One man's checklist of academic self-defeating behaviors and assumptions...

Check the items that are descriptive of what you do or think.  Be honest, check the item even if you don't do it all of the time.  There is no particular order of importance in the numbering of this list.

  1. Don’t go to class.
  2. Go to class late.
  3. Sleep during class.
  4. Sit in back of classroom.
  5. Look bored or disinterested in class.
  6. Show up for class without materials.
  7. Turn in assignments late.
  8. Don’t complete reading assignments.
  9. Loose your course syllabus.
  10. Seldom (or never) refer to the course syllabus.
  11. Wait too late before you ask for help.
  12. Try to complete assignments at the last minute.
  13. Complain about the amount of work assigned.
  14. Try to study in your room.
  15. Get up 10 – 15 minutes before class.
  16. Talk in class while the professor is talking.
  17. Thumb through another textbook or read a newspaper in class.
  18. Don’t tell the professor ahead of time that you will miss class (when possible).
  19. Don’t take notes in class.
  20. Don’t get to know the professor.
  21. Act disrespectful towards the professor.
  22. Study about the same amount in college as you did in high school.
  23. Don’t underline.
  24. Don't own the textbook or a notebook on which to underline.
  25. Don’t make out your own schedule.
  26. Make excuses for not turning in an assignment.
  27. Say to a professor that you need a particular grade.
  28. Stop going to class when you are not doing well rather than talking with the professor and/or withdrawing from the class.
  29. Party (i.e., drink alcohol, stay up late, get very little rest, et cetera) during the week and on weekends.
  30. Don’t keep materials organized, lose syllabus, don’t write down assignments and/or test dates.
  31. Sit in class with a group of disinterested students.
  32. Don’t make up a schedule for studying.
  33. Start getting ready to leave the classroom before the class is over.
  34. Leave the class before the class is over.
  35. Expect to be treated special because of your perceived status on campus.
  36. Let others think you are doing well in your classes when you are in academic trouble.
  37. Still adding and/or dropping classes the 2nd – 4th week of the semester.
  38. Constantly display negative body language in class.
  39. Speak negatively of a course simply because you are doing poorly.
  40. Cheat.
"There is nothing wrong with a ‘C’ grade if that is all you can achieve in a given course.  Why some students consider ‘C’s’ despicable is beyond reason.  The best way to impress your instructors and peers is to complete your academic work without fanfare or loudmouth bragging.  You will not be taken seriously if all you can do is talk a good story and show little productive effort.  If you want to beat the system: study!" – Generation X Goes to College, page 186.

This page was last updated on 08/30/05.

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