All People Are Stupid - Chapter One

All People Are Stupid
A Guide to Helping People Think
by Sarah D. Miller

Chapter 1: How to Get A’s In Class
Success In High School, College, and Beyond

When taking classes, there is always this need for students to get an A in everything; However, there is also the misconception that there are special tricks to getting this coveted grade. This chapter is to help the reader come to the realization that an A that is hard to get is given only to the student who wants it. How have I come to this conclusion? Simply by knowing that getting an A requires work, and the work required seems far too much for some to handle. Through this chapter, I hope to make the task a little easier and clearer to those who have a difficult time. Also, to those who are no longer in school and think that there is no need for them to read this chapter, you are wrong! Much of the information in this chapter can be helpful to people who are not students, especially when it comes to learning about how the brain reacts to its surroundings.

There are 7 major steps to doing well in classes.
Attending
Listening
Knowing when to take notes
Asking Questions
Studying/Doing Homework
Follow Up
Taking Good Tests

The first step is to attend the class. This may seem like an obvious thing to say, but it is not uncommon for college students to simply skip a class for no real reason at all. I’ve watched students come in for a class, and if the teacher was not already there, they would leave. I often heard other students discuss skipping their next class just because they wanted to. This is a very bad habit to begin and very hard to break if started. If you ever feel the urge, immediately ban that idea from your mind. Skipping class means you could miss out on what could be a major class lecture and/or discussion. There may be an important assignment given, due the next class, which you will not be able to hand in, unless you ask about the class (which most students do not do). Even skipping a review class is unwise, because good teachers, although most of the time very well organized, will sometimes forget about important information you may need to know until they look over the test you are reviewing for. If this is ever the case and you miss a review class, you might fail based on the information you could not have possibly studied for. I have watched students fail classes as a direct result from this very problem. It is never a good idea to miss a class.

The second step is to listen to the teacher. This is one of the hardest parts, believe it or not. The newest generations are being raised on fast-paced sports, video games, movies, etc. As a result, anything that does not vary its method of output about every five minutes will soon become boring to its audience. This is bad for the teachers who are trying to teach wandering minds and eyes. The most interesting teacher I had was one who was constantly varying his methods. I never came close to falling asleep in his classes. One minute he would be writing on the board, then next he would have the overhead on, the next he would start a discussion, the next there was a pop quiz. However, another teacher of equal caliber I found extremely dull, because he never varied his teaching methods. I was almost always feeling lulled to sleep in his class. It was not that the class bored me. I was interested in it, but I could not easily keep my attention on the same method of teaching for almost hour and thirty minutes (which was how long my classes were, on average). Note: I said it was not easy, but neither was it impossible. When faced with a class that is too methodical and meticulous, it becomes important to keep your brain alert. There are hundreds of ways to do this, and every person is different. Everyone can do this in a different way. I knew someone who did word-searches to keep from being distracted. I knew someone else who color coded all her notes. When I was falling asleep, I retraced my notes. This kept me awake and alert. The key is to find out what can keep you alert, but also undistracted. Do not choose to do a crossword puzzle or something that would require you to think. Pick something that will be not be distracting to others and that you can do without thinking.

The third step is knowing when and how to take notes. There are only three things you should ever write down. Write down whatever your teacher writes on the board or has on the power-point notes, especially term definitions. Do NOT write down something if your teacher says it will not be important. If you do, later when you are studying, you will see the ‘unimportant’ as just as important as everything else. This will keep you from having everything else as solid as it could have been. If you want to write it down just because you think it is interesting, have a special place in your notebook or binder to put down these notes.

The second thing to write notes for is on whatever the teacher says, “This is important,” or something along those lines. If the teacher says it’s important, always write it down. Also write it down if the teacher repeats something several times. This is a teacher’s way of giving you time to write something down that is relevant to whatever you are studying. Pay close attention if you want to catch this. It is one of the more subtle ways a teacher can help you take notes.

The final things you would write down would be notes on the lecture itself. This means: a lecture that is given without the teacher writing on the board or providing power-point notes. This is the hardest way to take notes, but if you know how to take notes, it will be easier. Often a teacher will emphasize a point by pronouncing words very carefully and slightly louder than usual. Write these things down. Be sure to write down names, dates, and term definitions wherever they come up, unless you are told they are not important.

My final point is on how to actually take notes. The most important thing you can ever learn about notes is: Do not try to write down everything word for word, except for some definitions. This makes notes copious and hard to read when you are later studying for tests. You have to write so fast that your words are sloppy, and often to difficult to translate later. The key is to choose key words from the main point. If the teacher says, “It is important to remember this: In 1918, although the life expectancy was twelve years higher, the Spanish Influenza killed enough people of middle age for this to be lowered.” You can shorten this greatly by writing down only some key words: 1918 - Spanish Influenza -twelve year life expectancy drop (You could even shorten this further if you learn to use appropriate numbers, symbols, and abbreviations in place of a whole word: Span Flu ‘18 - 12 yr. exp. Drop). You don’t have to write down anything except that which will help you to remember the information given. I once had a teacher that only allowed three words per main point, but it is easier for me to remember from fragments of phrases, whereas I had a sibling who could remember a whole paragraph from just a few words. To each his own, but shorten your notes to as few phrases or words as possible. This will save you a lot of time in studying later.

The fourth step is asking questions. This can be very difficult for some, but with the new world of technology, teachers now have e-mail! This means that you can never make excuses about not knowing material or being sure about your facts! Even if you don’t have your teachers personal e-mail, if you are in college, there are often e-mails for instructors on the college website; However, if it is possible, you should always ask the teacher your questions in person. E-mail should be a last resort. I often e-mailed my instructors to set up a time when we could meet, and I could ask questions. What sort of questions should you ask? Ask about anything you aren’t clear on, especially if you are confused about a difference between two terms or ideas. Also make sure you are completely clear about what your assignments are and what will be on your test. Asking questions about your grades is also a good idea, especially if you received a grade that was lower than your expectations. This is not to say you should challenge the grade. The point is to learn from your mistakes and try to do better on your next test and/or assignment. You teacher will be pleased with your coming and requesting advice on how to do better. A student who asks questions is greatly valued by a good teacher.

The fifth step is to study and apply yourself to your homework. Study? Homework?! Yes! It is recommended that you apply at least two hours of study a week for every class credit you take. The harder the class, the more study required. During your study time, finish the homework first, and in the order it is due. If you have three assignments, a paper Tuesday, a study guide on Friday, and a page of work due the next week, the logical thing to finish first would be the paper. It doesn’t matter which assignment is harder. Do what comes first. After you are done with the assignments immediately due then you can move on to other assignments. When simply studying for a subject, to not overwork yourself. If you need to study Psychology for an hour, but after 20 minutes you feel brain-dead, take a break and work on something else. Do your best to eliminate all distractions. Distractions are not the same for everybody. Some people study better with music playing while others would be banging their heads against the wall if music was playing in the next room. It is also important to remain alert while you are studying. This means you probably shouldn’t study on your bed, especially if you’re tired. When I study, I have music playing and lots of water available. The music keeps my mind from wandering, and drinking the water keeps me from falling asleep. Find things like this to keep you awake, but try not to make snacking one of these things. Snacking while doing homework in college can cause unwanted weight gain.

The sixth step in acquiring A’s is following up on your classes. This is a step that is skipped by most students, but it is also a very rewarding step. There are two parts of it. The first is to do research on your class subject. For instance, if you are doing critical reading, a good way to follow up on this would be to research the author, the time period, and the story itself (Critical essays, similar stories, discussion of plot, symbols, theme, etc.). I did this for all of my interactive classes, and it helped a great deal. It is extra work, and it is certainly not required, but you will always do better, especially critically, if you have researched the topic of discussion. Like I said, it is extra work, but the outcome is tremendous, and your teachers will notice the extra effort.

The second way to follow up on classes is to either have a study group with either classmates and/or have someone with whom you can discuss what you are learning in class. This is extremely important. Studies have shown that people who discuss what they are learning in class are able to conserve what they learn at a much higher percentage than those who just take notes, especially if they discuss it in a teaching fashion. You have to know your information extremely well to teach it, so teaching it will require you to learn and retain the information you need to remember.

Following up on your classes and studies requires extra work than is actually required, but if the class is important to you, you should be willing to do whatever you can to make the class worth your time.

The final step to getting A’s in class is doing well in tests. This might seem like a no brainer, but even if you apply the other six steps, you can still get a bad grade or even fail your class. Yes, this might seem silly. If you’ve spent hours and hours studying, surely the grade is absolute, but that is a very foolish assumption. In preparation for a test, studying is only one part. There are six things, aside from studying, that you need to watch when preparing for your tests.

Alcoholic and drug intake
Sleep
Eating
Music/TV
Time spent just before
God

Watching your alcoholic and drug intake is very important. Note: Caffeine and prescription medications count. Anything that can make you tired, jittery, or confused, is something that you should avoid like the black plague before a test - At least an entire days abstinence. If you walk in for a test drunk or so heavily medicated you can barely keep your eyes open, hours of study go to waste.

Sleep is also very important. Getting enough sleep is critical. You should have at least two nights good sleep before a test, preferably three. Just a good night’s sleep before the day of the test is not enough. If you are tired, it is just as bad as coming in sick. Sleep keeps your brain energized. If your brain is not energized, you can not hope to do as well as you could.

Eating the necessary meals before a tests is also extremely important, especially breakfast. Just as sleep helps the brain prep, food helps the mind sharpen and wake up faster. Also, it is very distracting to yourself and others if your stomach is growling because you are starving. Hunger is a distraction, and if it can be avoided, it should be.

Music and TV are some of the less obvious but most important things to watch when prepping for a test. The most obvious, perhaps, is to make sure you’re not staying up late, watching TV (For those who don’t realize the obvious - TV includes DVD’s, TV programs, and any sort of video game). Also, TV right before a test can be very distracting. This is a bad idea. Avoid staying up late, and avoid direct contact the day of the test.

Music is least obvious because most people aren’t aware of the affects of music on how your brain and body work. Music like Hip Hop, Rock and Roll, and Rap, for example, can have a negative effect. This is because most music of these genres use what is often referred to as staggered rhythm. This means that if the music has four beats (Like 4/4), the downbeat is not played on one and three like it should be - It is played on two and four. If the music has three beats (3/4 for example), the downbeat should be played on one, but in these genres it is often played on beat two or three. The original downbeats of music were designed to be on one and three because they then follow the natural rhythms of the body. Your heartbeat and pulse beat naturally on one and three. When you listen to music that fights this natural rhythm, your body becomes stressed. You may not feel it, but it is there. Another downside is that the music is often very repetitive, and repetitive music is bad for your brain. When it is repetitive, your mind stops computing, because there is no change. The less your mind computes, the more neglected it becomes. The more neglected it becomes, the less able you will be to process thought and information. Obviously, with these downsides, you do not want to be listening to Rap right before a test. This is not to say that these genres should be forever abandoned from your library. It should only show you that a great variety is necessary.

What should you listen to? Studies have shown that students listening to Mozart for ten to twenty minutes, just before a test, resulted in an average of over 50% greater testing results, in each student who participated. Why is this? One of the trademarks of Mozart’s music is its great complexity and rhythmic drive. In fact, most Classical music has been shown to help increase IQ, aide the ability to concentrate, and to help the listener relax. I strongly recommend listening to Classical music just before a test. So, instead of pulling out musicians like Muse, Nickleback, or Snoop Dogg, pull out ones such as Mozart, Beethoven, Vivaldi, or my personal favorite, Rachmaninov. This might upset some who would never be caught dead listening to Classical music, of all things, but there is just as much variety in the world of Classical music as there is in anything else. If you look, I have no doubt in my mind that you will find a type that suits you. Quite frankly, I have yet to meet someone who does not like at least one Classical composer.

It is also important to watch the time you spend within an hour or two of your test. Do not spend this time joking with friends, on your computer, or just messing around. Spend this time preparing and focusing on the tests. You can also spend this time invigorating your mind with the other things in this list I gave. Listen to Mozart, eat a filling snack, and make sure your mind is awake and concentrated on what is coming up. This is not the time to cram but simply to focus on the task ahead.

The very last, and I believe most important thing to watch, is that you have prayed and done your devotions for the day. This might seem silly to some. There have not been studies to show that this greatly increases your grade average, but I know from experience that I feel at greater ease when taking my tests if I feel comfortable in my relationship with God. God gives His children a peace that is comforting at any time, and I welcome it when I am testing! I do not get an A on every test because of this, but I do get them because of God. It is because of Him that I have what intelligence I have, and I think it is important to thank Him for it (And maybe to even remind Him that He wants me to get an A!). I believe He even helps His children remember what they have learned, at times, and have even heard accounts of people who said they only passed tests because of God. Whether or not you choose to believe this practice, I believe it has honestly helped me, or I would not have included it.

Now you know how to take good tests! There is no magic spell or tips for last minute cramming. Getting A’s does not even require intelligence. All it requires is work, work, more work, and a lot of determination to do your absolute best, and it is always worth it.