Comments on: CandidProf: Students—one best vs. the rest

By: CandidProf

CandidProf — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 13:58:13 +0000

Ben,
You are right. You learn from mistakes and hard work. Our speaker knows that. Many of my students don’t. To be fair, I had a number of students who took what she said to heart and seem to have been fired up to work hard. But, for some, the message was lost.

By: Ben

Ben — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 03:59:58 +0000

Learning from failure and mistakes is the best lesson in life a person can have. I finished my secondary schooling over half a lifetime ago with really mediocre marks. For years I used to let that get me down, but once I realised that I was humble enough to learn from any mistakes and failures that I make on my life’s journey, I became a self-educated man. It’s been hard work but I wouldn’t swap it for being handed everything up to me on a platter. Insulating students from a D mark only sets them up for a life of mediocrity and meaninglessness.

I work at a university, as an audio-visual technician, and I still find it incredible that most students are surprised that I’m an avid reader of books well removed from the field that I work in. I also wonder how some of these students made their way to university – I’ve come across a number who aren’t the sharpest tools in the shed. To be fair though, I’ve come across some really sharp students.

My oldest son started his first year of school this year and the only homework he has is a reader (book). When he first started he found reading the book he brought home incredibly hard work after his initial enthusiasm. I could have let him take the easy way out and complain to his teacher. Instead he and I persevered with the reader each morning before school and after reaching a plateau, the books’ vocabulary level increased and he made a breakthrough. Now he will work his way through the books he brings home and only requires a gentle nudge from me. I can’t claim all of the credit with my son’s efforts because he has worked at improving his reading.

I’ll finish up with a quote from Thomas Edison, that pretty much sums up the key to success – “Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.” This is something that your speaker was a pretty good example of.

Cheers

By: CandidProf

CandidProf — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 23:22:23 +0000

Thanks for the comment. It is very discouraging when students don’t want to learn.

By: Ex-teacher

Ex-teacher — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 16:24:36 +0000

I truly feel your pain. I used to teach and saw that lack of ethics in many of my students. Also, I was amazed how many times their parents came to me and told me that my class was too hard.
I taught at-risk students and I wanted to inspired them about hard work and the satisfaction to get to a point where you feel proud of yourself.

Anyway, parents and school districts literary are sending those kids to the hole.
To be honest and hard to believe, I never ever cheated in a test since I was in elementary school. I flunked many tests while I was in middle, high school, and even in college. But, I learned that if I wanted to pass, I had to study hard and not just play around. Why I got, was learning and not just a fancy grade. My parents, supported me in that way. I wanted to teach my students that lesson and some of them took it, other didn’t.

Good luck,