What I would do to be a better student/human being?

Hello readers, hope all of you are in good health condition. For this entry, I will share about How to be a better student.

Times change. The definition of "student" once was "one who studies something". Today it can mean merely "one who attends a school, college or university". This modern definition doesn't even suggest that the person does more than "attend". College and university professors still use the first definition, and schools have ways (such as requirements, exams and grades) to attempt to ensure that those who attend will also study and learn something.

So, How to be a better student? Does everyone have idea about this?

For me, to be a better student, I just follow simple steps like this:

The four As: attitude, academic skills, awareness, and accomplishment, certainly are a large part of it, and a student who has them will be very likely to earn As:

• Attitude is primarily a genuine desire to learn, and the willingness to do hard intellectual work to achieve understanding. It is also shown by how well you apply yourself even to subjects in which you have little interest, and how much you can achieve even when a professor's style isn't to your liking.

• Academic skills include ability to read with comprehension, intelligent use of resources (including library resources), logical and mathematical skills, efficient study habits, and the ability to communicate clearly and fluently in speaking and writing.

• Awareness of what's going on in the world around you, and the habit of intelligently relating it to your academic courses. For example, when taking a course in political science, you should relate what you are learning in class to what's happening on the national and world political scene. When taking a science course, you should relate scientific principles to phenomena you observe in everyday life, and go out of your way to find applications and examples of science in the real world.

• Accomplishment is demonstrated by successful application of understanding. The evidence of that is:
  1. Correct and confident application of what you've learned to new problems and challenges,
  2. clear and effective communication of your understanding through speaking and writing, and
  3. possession of a base of information, skills and understanding sufficient to allow you to continue your education outside of the classroom, throughout your life.

All of these add up to a fifth A: ability, a word frequently used above. The goal of education is to achieve the ability to apply one's knowledge in new, creative, and correct ways. Abilities are not entirely innate; some are achievable through dedicated and focused effort.

Work to be educated, not merely trained.-- Donald E. Simanek, April 15, 1997.

Thank you and Happy reading.