights. (If you are brilliant you can probably ignore most of the above, but then you are not living up to your potential.)
9. PERSEVERE. I can't tell you how often I have heard a former student say, "I'm dropping a couple of classes because I've fallen behind" or "I'm going to take a semester off" (that's sometimes a good idea, but almost never, except out of financial necessity).
Part Two: How to succeed in college
Intending to go to college is one thing; accomplishing it is another. (I'm not going to discuss financing it here.) If you see the social aspect (e.g., having fun) as primary or even coequal to getting the education, you have set an obstacle for yourself (probably bigger at Texas State U, and smaller at Middlebury). The social side is a side effect, a great benefit, but should not be primary.
Nine rules for success in college
All nine recommendations here are served by good habits and hindered by bad habits. You cannot say, "I'm in college! Today I will begin using good habits and stop my bad habits." Good habits have to be cultivated, and bad habits slowly driven into extinction. Thus if you have bad study habits you will develop good ones incrementally. If you find it difficult to study more than fifteen minutes at a time, study fifteen minutes at a time until it is more doable, then try, say, twenty. If you play video games (for instance) an hour a day, try limiting yourself to fifty minutes, and then do that only after you have finished your homework.
1. PRIORITIZE. What are your goals? You might start by listing them (yes, having a good time is a legitimate goal). By writing them down you might reveal to yourself that one goal is incompatible with — even inimical to — another goal. Now take the resulting list and prioritize your goals. With this list of priorities you can now decide how to divide your time. Some goals on the bottom of the list might even have to fall off due to lack of time. Without such a list of priorities, you might hurt an important goal by spending too much time on an unimportant one.
2. FOCUS ON YOUR MOST IMPORTANT GOALS. "I don't feel like working today": if that thought guides you dozens of times each semester the cumulative effect will divert you from your goals. Sometimes hard work, even drudgery, today will help you get the life you want in the future. Less play time with your friends this year may help you get the job that will give you more time with your family in the future.
3. LISTEN. Cultivate paying attention in class. A wandering mind signifies danger in your life. Focus — "listen" — when reading. You can too easily run your eyes down a textbook page without absorbing anything.
4. INTERACT. With your textbook. With the lecture. With yourself. Ask questions. Ask questions. Did I say ask questions? Sometimes asking questions can clarify your thinking, sometimes it's as simple as "What did I just read?" Sometimes an out loud question to the instructor (if allowed!) can correct a misunderstanding or fill in a gap.
5. THINK SKEPTICALLY. ("sceptically" is OK, too) "Where is the evidence?" is the number one question of skeptical thinking. "Is that logical?" is probably the number two question. Practice skeptical thinking. Being skeptical is not the same thing as being cynical.
6. BE TEACHABLE. Learning can come from any source. I was always happy to learn something from someone much younger than me, especially if it was to correct an error. (Correcting errors in our understanding is an important part of our growth.) Why do babies learn so fast? Because they are teachable and never defensive when corrected.
7. STUDY. Don't try to get by on your intelligence alone (you know who you are!). You have two full time jobs: going to class is one; studying is the other. (You can't work at a full time money job and take a full load at college. You might have a full time money job and go to school half time. That would give you two full time jobs.) Use those odd-moments to study — on the bus, on the toilet, while eating. We all have 24 hours each day — the question is what can you wring out of that?
8. STAY IN REALITY. Don't make plans or set goals that are unrealistic. You probably shouldn't plan on running the mile in 3:45. If you don't achieve way beyond your high school level in your first college semester, that may be a sign that you were thinking unrealistically, rather than you being a failure. Adjust your aim as you see what is possible for you. Doing the above should enable you to meet realistic goals and gradually set higher ones, if you so wish. Not doing the above will probably require you to lower your sights. (If you are brilliant you can probably ignore most of the above, but then you are not living up to your potential.)
9. PERSEVERE. I can't tell you how often I have heard a former student say, "I'm dropping a couple of classes because I've fallen behind" or "I'm going to take a semester off" (that's sometimes a good idea, but almost never, except out of financial necessity).
"Never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense."
Winston Churchill, 1941
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