#5 Things I wish I had taught my son... And still can
Sep/02/2008 07:24 AM
Make a note of this... And test yourself.
In the next few days you will be given multiple reading assignments at college. Teachers will give you a syllabus. On that syllabus will be specifics about what chapters from those books you just bought (which totaled more than $500... Ouch!) you need to read and by when you need to read them. Don't take those assignments lightly. Very soon you will find yourself taking a test where most of the subject matter came totally from those expensive books and for which none of the subject matter was ever discussed in class.
Forget the highlighter.
Besides ruining your books, highlighters, the college kid's favorite "pretend you are studious" activity is completely useless. I will highlight this and underline it to make my point. (Reader: I highlighted and underlined the next sentence on his email but can't do it here). Highlighters are completely useless. Instead, I suggest a different behavior. It requires more commitment but virtually guarantees your success. I learned it from your mom and she learned it from a videotape back in the day that propelled her from a borderline C and D student to an A student.
What was the behavior? She did two things. First of all, when reading her textbooks she forced herself to make her own tests. She put her reading material into question form, literally. She pretended to be the teacher and looked for possible questions hidden in the readings (about two questions per paragraph) and then used those questions to study from before the test day. She also did something else to succeed.
Take note...
While in class she took good notes. That's a no-brainer. You have to do that. But what she did with those notes is the insight I want to pass on to you. After class, first chance she got, mom would find a quiet spot and play back in her mind what all the notes meant. She cemented her knowledge when she did this. She made it stick like velcro. Trying to remember what you wrote down two weeks prior only puts you in a position to remember less than half of what you wrote and the context in which it was presented. So when you get out of class, find a tree to sit under or a distraction-proof seat somewhere and take a deep dive into your notes and upload them to the RAM of your mind. Then, when the time comes to review your notes and review the potential test questions from your textbooks, you won't need to cram, you'll walk in confidently and you'll kick some comosellama.
Mark my words, it'll work (Better yet, don't mark my words). Just take the advice.
Any questions?
Your papi
In the next few days you will be given multiple reading assignments at college. Teachers will give you a syllabus. On that syllabus will be specifics about what chapters from those books you just bought (which totaled more than $500... Ouch!) you need to read and by when you need to read them. Don't take those assignments lightly. Very soon you will find yourself taking a test where most of the subject matter came totally from those expensive books and for which none of the subject matter was ever discussed in class.
Forget the highlighter.
Besides ruining your books, highlighters, the college kid's favorite "pretend you are studious" activity is completely useless. I will highlight this and underline it to make my point. (Reader: I highlighted and underlined the next sentence on his email but can't do it here). Highlighters are completely useless. Instead, I suggest a different behavior. It requires more commitment but virtually guarantees your success. I learned it from your mom and she learned it from a videotape back in the day that propelled her from a borderline C and D student to an A student.
What was the behavior? She did two things. First of all, when reading her textbooks she forced herself to make her own tests. She put her reading material into question form, literally. She pretended to be the teacher and looked for possible questions hidden in the readings (about two questions per paragraph) and then used those questions to study from before the test day. She also did something else to succeed.
Take note...
While in class she took good notes. That's a no-brainer. You have to do that. But what she did with those notes is the insight I want to pass on to you. After class, first chance she got, mom would find a quiet spot and play back in her mind what all the notes meant. She cemented her knowledge when she did this. She made it stick like velcro. Trying to remember what you wrote down two weeks prior only puts you in a position to remember less than half of what you wrote and the context in which it was presented. So when you get out of class, find a tree to sit under or a distraction-proof seat somewhere and take a deep dive into your notes and upload them to the RAM of your mind. Then, when the time comes to review your notes and review the potential test questions from your textbooks, you won't need to cram, you'll walk in confidently and you'll kick some comosellama.
Mark my words, it'll work (Better yet, don't mark my words). Just take the advice.
Any questions?
Your papi
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