Academic attitude

[aciddragon]

As far as teachers/professors having a "figure it out yourself" attitude toward learning... The way I see it is this: 1) It makes you think on your own, thereby giving you a more hands-on approach to learning. Doing it this way (in most cases) helps you to retain the knowledge better. 2) You tend to ask other students for help with the homework assignments and stuff. This lets you get to know the other students better and helps increase your social skills. 3) It increases your research skills. The ability to do your own research will help with most all of your classes as well as with future jobs etc.
As far as the students that try to get all the answers from the professors goes... its my opinion that they need a reality check. Life won't just give you all the answers if you ask for them.
And for those of you that can't study, or are unorganized... I'm kind of the same way, I can not study. I can't remember a darn thing if i try to study. It just doesn't work like that for me... I pay attention in class, ask lots of questions (about the procedures to get the answers, not for the answers themelves), and take as many notes as possible. I do my homework, and pretty-much, I get A's and B's. I'm only organised enough to get all my subjects in the same folders. My house is nearly always cluttered, but I can pretty-much find whatever I need when i need to find it. Everyone has their own way of doing things, somtimes it clashes with the professors or teachers idea of the way it should be. In my opinion, you should do things the way that is best for you. Now, if the way you do thins is getting you constant C's or below, maybe you should consider doing things alittle different... Experiment a little with taking notes: while recieving lectures from professors, try writing keywords in stead of taking pages of notes, some particular word or phrase that will help you remember that part of the lecture in your mind.
Personally, i find that if I do things at the "last minute", I get better results because I have to push myself into getting it done correctly, and on time. You may want to do things (assignments) as soon as you get them. That way they are done, and if you think of something to add to them or some other changes to better your work, you still have the time to do it.
Basically, it all depends on WHAT IS BEST FOR YOU. Experimentation, as far as study habbits and note-taking, isn't always a bad thing!
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I'm me, you see, that's all I can be!!

[Celtore]

Well, I'm as unorganized as they come, rarely take notes, and seldom study. Yet I make As and Bs. (Mostly As). But regarding asking professors/teachers for the answers, I disagree somewhat.

I don't think students should be spoonfed answers, and allowed to go float through school with no effort. However, I find myself asking teachers for answers on basic problems if I didn't fully understand the lecture/examples. This way, I can work backward on those problems and better grasp the concept, allowing me to work the more difficult problems on my own. But that's just me.