“I think everybody should start a graduate degree, that way they can get busy doing other things.” —
Grace Mahoney on academic procrastination.
Grace is a mixed media artist and expressive arts coach. Learn more about her work at: www.gracemahoney.ca
10 Rules for Students, Teachers, & Life: -
#education #teaching #learning #highereducation #academia
RULE ONE: Find a place you trust, and then try trusting it for awhile.
RULE TWO: General duties of a student — pull everything out of your teacher; pull everything out of your fellow students.
RULE THREE: General duties of a teacher — pull everything out of your students.
RULE FOUR: Consider everything an experiment.
RULE FIVE: Be self-disciplined — this means finding someone wise or smart and choosing to follow them. To be disciplined is to follow in a good way. To be self-disciplined is to follow in a better way.
RULE SIX: Nothing is a mistake. There’s no win and no fail, there’s only make.
RULE SEVEN: The only rule is work. If you work it will lead to something. It’s the people who do all of the work all of the time who eventually catch on to things.
RULE EIGHT: Don’t try to create and analyze at the same time. They’re different processes.
RULE NINE: Be happy whenever you can manage it. Enjoy yourself. It’s lighter than you think.
RULE TEN: “We’re breaking all the rules. Even our own rules. And how do we do that? By leaving plenty of room for X quantities.” (John Cage)
HINTS: Always be around. Come or go to everything. Always go to classes. Read anything you can get your hands on. Look at movies carefully, often. Save everything — it might come in handy later.
Here are some of the highlights:
1. Take a deep breath, rise to the challenge, and know that every college student has been just as terrified during that first week.
2. Make notes about questions the material prompts. If you don’t have any questions, you haven’t read carefully enough. Your teacher is striving to make himself understood, but it’s rare that everyone in the class understands their new teacher’s words through and through.
3. Right from the start, try to see your teacher as an ally in your work, not an adversary.
4. Make sure to get a syllabus for each course that fully details course expectations and grading policies. Also, make certain you thoroughly read every syllabus and ask professors to clarify any part of the syllabus/class requirements you do not understand. Keep each syllabus in a safe/easy to reach place.
5. Do not miss any of the classes the first week.
“If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.” —
Dalai Lama
This one is for all the students who are counting down the weeks until college or university begins. Your life will change. It will open up. Think big. You have the ability to completely rock the world. I wish you an amazing and transformational journey :)
- Lindy Garneau, The Professor’s Apprentice
In the future the most successful people will not be found in the established business companies of today. Technology is changing so fast that within five years the top jobs of today will be obsolete. Upstart, a company that in exchange for a percentage of future profits will financially-back the entrepreneurial projects of university graduates, recognizes this shift in the world of work and is helping to create opportunities for graduates to build their own companies. Upstart is an example of how society is moving towards creativity and innovation as the new standard in the business world of the future over the cookie cutter jobs of yesterday. By making entrepreneurship a real financial possibility for graduates Upstart has the ability to transform the way graduates look for work post-graduation, from job hunting into business creating.
- Lindy Garneau, The Professor’s Apprentice
“Difficulty: the name of an ancient tool that was created purely to help us define who we are.” — Paulo Coelho, Manuscript found in Accra, to be released world wide in 2013
Creating Your Own Post-Secondary Institution -
A dream of mine is to create a university based on creativity and self-discovery. Timothy Cook, a 27 year old man has already established his own post-secondary institution for students coming from low income families who do not wish to pursue post-secondary education through the traditional route. His vision is supported by academics across the country. All he needs now is accreditation. The goal is for this institution to be granting 4 year degrees by 2014. I read about Timothy’s story and I think - big dreams do come true.
- Lindy Garneau, The Professor’s Apprentice
As educators it is obvious that our calling is to support student success, however the less obvious aspects of our work, the most difficult, and in many ways the most important is the way in which we view, talk about, and support student failure. Supporting failure means that we are supporting students as they use their creativity to take risks, to engage in self-discovery, and to loose their fear of being wrong. Failure is a gift, a powerful teacher, that has the ability to help us learn, grow, and live into our best potential.
- Lindy Garneau, The Professor’s Apprentice
Often the best thing that can happen is to fall flat on your face. It is through failure that we truly learn.
- George Takei
Sometimes we must step back in order to jump higher.
“You don’t win people’s hearts by preaching. They need to see your passion.” — Susan Rockefeller, Documentary Filmmaker, Director of Mission of Mermaids