In my last two posts, I wrote about how important it is to treat all your subjects as equally as possible even though they are not technically equal, not just so you can do as well as possible in them, but also so that you remember to give each of your teachers the respect they deserve. In this post, I will elaborate on these important concepts by discussing just how you can approach each subject and each teacher with an open mind, so you are able to do your best.
The first thing to remember is that neither your subjects nor your teachers exist in a vacuum. In each class, you both study a subject and learn from a teacher. Therefore, making a snap judgement about one may well keep you from benefitting from the other. In other words, it is more than possible for you to learn a lot in a subject you find challenging by focusing on what the teacher is able to do to help you with it, and it is also more than possible to focus on what you like about a subject so you can do well in it even when you don’t necessarily like the ways in which it is being taught. Even if both the subject and the teacher who teaches it are not your favorites, try your best to be engaged during class. The more engaged you are, the better you will do, and over time, you might just find that challenging subjects and their teachers are worthwhile after all.
Another important thing to remember is not to let what you’ve heard about certain teachers and/or their subjects determine how you will approach them. Older siblings and friends may well tell you that a certain teacher is really strict, and/or that a certain subject is very time-consuming, or boring, or too hard, but you don’t have to take their word for it. Approaching different situations differently doesn’t just mean remembering that you should approach each of your subjects and teachers differently. It also means that you can and should approach each subject and each teacher differently from the way your siblings and friends have. Your approach to each subject, each teacher, and each challenge you face should be unique to you, because the more you see your challenges as your own, the more you will be able to work toward your own solutions.
It is not just siblings and friends who may try to dissuade you from approaching your classes and their teachers with an open mind. Your parents and your other teachers may also have their opinions about certain teachers and/or subjects. Maybe your parents have been influenced by something one of your siblings faced, or have heard stories about difficult classes or teachers from their friends, just as you may have. Maybe your teachers have been influenced by things their own children faced, or maybe they disagree with some of their colleagues’ teaching philosophies and methods, or maybe they just can’t help expressing their dislike of certain subjects and how much more essential to your success they believe their own subject to be. Whenever I heard these types of things, whether as a student or as a teacher, I always made as conscious an effort as I could to approach my classes and teachers my own way, and I always encouraged my students to do the same. As a special education teacher, I tried to create an environment where my students could express their opinions. Whenever that led them to express frustrations with certain subjects and/or teachers, I encouraged them to make the best of the situation and offered suggestions of how they might make things better for themselves without ever agreeing that giving up on a difficult, disliked subject or disparaging or disrespecting a teacher was the answer.
No matter how good you become at approaching different situations differently as you develop your study skills, the one thing you should strive to do more than any other is to never, ever give up. Treating all your subjects equally by giving each one the time and attention it requires and respecting the fact that each teacher will do things a little differently because of who they are as individuals while still having the shared goal of helping you succeed can go a long way toward helping you learn how to adjust to the challenges of life. While teachers and parents certainly expect that you will do better in some subjects than others, most of them are more than capable of knowing the difference between lower grades earned despite your best effort and lower grades earned because you didn’t care enough to make much effort at all. Learning to adjust your approach to the situations in which you find yourself is one of the best ways to show both them and yourself that you care, not only about doing the best you can in the present, but also about preparing to do the best you can in the future.