What Smart Students Know 2011 Edition

COWCATCHER Publications

What Smart Students Know Maximum Learning. Better Grades. Minimum Time. E X C E R P T S

F R O M

T H E

E X P E R T S

Take it from Adam Robinson, co-founder of the Princeton Review

Don’t have time to read the whole book? Jodie Randisi has been an educator for over 25 years. She is passionate about helping people remove obstacles. Her specialty is making information easy to digest in ways that are enjoyable. Many people don’t have time to read everything they want or need to read, which is why she collects, reduces, and publishes interesting information in user-friendly formats. PLEASE NOTE: Excerpts from the Experts is not meant to replace books. These articles are, however, meant to help people sort through the mountains of information that threaten to consume our precious time. If the condensed information provided here makes sense, then Jodie recommends reading from material from its original source.

Your success in school, your grades and how much you learn is entirely up to you.

There are few things more overwhelming than the price tag of a college education, so why not let the expert tell you what he knows. Invest in your future by spending some time learning some very valuable secrets. You can know what smart students know. There are only twelve principles. If you can remember the zodiac, or names of the months, you can certainly learn these important lifechanging principles. He certainly looks brilliant!

12 Principles Principle # 3 NOT EVERYTHING YOU ARE ASSIGNED TO READ OR ASKED TO DO IS EQUALLY IMPORTANT Set priorities and plan ahead. Budget your time and focus on the most important tasks on your agenda. Apply this principle to your studying as well. Recognize the value of concentrating your learning efforts on the most important aspects of a course rather than becoming overwhelmed by trying to absorb everything.

Principle # 4

Principle # 1

GRADES ARE JUST SUBECTIVE OPINIONS NOBODY CAN TEACH YOU AS WELL AS YOU CAN TEACH YOURSELF

Don’t get overly upset with bad grades (or overly excited with good ones). Since grades are important, make sure you make it a point to get to know the personal likes, dislikes, and biases of the person who decides them – your teacher.

While teachers tell you what you have to learn, how you learn that material is your business. Adapt situations to your learning needs, not the other way around. No teacher, no matter how gifted or dedicated, knows how you think and process information better than you do.

Principle # 2

Principle # 5

MERELY LISTENING TO YOUR TEACHERS AND COMPLETING THEIR ASSIGNMENTS IS NEVER ENOUGH

MAKING MISTAKES (AND OCCASIONALLY APPEARING FOOLISH) IS THE PRICE YOU PAY FOR LEARNING AND IMPROVING

Think of your teachers and assignments as the framework around which true personalized learning is built. Be constantly on the lookout for new and better sources of information and new and better ways to learn.

In the learning process, mistakes are as important as successes. Young children have a nearly unlimited aptitude for learning because of their willingness to make mistakes.

Principle # 6 THE POINT OF A QUESTION IS TO GET YOU TO THINK – NOT SIMPLY TO ANSWER IT Look for different perspectives, different answers, and different methods to solve problems. See questions as challenges, not threats, and approach obvious answers with skepticism.

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12 Principles Once you see yourself as a smart student you will act and learn like one. Principle # 7 YOU ARE IN SCHOOL TO LEARN HOW TO THINK FOR YOURSELF, NOT TO REPEAT WHAT TEXTBOOKS AND TEACHERS TELL YOU Take nothing at face value. Question everything. Only through constant challenging and reaching beyond limitations does anyone learn anything of significance.

Principle # 8 SUBJECTS DO NOT ALWAYS SEEM INTERESTING OR RELEVANT BUT BEING ACTIVELY ENGAGED IN LEARM THEM IS BETTER THAN BEING PASSIVELY BORED AND NOT LEARNING

Principle # 10

Be willing, even eager to learn things that other students might find boring. You may not be interested in the subject, but you can be interested in your questions about it. If you are bored or distracted, it means you aren’t learning. Do something about it. Learning is ongoing and you must uphold your end or discovery comes to a screeching halt.

Principle # 9

HOW WELL YOU DO IN SCHOOL REFLECTS YOUR ATTITUDE AND YOUR METHOD, NOT YOUR ABILITY Don’t take academic mistakes or disappointments personally. There’s nothing wrong with you; it’s just your attitude or method that needs adjusting. The material is the material. There will always be something you don’t understand.

Principle # 11

FEW THINGS ARE AS POTENTIALLY DIFFICULT, FRUSTRATING, OR FRIGHTENING AS GENUINE LEARNING YET NOTHING IS MORE EMPOWERING

IF YOU’RE DOING IT FOR THE GRADES OR THE APPROVAL OF OTHERS, YOU’RE MISSING THE SATISFACTION OF THE PROCESS AND PUTTING YOUR SELFESTEEM AT THE MERCY OF THINGS OUTSIDE YOUR CONTROL

Learning does not end when the bell rings or you grab your diploma. Learning is the stuff of life. The alternative to questioning, grasping, and moving forward every day of your life is much more restful but far less exciting and gratifying. It takes courage and hard work to tackle the unknown, but each time you do it will be easier and less frightening.

Work hard for yourself. Work hard and excel because it makes you feel good, and because you realize that you alone will live with the consequences of your education. Praise is great, but its flip side is disapproval, which can derail learning. True gratification comes from within.

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Principle 12 SCHOOL IS A GAME, BUT IT’S A VERY IMPORTANT GAME Keep everything in perspective.

Play to Win!

Smart students know learning is a lifetime habit. The world is packed with opportunities for smart students. Those who appreciate adventure, explorations, discovery and creativity will never lack for possibilities. For those who continue to learn, the choices are endless. The world is so miraculous and full of wonder that your imagination at its most creative moment cannot encompass it. Paths will open leading to worlds beyond your wildest dreams. If this sounds like a pitch for the latest recreational drug, it may be. The drug is adrenaline, and your body automatically generates it when you are growing, risking, and discovering new worlds.

The cowcatcher recommends… Keep a journal. Take a seminar. Read, watch and listen. Travel. Take an unrelated class. Take advantage of counseling. Form a support group. Find a mentor or become one. Do something you think you can’t do.

Jodie’s presentations are perfect for leadership conferences, retreats, freshmen orientation, Welcome Week programs, student activities, association and club meetings.

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