Rules for a successful college career.
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I was lucky to have a very odd and very liberal college English professor my freshman year in a very conservative college. He was obviously used to students’ unproductive attitudes towards his class. So, he started the semester by giving us two rules for success in his class and college in general.
1) Complete and turn in all homework assignments–on time.
I learned to think of homework assignments as free points. Exams are more of a crap shoot, but you can look up every question assigned as homework. If you gather as many points as possible with homework,you can afford to miss some on the exams.
2) Cooperate and graduate.
As you might imagine, a lone liberal professor at a conservative college faces mean spirited opposition, from time to time. I remember one particular essay that infuriated many of the students. I was one of the few who got a good grade on my reaction paper. I got a good grade by understanding the professor’s position, being sensitive to his position, then clearly explaining my position (as Steven Covey puts it seek first to understand, then to be understood). In short, I cooperated. Notice, I did not tell the professor what I thought he wanted to here. It is too easy to see through that type of nonsense. Telling an instructor they are stupid is a sure path to a poor grade.
In a lot of ways that English class was the foundation of my college and professional career. There is nothing more important than to be able to think critically, and to be able to communicate your thoughts.