Class Rule 1.0

"Know our role!"

From almost a decade of facilitating learning in tertiary education, I am under the impression that about 80.0% of my students have a hazy definition of their role in a classroom. I know they know that they need to pass the course. And I know they know they are students but I verily doubt if they know what it means to be a STUDENT.

And because I really want to help the students who gave me the privilege to be part of their journey, I am writing this Class Rule(s) to help.

The definition of the word "student" means - "...a person engaged in study; one who is devoted to learning."

(Before we continue let me say that I am hoping, and praying, to be proven wrong with these prognosis...)

I know and see that the effort is there. But I doubt the engaged part and the devoted part. Granting that there are indeed professors who makes it doubly hard to be engaged and to be devoted but what can we do about it? We can not control who shall facilitate our learning. We can not control what kind of "school of teaching" the professors embraces.

But we can verily control how we respond. The power to choose how we respond is definitely within our power. Can we choose to be devoted to learning in spite of and despite of what life gives us? Why don't we try the library? or even Google? = )

Another thing, I am under the impression that the role of being a son or of a daughter supersedes your role as a student even in studying. By this I meant embracing this philosophy of "as long as I do not fail my subjects and courses and hurt my parents, I can do as I please."

Now, I am not trying to be a party-pooper but I am coming from this context - if we devote the time we have now to studies, will we be so accepting of simply a passing grade?

In my take, I doubt it. We would at least be expecting a grade better than 2.0 = )

And my defense to that line of thinking is simply this - if we devote so much time with our boyfriends or girlfriends, are we so accepting that they simply sit beside us? I do not think so, too.

Knowing our role and doing it heightens and stretches our idea of excellence. And this truth is not limited in being a student, within the context of class. This is truer in life.