Tag Archives: students

March 18, 2015 · 1:40 pm

The Best Gift for High School Students

Where has “What to Consider if You’re Considering University” by Coates and Morrison been all my life?

In my opinion, this book should be required reading for every single grade 9 student and her parents from coast to coast.

What, you may wonder, has got me so excited?

It’s real. It’s honest. And the information is absolutely relevant to the swarms of graduating high school students seeking direction on what to do next.

Coates and Morrison use the term swarm to describe the large majority of university bound students who have been “influenced by the over-selling of a university education”. These are the students who don’t necessary enjoy reading, probably won’t engage entirely in what a university has to offer and who seriously lack in the curiosity department. Swarm students are less likely to succeed at university and if they do manage to scrape together the grades required to graduate will probably be no further ahead (just further in debt) then they were after high school.

It’s no surprise that I have encountered a number of students from the swarm over the years. In extreme cases, swarm students have admitted that they just want to “get through” the next four years and it would be so much better if I would just get on with it and tell them what I want them to do and how they should do it to make the process as painless and expedient as possible.

That’s sad. And the individuals I described are not the type of students for which the university system was designed.

What many soon-to-be high school graduates and parents don’t realize is that there is more to life (and post-secondary education) than universities. In fact, other post-secondary options might be a much better fit for both the student’s learning style and desired outcome.

This post is the beginning of a series of four that will delve into the key takeaways from Coates and Morrison’s book.

I encourage all high school students, students struggling through first or second year university and parents of said students to pick up a copy of the book.

Unfortunately many students and their parents were mistakenly led to believe that a university education would somehow automatically line them up for a great paying job so if they could just “get through” the next four years, all will be well in the world.

Reality check – a university education does not equal job training (unless you are in a professional program like nursing, medicine, engineering, teachers college and possibly some business programs). If a specific job is the desired outcome, one of the other options might be better for you.

Let’s explore…

Colleges

Coates and Morrison describe college as the road to employment. If you are interested in a particular career then a college program might be the right choice for you. Colleges typically offer a range of programs (most often diplomas) in the areas of social service, health care, paraprofessional, and trades. Colleges tend to be regionally focused and do a good job adapting to the changes in local and regional economies (which is rarely on the agenda of universities). Not only do colleges train students in high-end facilities using the latest technologies, but they offer a direct pipeline to potential employers who often have longstanding relationships with the institution.

Polytechnics

Most people don’t even know that polytechnics exist or how they are different from colleges or universities. There are similarities and differences.  Polytechnics can offer certificate (typically one year programs), diploma (typically two to three year programs most like colleges) and degree (three to four year programs) programs.  Polytechnics are informed by advanced applied research and offer practical, hands-on training, often designed in conjunction with employers. If you’re looking for a direct connection to work upon graduation, the polytechnic choice might be the right one for you.

And what about universities you may ask? I will leave that to the next post where I explore Coates and Morrison’s Curiosity Test as a measure of university readiness.  In the meantime, share this post or order a copy of the book for that special high school student in your life.

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January 22, 2013 · 3:54 pm

3 Questions to NEVER Ask Your Professor

QuestionDon’t get me wrong.  Asking your professor good questions is definitely ok.  See the It’s Ok to Ask Questions post for exactly what I mean.

Asking questions demonstrates that you care about the course and content.  The interaction is also a fabulous opportunity for you to start building a relationship with your professor which may come in handy down the road (See the Will You Be My Reference? post).

The bottom line is that you need to think about what your questions really say about you before you ask.   I’m not saying that you should never think about these questions and seek out answers to them but most of the time you shouldn’t present them to your professor.

The list below highlights the dreaded questions followed by your professor’s true feelings.  In some cases your professor might actually verbalize the response which will likely result in embarrassed faces and awkward moments and in others you might simply notice that your professor is rolling her eyes while she grunts a short response.

Neither situation is ideal.

Here we go…

1.  Will that be on the test?

Who cares?  Aren’t you here to learn?  It’s impossible to “test” every single topic, concept and idea so…maybe.  That’s right maybe.  All content covered in the readings, lectures, class discussions and exercises is fair game people.

Advice:  Be prepared.  Assume that all content covered in readings, lectures, discussions, exercises and through guest speakers is testable unless otherwise noted.

2.  What did I miss in class?

Who am I?  Your mother?  I have (insert large #) number of students in my courses and I’m a busy person.  I can’t possibly “re-do” the missed class for you.  Figure it out yourself.  

Advice:  It’s your responsibility to get what you need/what you missed from somebody else in the class.  Most of the time professors post lecture notes and announcements through their course websites so some of this information is easily accessible to you.  Get to know other students in the class early in the term so that you can connect with them and find out what you missed in the case you need to miss a class.

3.  Is it ok if I leave early/miss class?

See the initial response above.  You are an adult and capable of making your own choices.  If you choose to leave class early to tend to something else you deem more important then don’t look for my approval.  I manage to schedule my dental appointments, doctor’s appointments, personal training appointments and everything else outside of my teaching hours because class is important to me.  Do what you need to do.

Advice:  Unless you are asked to report absences (perhaps for a seminar session) or your absence will affect the way the class functions (like you were supposed to deliver a presentation) it’s best not to say anything on this one.  If you need to leave early then sit somewhere where you won’t disrupt the class when you leave.

Aside:  I once had a student tell me at the beginning of class that she had to leave early and then pack up and walk out five minutes into the class.  Are you kidding me?

I want to know.  Have you ever asked your professor a question and received a surprising (good or bad) response?  Share!

photo credit: <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/colinkinner/2200500024/”>Colin_K</a> via <a href=”http://photopin.com”>photopin> <a href=”http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/”>cc</a>

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November 20, 2012 · 4:37 pm

New Stage = New Responsibilities

I was inspired to write this post after attending a baptism this weekend.

After the “main event”, the officiant began his sermon on the topic of “House Rules”.  As I listened to the officiant and his partner share their personal experiences, the lightbulb went on when they shared their “stages of parenting” definition.

Light Bulbs

Even though I was hoping to take away some information on how I could be a better parent to my two young girls, all I could think about was how these stages relate to the transition between high school and university.  The transition involves so much more than just moving away from home, meeting new people, finding new interests and studying new subjects.

The transition requires the student to understand the new responsibility that comes with being a post-secondary student.  And that is what many students fail to realize.

I am going to rework the officiant’s “stages of parenting” into my definition of the stages of education.

  1. The first stage in the process is the disciplinary phase.  I consider children from nursery to pre-school age to be in this stage.  The student’s responsibility at this stage is to listen to and watch the teacher model appropriate actions in order to learn the standard rules of acceptable behaviour.
  2. The second stage of the relationship is the training phase where the teacher lets go of some of the control (a little at first and more later on) and the student’s responsibility is to start using the skills, tools and knowledge she has acquired.  Students from kindergarten all the way up to about grade 8 would be in this phase.
  3. The final stage is the coaching phase.  This is the best stage and why I love my job.  In this phase, it is the student’s full responsibility to figure out what needs to be done and how best to do it.  This stage starts in early high school and carries on all the way into post-secondary studies.  At this stage the teacher trusts that the student is capable of formulating a plan and making decisions.  The teacher is there to encourage, advise, support, motivate and guide the student.  You know, remind them of the “game plan” every now and again.

Students in the coaching phase are responsible for:

  • Attending “practices” – classes, seminars, labs
  • Completing “training” workouts – readings, assignments, exercises
  • Analyzing “post-game” – seeking and applying feedback

And so much more.

Do yourself a favour and before you attend a post-secondary institution be ready to take on the new responsibilities that come with it.

Photo Credit:  photo credit: <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/zetson/3036254720/”>zetson> via <a href=”http://photopin.com”>photopin> <a href=”http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/”>cc</a>

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November 13, 2012 · 4:22 pm

It’s Ok to Ask Questions

For some reason students feel like they shouldn’t ask their profs questions.  Why is that?  Do you think that how to amortize bonds payable using the effective interest method of amortization is common knowledge?  No, it’s not.  It’s a difficult concept and so are many other theories, processes and formulae you will cover in all kinds of courses ranging from anthropology to zoology.

Most professors are happy to answer your questions for these three reasons:

  1. Asking questions demonstrates that you care.  The fact that you are concerned enough to ask a question shows us that  learning is a priority for you.  We really like to help those students who are interested, passionate or just plain curious about a topic.
  2. We genuinely want to help our students succeed.  We enjoy facilitating discussions and grading papers where students “get it”.  Believe me, it’s no fun grading a failing paper.
  3. We like interacting with our students.  Those of us who teach large classes don’t get to do this very often.  When we respond to questions in a one-on-one setting it can be a great opportunity for us to find out what students are struggling with so that we can make changes to content delivery.

Before you approach your professor with an “I don’t understand” statement, be clear that we do have some expectations.  We expect that you have done some preliminary work and have made some effort to familiarize yourself with the concept/topic/process.  Use this list of questions as a checklist and only approach your professor after you can answer yes to all of them.

  • Have you completed the reading?
  • Have you attempted the review questions/demonstration problem?
  • Did you pay attention/take notes/get notes to the lecture/discussion on the topic?
  • Have you attempted to discuss the concept with other students in your class or study group?
  • Have you actually thought about the concept?

Here’s a question for you.  Does this help?

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