The first and most important thing you need to know and remember is that all teachers, elementary to college, are people; they have good and bad days, get hurt feelings, get mad, are empathetic and sympathetic, above all they strive for every student to succeed. You may think I am crazy for saying this but it’s very true. So, how can you succeed in a class that has 30 to 300 students? It’s NOT easy, sorry if you thought I was going to say it was. Students can not get something for doing nothing. Here is what it takes: it takes YOU to succeed. YOU need to make an effort, YOU need to try, YOU need to be involved in your success.
Here are some To Do’s for you to consider, if you implement these things you will see a difference in how you feel about school and your teachers, that difference will come in better grades.
- Introduce yourself the 1st day of class. Then everyday after that say good morning/afternoon Mr/Mrs .... How are you today? Or ask how their weekend was, something friendly. But you need to really mean it.
- Sit close to the front of the room. Yes, this is how you stay engaged in class. Their are less distractions and you have eye to eye contact with your teacher.
- Ask questions. Truly, if you have a question, ASK. You are not alone, someone else in the class will have that question they just are to scared to ask.
- If you get a paper or test back and are not sure why you received the that grade, make an appointment to meet with your teacher at their convenience, not yours. They have say 5 classes with 25+ students who all think their paper should have a better grade, in class at that moment, is not the best time to ask about it.
- On the first day of class your teacher probably handed you a syllabus or classroom expectations. Read, get to know and understand what that document says. Your teacher did not just type it up to waste his/her time and paper. It is important to your teacher, if you show you follow those guidelines he/she will be very impressed.
- Have a weekly assignment planner. Fill it out in each class with what you did for the day, your reading assignment and homework. Make it a habit to check your planner as you prepare to leave school for the day; it’s hard to remember what your homework is from first period, don’t rely on your memory. Check the assignment off when it’s complete.
- Be genuine, respectful and communicate. Treat your teacher the way you would like to be treated.
Here is a Don’t:
- Don’t be a “brown noser” and don’t suck up to the teacher. They know you are doing that, they are smart people after all. For a teacher, it’s disappointing to think that students don’t respect them enough to be genuine.
Try these things and see what happens, it can’t hurt and you may start to like school and your teachers...Good Luck!
