I
am proud to say that this particular strategy
is one of my favorites and also one of the most
effective ones I've ever used. It's so simple
that itsremarkable that most students haven't
tried it. Understand that all of the strategies
listed in this book have proven to be effective
at one time or another, but given the situation,
some will work better than others. This one
seemed to work almost all of the time.
The
"Secret Recipe" was one of the first "tricks"
I ever tried. It's kind of a misnomer to call
it a trick, because it was never planned to
be one. I attempted this strategy clearly out
of sincere desperation and fear of screwing
up in the classroom. It just so happens that
after I used it, it worked a lot better than
I ever anticipated. The "Secret Recipe" answered
the age-old question for me, "Whowould know
best how to get an 'A' in any course?"
For
this particular strategy, your confidence level
will have to be at an all-time high. I'm not
saying that mine was, but I faked it very well.
It's like Les Brown once said, "sometimes you
have to fake it until you make it." After I
used this strategy the first time, it was much
easier to use on subsequent occasions. You'll
discover that this will apply to you as well.
Your
First Day
One
of the most anxious days in college, next to
test day, is the infamous first day of class.
On this particular day, students are nervous
and professors are nervous (yes, teachers do
get nervous -- remember, we're human too).
Some students even make the critical mistake
of not showing up on the first day or week of
classes (see Trick #6).
On
that first day, professors usually outline course
requirements (i.e., give you a syllabus), give
you their teaching philosophy, their background,answer
student questions, and other boring stuff.
Others even try to instill a little fear to
weed out the slackers. Some professors deviate
from the routine by giving tests or even allowing
time for student introductions (a ploy to remember
your name); but for the most part, there aren't
many surprises.
On
the first day of class, it is so important for
you to make an initial positive impression on
the professor. You obviously understand the
consequences of a negative one; but most students
don't understand that "no impression" is just
as bad as a negative one. The reason this is
true is because of our previous definition of
average (i.e., cream of the crap). If a professor
has no impression of you, he or she will assume
you're probably just the "average student."
The problem with this approach is the fact of
what most professors (if not all) think of the
"average student."
A
better way to explain this point would be think
about how you would describe the average
college student yourself. Being totally honest,
do you think the average college student is
self- motivated, excited about his or her courses,
eager to learn, striving to reach his or her
full potential, loves to work hard, never makes
excuses, is an eternal optimist, takes initiative,
believes algebra is vitally important, etc?
Guess what? Neither do we (professors).
With
this in mind, you don't ever want to be classified
as the "average" student. Therefore, you must
do something positive to make a good, memorable
impression on the professor. The larger the
class, the more important this strategy is.
So
how does this strategy work? The strategy is
outlined in detail for you. Remember, look
at what most students are doing or would do,
and do the total opposite. You will succeed!
