How to make a good impression

When students walk into class on the first day of college or school it is always an overwhelming and an unforgettable experience. With new friends to make, new subjects to learn, new experiences to gain, and new teachers to get friendly with it can all be a little overwhelming and these experiences are what makes memories of school and college days unforgettable.
It’s important that along with making new friends, learning new subjects, you also get to know your teachers and in turn make them take notice of you as a student, making a good impression with teachers and making them your mentors and friends always goes a long way. And a little secret about teachers is that they too enjoy interacting with their students and look forward to building a lasting relationship with their students. Often teachers reminiscent about their students long after they have graduated. For relationships to build it is important that students take proactive measures at building a positive impression with their teachers.

Following are a few easy measures that students can take to lay foundations towards lasting relationships with their teachers.

1. Be presentable, Dress appropriately – the first impression about you generally makes a lasting impression. If you are in school make sure you dress in a clean, well ironed uniform always. If you are a college goer, dress formally always. If you are smartly dressed, it would make you feel more confident about yourself, and would also make you look very presentable. Which would not only make your friends take notice of you but also your teachers.

2. Smile and don’t forget the Greetings – Being presentable would get you noticed, but it doesn’t end there you need to look approachable. Sharing an easy smile and greeting your new classmates, teachers and the non-teaching faculty will always make them take notice of you and would make you look friendly, and easy to approach. And in turn you would look and feel more confident.

3. Be courteous and polite always – bad behaviour and lack of basic courtesy are sure ways to make anyone dislike you including your teachers. You should behave in a courteous and polite manner always. Offer to help a teacher set her laptop and projector for the class, don’t distract a teacher by making noise, talking unnecessarily or giggling away while she taking a lecture, thank a teacher after a class etc.  Be courteous to the non-teaching staff, wait for your turn to talk to the admin department, always address the peons and cleaning staff with courtesy. Right behaviour always makes a long lasting favourable impression on people around you.

4. Learn the art of introducing yourself right – you will often find yourself being asked to introduce yourself on the first day of your college or school. What you talk about yourself will often leave an impression on many. Make sure you talk about where you have studied previously, your achievement, your participation in any extracurricular activities, your hobbies and what would you like to contribute/participate in your current school or college. A particular student once spoke about his writing skills when he introduced himself, he mentioned that he was an editor of his school magazine, his achievements and contributions as an editor there and conveyed his wish to contribute to the editorial team in his current college. I always remembered his skill and spoke to the student editorial team hinting that they could involve this student whenever needed.

5. Master the art of listening and being attentive in class – A teacher enjoys teaching students who pay attention to what s/he is teaching and distinctly remembers those students who make efforts to be good listeners in class. How do you look like you are paying attention and are a good listener? It’s simple! Maintain eye contact with the teacher, Nodding is a sign of listening, and ask relevant questions when the teacher finishes a topic. I distinctly remember a student who often volunteered to bring in a case study, example or a news sample related to the topic I discussed, in the next class. It was not only interesting for me, but it also left the other students wanting to imitate the enthusiasm of this student, it not only made the class lively and interactive but also made this student get noticed amongst the batch of many.

6. Be enthusiastic and eager to learn – in academia every teacher knows that they are going to come across all kinds of students. Some student would score really well in exams, some other would have exceptional management and leadership qualities but may or may not be paper tigers and some others may exhibit intelligence in other spheres of life. If you exhibited a quench to learn, to improve and excel at whatever your goals are and involve your teachers as guides to help you achieve them, you are surely going to be noticed by your teachers. Most teachers love to mentor their students what they are waiting for are for students to approach them. So take the initiative to talk to your teachers about your academic and non-academic goals during school/college hours and ask for their advice on how they could help you achieve them and you are sure to make a friend and mentor for life.

7. Avoid unpunctuality – another way to get noticed by a teacher is if you turn up late for a class regularly or if you turn in your assignments late. But this behaviour leads to a long lasting negative impression about you, and you don’t want to make that kind of impression. Being late to class, or missing a class or being late at a submission of your assignment once in a while, supported by a genuine cause of failure is alright. You need to make sure you communicate to your teacher about your late submission or your inability to attend a class beforehand and make sure this behaviour doesn’t repeat often.

Some students may wonder why they need to put in all the effort to make a good impression on their teachers. They could probably do without putting as much efforts and sit back and enjoy school or college as a regular back bencher, bunk classes, turn in their assignments late, come to class late and make no efforts to interact and impress their teachers. There is some food for thought for those who think like that, many teachers continue to have an impact over students long after they have completed their final exams and graduated.  Teachers pay invaluable contribution to student development at both school and college. They are seen to bring out the best in a student, becoming important anchors in the student’s career growth and development and lastly they continue to be sound advisers to students long after they have graduated from their class. So go ahead and make the effort to impress, it is worth it.

This article is also published in the print magazine - The Teenager Today, Mumbai India
http://theteenagertoday.com/make-a-good-impression-on-your-teacher/

QUESTIONS EVERY PARENT MUST ASK -During Parent-Teacher Meetings.

Having come across many Parent-teacher meetings, I often realize that there are certain crucial questions every parent must ask their child’s teacher to understand the development or any other behavioral or learning issues that the child may be facing. Often parents are unable to ask the teacher the right kind of questions that would convey their concerns relating to their child’s progress or behavior.

Here are a few questions that you could frame –

1 - What can I do at home to help be involved with my child’s academic performance? Do you have a system for parents to know what homework is assigned?

2 - What do you see as my child's strengths/weaknesses?

3- How is my child doing socially? Does my child seem to have friends and get along with the other students? Does my child seem to be happy overall?

4 - Does my child behave respectfully to you? Does my child follow class rules? Is he/she polite and kind?

5 - Does my child work up to their potential? Is my child putting in his/her best efforts at any task assigned?

6 - Does my child turn in assignments on time?

7 - Does my child speak up or ask questions during class? Does he/she ask for help if they he/she seems to be confused or unsure?

8 - What should be “my” action plan for this coming term as a parent?

Learning MADE EASY

The education system in the recent times have tided towards a very conducive and competitive coast exposing children to diverse concepts, quizzing formulas, different subjects, and varied languages to learn in the schools and colleges. Adults too are seen adding degrees and other credentials to their CVs to build a platform that enhances their careers. Every learning process comes with the need to understand and memorize its concept distinctly. Children and adults alike often come across a momentary mind block which could make it difficult to recall or memorize certain information or theory. At any age learning remains constant, but memorizing new concepts and recalling them can sometimes become tricky for many. Here are a few easy techniques that can make learning easy.

Tip 1 – Don’t be shy, voice out. 

We all come across confusing or difficult to understand concepts & theories that we have to learn. The key to figuring that out is to get rid of your inhibitions of voicing doubts & difficulties with your Instructor/teacher. Ask your Instructor/teacher to revise the concept with you. If you're at home when the confusion occurs, your parents/spouse/friend might be able to help. But do not sit over your doubts & pile it up or worse not address it at all because you never know how important the concept or theory is from the exam point of view which could make you lose out on crucial marks.

Tip 2 - Can you teach it?

It is a tried and tested method by many students that if you are able to explain a concept and what you have learnt to someone else, and if the person has understood what you are trying to teach them implies that you have understood the concept clearly. 
it is the most easiest way of conducting a self analysis of what you have learnt and if you have understood it enough to explain it to another.

Tip 3- Break it, till you make it!

If you have a lot to learn, don't fret you can manage that by breaking the vast portion into small portions.
E.g. - You have a huge answer of 6 lines (250 words) to by heart, start by memorizing the 1st 2 lines, then moving on to the 3rd and 4th and then to the remaining last 2 lines. 
Don’t worry if you can’t remember something in the first try, remember practice makes man perfect!

Tip 4 - BRAINSTORM! 

The quickest way to understand & remember a concept is to brainstorm about the topic with people who have to study the same subject/topic/concept/theory etc.
E.g.- If you need to understand the Principles of Management, sit with your friends who need to learn the principles as well and discuss and explain the principles to each other this way you will learn faster.

 Tip 5 – Mark em down! 

We're all guilty of putting things off sometimes but Waiting until the last hour to study for a test can make the studying very stressful; It also makes it hard for you to put in your best. One of the best ways to make sure that doesn't happen is to plan ahead.

You can invest in a cool calendar (something that you would like to keep by your desk or study area) and write down your test and assignment due dates. Keeping a reminder of important dates would ensure you do not miss out on any submission dates and it would also give you enough time to chalk out a plan about how much time and efforts are going to be required to be put in to study, write an assignment or complete a project after school each day. This method would ensure you do not have any pile on before an important exam or submission.