According to American inventor Thomas Edison, “The three great essentials to achieving anything worthwhile are, first, hard work, second, stick-to-it-iveness, and third, common sense.” From my perspective, those are pretty strong tips. The most successful students in my classes are always those who work hard and smart. In other words, they actually do the assignments—all of them. They read what is assigned, perhaps outline the chapters and complete any study guides; they go to the library and review reserve materials; they review their assignments, asking questions about anything that is unclear. They begin assignments early –rather than late—and they schedule conference times with me to discuss their progress. They understand that a major project requires time and effort, and they recognize that such projects cannot be completed overnight. Because they have read the materials and are prepared for class, they engage in classroom discussions: they act as though LEARNING IS AN ACTIVE PROCESS (which it definitely is).
Even with such dedicated efforts, however, sometimes course material seems difficult or dense. At that point, the weaker or less dedicated students will sometimes give up or decide to “deal with it later” or blame whatever excuse seems handy. The successful student simply reviews the material and tries to discern what is the most confusing part of the material and then contacts me with questions. Sometimes these questions can be addressed via email; sometimes they are best addressed in class (if you are confused, other students are likely stumped as well); sometimes such questions are best addressed during a conference. Regardless, of how the questions get answered, successful students don’t stop until they find the answers. Perseverance is an amazing character trait—LEARNING IS AN ACTIVE AND ONGOING PROCESS.
Effort and commitment come from self-discipline. As boring as it sounds, successful students plan time to study and actually use that time to study. Time management is critical. You can’t dedicate enough time to study effectively unless you schedule the time and adhere to that schedule. I encourage students to think about college as work—from 8 to 5, you should be in class or studying and then expect to spend at least a couple of hours studying at night. Yes, it is a lot of time and effort. Do it anyway.
Common sense is probably the most underrated component of successful students. Common sense tells us that if we have a big test on Monday, then we’re probably going to need to study over the weekend, but it should also tell us to learn the information throughout the semester so that we only need to “review”—as opposed to “cram”—for the test. Common sense also lets us know when what we’re doing is detrimental to our success as students. For example, common sense should alert us that missing class is counter-productive to our success, especially if participation points are at stake. Common sense should also tell us to be alert to deadlines for assignments and to plan accordingly in order to avoid the hassle and opportunity cost of late assignments. Losing points for missing class or assignment deadlines just isn’t very smart.
Effort, commitment, and common sense can go a long way toward making any student very successful.
Dr. Brammer’s Pet Peeves
(1) Meet the deadlines. In the real world, you will be fired for missing deadlines. Learn to meet them now.
(2) Fulfill the assignment. If the assignment calls for a full draft for peer review, don’t bring in two pages and hope I won’t notice that it is incomplete. The peer review is not for my benefit—it’s for yours.
(3) Edit carefully. Even if your writing skills are not strong, you can still edit basic errors (misspelled words, sentence fragments, strange spacings, etc.). If you don’t know how to use Word to include page numbers or headings, LEARN how to do so.
(4) Look for the big picture. Don’t get so absorbed in meeting the page limits of your assignment or the minutes for your speech that you forget the purpose and the audience and the larger learning goal.
(5) Keep your priorities straight. Yes, academics are even more important than social events are.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Friday, November 21, 2008
Feeling good about gas prices?
I’m torn between elation and depression. This morning, gas is $1.92 per gallon. When I bought gas last week, it was $2.13 per gallon, but I can vividly recall a few short weeks ago when gas was $3.94 per gallon.
I am delighted that all of us “working stiffs” can now afford to drive to work (assuming of course we still have jobs); with gas prices this low, maybe we’ll even have enough money to pay our mortgages (unless our homes were foreclosed prior to Fannie’s and Freddie’s attack of Christmas spirit/guilt) and buy a car from one of the Big Three. I hear big SUVs are now bargain priced. Hence, my depression.
As someone who learned to drive in the mid-1970s (yes, I’m that old), I can distinctly remember the pain of waiting in lines at the gas station to pay more than $1 for gas that had been around $0.29 per gallon just before I earned my driver’s license. For those too young to remember this and whose history classes never made it past WWII, the exorbitant (at least by historical standards) prices for a gallon of gas followed the 1973/74 Oil Embargo. In response, we began to drive less (we couldn’t afford the gas). Congress lowered the speed limits on all the highways to 55mph (or as I remember, Congress required states that wanted federal highway funding to lower their speed limits); the Big Three American automakers were forced to begin designing more fuel efficient cars. Instead of powerful and stylish muscle cars, we got Pintos, Vegas, and eventually Chevettes. Those of us fortunate enough to drive the latter referred to them as “little ‘vettes,” but trust me, no one confused them with Corvettes.
By the end of the 1980s, however, we had already forgotten our lessons. Oil dependency is not good for the US, not for our people and certainly not for our economy. Oil dependency is a poor substitute for foreign policy.
Thus my depressed spirit. I hoped that this time we would commit to developing alternative energy sources, sources that are renewable, environmentally safe, and readily available. I hoped that this time we would commit to breaking our dependence on oil—for ourselves, our economy, and our foreign policy.
I will, of course, relish the relatively low cost of filling up my gas tank, but I will also mourn the now minimized imperative to develop alternative energy resources.
I am delighted that all of us “working stiffs” can now afford to drive to work (assuming of course we still have jobs); with gas prices this low, maybe we’ll even have enough money to pay our mortgages (unless our homes were foreclosed prior to Fannie’s and Freddie’s attack of Christmas spirit/guilt) and buy a car from one of the Big Three. I hear big SUVs are now bargain priced. Hence, my depression.
As someone who learned to drive in the mid-1970s (yes, I’m that old), I can distinctly remember the pain of waiting in lines at the gas station to pay more than $1 for gas that had been around $0.29 per gallon just before I earned my driver’s license. For those too young to remember this and whose history classes never made it past WWII, the exorbitant (at least by historical standards) prices for a gallon of gas followed the 1973/74 Oil Embargo. In response, we began to drive less (we couldn’t afford the gas). Congress lowered the speed limits on all the highways to 55mph (or as I remember, Congress required states that wanted federal highway funding to lower their speed limits); the Big Three American automakers were forced to begin designing more fuel efficient cars. Instead of powerful and stylish muscle cars, we got Pintos, Vegas, and eventually Chevettes. Those of us fortunate enough to drive the latter referred to them as “little ‘vettes,” but trust me, no one confused them with Corvettes.
By the end of the 1980s, however, we had already forgotten our lessons. Oil dependency is not good for the US, not for our people and certainly not for our economy. Oil dependency is a poor substitute for foreign policy.
Thus my depressed spirit. I hoped that this time we would commit to developing alternative energy sources, sources that are renewable, environmentally safe, and readily available. I hoped that this time we would commit to breaking our dependence on oil—for ourselves, our economy, and our foreign policy.
I will, of course, relish the relatively low cost of filling up my gas tank, but I will also mourn the now minimized imperative to develop alternative energy resources.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
The Bailout: One PolicyPayer's Thoughts
Let me state up front that I am not an economist or an accountant or (thankfully) a politician. I am, however, a taxpayer, an educator, and, thankfully, a parent. Perhaps these labels can explain my unease with the recent 700 billion dollar bank bailout bamboozle: it’s okay that I don’t understand the fine print of the bailout plan because I’m not one of the policymakers—I’m just one of the many policy-“payers.” I am curious as to why we have debt capacity (we obviously don’t have MONEY) to buy bad loan debts and pay for outrageous “golden parachutes” but apparently do not have funds available to assist automakers. Don’t the CEOs and CFOs and COOs and other C-whatevers of the automotive companies deserve similar “golden parachutes” and private jets?
Observing and experiencing the financial chaos of the current economic situation leads me to compare the massive bailout plan, which will likely cost much more than originally thought, to the 68.6 billion dollar US Department of Education budget. While money alone will not address all of the complex issues that surround education, at all levels, what would happen if we, as a nation, decided that educating our citizens, both children and adults, was important enough to fund adequately? I like to imagine that such an educational utopia would prevent the current dearth of informed citizens and policymakers.
As a citizen and taxpayer, I am concerned about the level of debt that our country has, but as a parent, I am deeply disturbed by the legacy of debt and misplaced priorities that we are leaving our children. If government and big business not only accept but also reward poor fiscal behaviors, then our citizens, young and old, have little or no incentive to practice responsible fiscal behaviors. The first bailout plan simply encouraged the automakers to come forward in order to plead for their own bailout plan. The massive bailout suggests that it’s okay to make poor business decisions, to behave in unethical ways toward stakeholders’ monies, because Uncle Sam will take care of us. This benevolent uncle, however, may beguile us into accepting an increasingly central and centralized role of government. Such a government is anathema to a democratic society.
Thomas Jefferson once wrote, “I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but inform their discretion." Our public education system should be equipped to “inform [our] discretion.” As a policy-payer, I need to understand the bailout plan. As an educator, I need to inform others about the entailments of such bailout plans and discourage the short-sighted, panic-stricken decision-making that led to the plan’s acceptance. As a parent, I need to counter the misguided teachings of such fiscal irresponsibility.
Observing and experiencing the financial chaos of the current economic situation leads me to compare the massive bailout plan, which will likely cost much more than originally thought, to the 68.6 billion dollar US Department of Education budget. While money alone will not address all of the complex issues that surround education, at all levels, what would happen if we, as a nation, decided that educating our citizens, both children and adults, was important enough to fund adequately? I like to imagine that such an educational utopia would prevent the current dearth of informed citizens and policymakers.
As a citizen and taxpayer, I am concerned about the level of debt that our country has, but as a parent, I am deeply disturbed by the legacy of debt and misplaced priorities that we are leaving our children. If government and big business not only accept but also reward poor fiscal behaviors, then our citizens, young and old, have little or no incentive to practice responsible fiscal behaviors. The first bailout plan simply encouraged the automakers to come forward in order to plead for their own bailout plan. The massive bailout suggests that it’s okay to make poor business decisions, to behave in unethical ways toward stakeholders’ monies, because Uncle Sam will take care of us. This benevolent uncle, however, may beguile us into accepting an increasingly central and centralized role of government. Such a government is anathema to a democratic society.
Thomas Jefferson once wrote, “I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but inform their discretion." Our public education system should be equipped to “inform [our] discretion.” As a policy-payer, I need to understand the bailout plan. As an educator, I need to inform others about the entailments of such bailout plans and discourage the short-sighted, panic-stricken decision-making that led to the plan’s acceptance. As a parent, I need to counter the misguided teachings of such fiscal irresponsibility.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Welcome to Brammer's Ramblings
Welcome to Brammer's Ramblings. On this blog, you'll find my thoughts--and maybe wonder whether I am thinking--on a range of topics, from literacy and education issues, issues that I care deeply about, to parenting and politics. Essentially, I will be writing about things that matter to me.
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