What Makes a Student ‘Smart’ #4
By Jean Bonnyman - FF/S
In my previous blog, I talked about “tricks of the trade” for academics that “smart students” use every day. As I have also said previously, attitude beats every other characteristic for doing well in academics, and a specific action of attitude is self-advocacy.
Most teenagers don’t naturally self-advocate with adults for their academic job. Teens are far more interested in advocating with each other because that is how they are figuring out who they are; they compare themselves in the pecking order of their friends constantly. They are correct to do this, of course, as they instinctively know they have to both get along and compete in this world.
As a rule, however, a freshman coming to Darlington’s Upper School has no point of reference to really understand that grades directly translate to college and jobs. How can they? They have no experience of work and the difficulties of the adult world. Advocating to teachers, or any other adult, is just not on their radar yet, so self-advocacy for academics usually has to taught, and at Darlington, this starts with coach class.
Coach class is a big “trick of the trade” that “smart students” know how to utilize. Here is how to “coach” using coach class and beyond:
1. Going to a teacher the morning of a test, hoping for clues or a re-teaching of the material, is NOT how to use coach class, but this is what the beginner student will do. Because all the other beginner students are crowded in for the same reason, coach class is ineffective for its purpose and students come away thinking coach class doesn’t work. Going to a teacher the morning before a test is for a quick question only; a question that came up in a final review of the material. So when and how to use coach class effectively?
2. Coach class is first about a relationship with the teacher, and then about getting help. Teachers are in their classroom every morning after advisee meetings, and “smart students” are in coach class the mornings not of a test because they can establish a good relationship and get great one-on-one attention. Because students usually don’t know how to start a relationship or what to ask, a good way to start is ask the teacher to check notes from class and homework. What did I miss? I always say to students, “You can’t know what you don’t have,” and that all starts with good notes. Teachers invariably will tell students “this is very important” or “you missed this point” and all this leads to conversation, which is a huge asset to learning. Here is why.
3. Students learn new information best by talking about it! When new information is “handled, manipulated, compared” it is then learned much better. Think of a toddler – they touch, taste and manipulate everything! The world is new information and they want to understand it. When students talk about new information, they go through a similar process. Talking with friends (study group) works, too, but the information has to be correct, and the group has to stay on topic to be effective. So, a teacher in coach class is the best place to start to check that information (notes) are correct and in the best format for learning. Talking about the information; helps a student learn and it builds a good relationship with the teacher. This is just good process, and good grades are the result of good process.
4. If a student goes to a teacher during coach class and asks for a practice problem, often that problem will be very similar to one on a quiz.
5. Poor grades on homework can be completely avoided if a student brings his or her homework or paper to be checked. If a student got a wrong answer on the homework, or didn’t understand a question, the teacher will teach it! The answer is corrected, the paper or homework is a 100, and the student learned. It is that simple, and the grade difference can be huge. Again this is just effective process.
6. Finally, by going to coach class sometimes bigger problems are revealed, and the next step will be an appointment for a bigger slot of time (maybe during break, free period, or after school). This is basically free tutoring and Darlington teachers are happy to set that up with any interested student. Teachers are busy, but if the student is willing to flexible on their end, a mutual time can be worked out.
