Most of the students that I work with complain about their teachers. And I have to admit that I usually commiserate with them. I still vividly remember my chemistry teacher who spent more time impressing us with his ability to spell backwards (he claimed it was from years of inhaling mercury fumes) than he did teaching us any chemistry. And then there was the English teacher who always seemed to give tests with no notice at all.
But this is actually a huge lost opportunity!
Stop grumbling and start using your teachers to develop some valuable skills AND improve your grades at the same time. Really! I’m not kidding. Here’s how:
- Stop and talk to them.
- Ask Mr. Smith how he decided to become a biology teacher and if he likes it.
- Find out what Ms. Franklin does for fun outside of school.
- Ask if Ms. Patel has kids and how old they are.
- Just don’t be an outright schmoozer. Nobody likes that.
So why would you do such a thing? Well, it never hurts for the person who will be grading your final to like you. And building a rapport with your teacher makes it that much easier to ask her for advice about what went wrong on the midterm.
Stay tuned for more on How to Love Your Teachers. There’s plenty more to this than just getting on their good side.
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Amy Rodriguez is an academic coach with over ten years of experience teaching Biology and Chemistry at the high school and college levels. She recieved her Ph.D. in Biochemistry from University of California Santa Barbara. After working as a scientist in industry and academia for over 10 years, she changed careers to teaching and tutoring high school students. She has developed the curriculum for and taught AP Biology, AP Chemistry, SAT II Biology, and SAT II Chemistry courses at leading tutoring centers. She started Merlin Academics in order to offer more focused, smaller versions of these classes that can truly help students achieve their highest scores. http://www.merlinacademics.com
