As a student, I’ve gone through the community college, undergraduate university, and grad school systems. I’ve also worked as a TA, GTA, and a community college instructor, so I have some perspective from both sides. Even with more and more courses going online, a majority of classes offered still take place in real time, these things definitely apply:

1. Read the syllabus and keep it preserved throughout the quarter or semester. The professor may refer to it from time to time. Also, you as the student need to know the policies. Protect yourself by knowing the law of the classroom. It’s always good to know he rules, but this can also come in handy if you have a legitimate grievance. Also, if a schedule’s attached,  it is important to note the assignments, and deadlines. Keep the schedule and CYA.
2. Attend all your classes, barring illness or something that legitimately prevents you from doing so. Playing hooky only hurts you.
3. Read the assignments and do the homework. This is active learning. You’ll learn by doing, whether it’s studying the material, reading assigned books, or getting practice in writing and critical thinking. This approach also works for classes in math or science. Also, doing these things will help you be prepared for your next class.
4. Come to class prepared. Do the readings and homework. Also, come to class with your thoughts and questions on the subject at hand. Write these things down while studying. Also, being prepared helps you to participate in class as you’ll ask germane questions and effectively contribute to the discussions.
5. Participate, participate, participate. If something doesn’t make sense, ask questions. Several of your classmates may even have the same question. Also, if you’re getting insights from your studies, contribute to the discussion as appropriate. What you say may compliment the professor’s lessons and might even provide an “a-ha” moment for your classmates. When you’re put in groups, do the work and make sure your classmates are pulling their weight. All this said, many professors consider the amount and quality of class participation when factoring their grades.
6. Behave appropriately. Follow the syllabus’s policies on classroom decorum. Treat everyone with respect. You don’t want to become that disruptive student. You don’t want to be the one who plays with their mobile phone in class, chatters with classmates while the professor is talking or another classmate is contributing to the discussion, or the one who always makes a grand entrance walking in late. While this may not be fair, behavior unbecoming of a student often has a way of overshadowing whatever achievements made in class.
7. Turn things in on time and meet the exam deadlines. If you have a job, you really don’t want someone to make you back track on a task and do it over again. That’s what you do to a teacher by turning something in late (provided they accept it). There are many professors who don’t accept late assignments or make up tests, so you only hurt yourself by failing to comply.
8. Keep your school schedule on the reasonable side of full-time. Going beyond 12 units is a mistake and taking on too many commitments outside of school is as well. Overextending yourself will really hurt you academically.
9. No excuses. Offer none. No one really cares. Perhaps for the first time in your life, you may find that the world does not revolve around you. No one will feel sorry for you. The professors have heard almost every excuse ever made, including some very 21st century ones.
10. Do your best. You will get the most out of your education if you do.

If you get a class taught by a TA, all of the above rules apply. Do not expect any favors from them because they’re (grad) students. Also, do not bully them or do things to treat them badly. They have worked hard to get where they are, even to get the position of teaching your class or breakout session of a lecture course. If you think you’re smarter than them, keep it to yourself. Anyone who thinks their  superior intelligence justifies mistreating a TA must understand that this conduct is absolutely inexcusable. They should try treating a fully tenured professor this way and see where it gets them. Overall, be respectful and do you work, regardless of instructor’s rank.

Keep in mind that your relationship with the professors is not only academic, but political. You may need to approach them to write letters of recommendations or serve as references. You definitely want them to know who you are by distinguishing yourself in their courses with your work in their courses. It does you little good if the professor doesn’t know who you are simply because you coasted by in their classes. Also, you do not want them as your enemies.  As mentioned before, be respectful.

In closing, take responsibility for your learning and be a respectfully active participant in your education. It will help you go a long way.

Of course, the real life details are much more mundane and less fun. Here are some lessons I’ve learned in the past few months.

Communication is something I’ve been learning. Ironically, for someone who majored in English and Creative Writing, my ability to communicate was nil. I could conveniently blame this on a bad childhood or being an introvert, but my childhood’s long been over and social skills, though it may take more work for some, can be developed. My mother certainly tried to teach me that I shouldn’t just let people come to me if I wanted to articulate something, but that I should go to them. If someone takes the time to ask the questions, great; however, I should speak up for myself and make my needs known.

In approaching the various community colleges in San Diego County for courses in the fall, I had to approach the English department chairs or the professor in charge of hiring. No one is going to search through the list of people who possess English MA’s or PhD’s and ask them if they want to work for their schools. One is crazy to think that a school may hand a full time job to them as an entitlement for earning a post-baccalaureate degree. I’ve had to communicate with these people and keep in touch with them so I get assignments when they are available. My silence would certainly lower my prospects and would definitely not serve me well in the long run, especially when I want to apply to a full-time position.

If I had better communication skills when I ran the labor union’s mailroom, I would still have the job. I didn’t know what was expected of me because I didn’t ask, and I got the axe in the end. At times I felt bullied by some people (the accountant, my boss, and a couple of organizers), and this would not have happened if I stood up for myself. Speaking up for myself when I feel like I’ve been unfairly treated is a form of communication I’ll use in the future. Getting walked on is a failure to communicate (and the memory of it is enough for me not to let it happen in the future).

I’ve also been learning to listen in the past few months. I’ve never really been a good listener, and it’s amazing that I have even achieved mastery in the English language along with learning French and Spanish. Perhaps this is the reason why I don’t speak Japanese very well. It is a language where one needs to listen to the context and respond in kind. This is very important when something isn’t stated directly. However, when things are stated directly in any language, it is important to listen.

The ability to listen to criticism and grow from it is an important one. As a writer, I’ve learned how to handle criticism, especially when it seems like the critic ripped my work to shreds. A manuscript’s draft, especially in the early stages, is far from perfect and an outside evaluation is helpful. I may or may not agree with what someone said about my text, but if that person took the time to read the work and give their observations, then it would serve me well to listen to what they have to say. The same goes for hearing what someone says to me about me.

I could take someone’s observations about me as an attack on me or grow from it. In the past, I would have taken it as a tear down and feel like there wasn’t much I could do to change it (or that the person was mean when the comment wasn’t cruel at all). Yesterday, my class at the language center was off to a less than perfect start, and the director had a talk with me about the student’s comments about me. I listened to what he had to say, took it as an opportunity to address my weaknesses that day, and made my lessons this morning a better experience for my students. I took it as an opportunity to grow, not as an indictment of failure.

In a situation where someone does or says something that is unfair, I should still take the time to listen to what this person says or does. My response (speaking or standing up for myself) will demonstrate that I have heard what they have to say and that it is not the right way to go about what they really need to say.

This will sound redundant, but I have been learning to learn. As someone who has spent too much time in college and graduate school, it has been easy to portray myself as a man of learning, but real learning doesn’t always get you an A or a degree. Instead, it comes from communicating, listening, and taking action. In communicating with others, I send forth my statements and questions, and in turn I receive responses and further questions. One can communicate all they want, but listening is a key component. In order to synthesize information or experience, taking time to observe is necessary. Ultimately, the risk of doing is necessary to learn. By communicating and listening, I am learning how to do these things. In the past, I may taught my students that learning isn’t passive, but it’s certainly taken me a while to learn that myself. It is an active and ongoing process.

Now, Alpha Centauri doesn’t seem so far away. And then it’s a parsec or so en route to Earth.