LiveWorld Transcripts

tNBC presents

t-Talk
Making the Grade in School

March 14, 2001

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Snowy: How do you take really effective notes?

T-Talk: I don't think you should write down everything the teacher says. Most teachers will fill you in on what you need to write down, but it's all according to how your memory holds up. If you feel pretty confident with just taking notes from the lectures on things that you know will be covered, that may help you. It's always good to have more information than less information. And make sure that you have them in order, and legible, so that when you perform your studies, you'll know how to reference what to what.

Buttery Good: What would you recommend as the best course of action to just bribe my teachers?

T-Talk: (laughing) I don't really have any recommendations for that one. However, that really made me laugh out loud. Bribe them with you smarts! (smile)

Drew: If I pay attention in class, why do I need to study, too?

T-Talk: OK. So let's just say you were paying attention. You didn't take notes or anything, but you understood what was being taught, and that's your first class of the day. As the day goes on, you have other classes. You spend time with your friends at lunch. You go home and talk on the phone, eat, sleep, watch TV, or chat. Do you still remember everything? If you do, that's pretty amazing! So just think of it as when you pay attention and you take notes, you take those notes to help you remember. If you're getting all A's, then disregard this. (smile)

Ada: Do you have any good tips on good study habits? I just can't seem to tune it all out and concentrate!

T-Talk: Sometimes, if you study where it's too quiet, you find yourself overly concentrating. Study something for 15 minutes, and then take a 5-minute break. Go back after that 5 minutes to review what you were studying, and move on. Sometimes, when we're studying, we don't understand, or we're forced to cram it all in. We can get a mental block, which means you're taking it all in, but you're not really understanding, and that doesn't help you remember things. Those small little breaks could help. If you have the TV on, that's a big distraction. No TRL!

Mike: I'm the 'smart' kid in most of my classes. Should I get in study groups with those less fortunate, or should I get with those who are apt to help me as much as I help them?

T-Talk: I think you can do both, because if you are the smart kid, you obviously do your work, study, and are disciplined. I think you'd be an asset to the kids that are at your level of study habits, and you'd be an asset to those who need the help with study habits. Maybe you could find the time to do both.

Sasi: My teacher over-teaches the subject, I guess, so the dummies get it. I'm trying to do the work, and she just keeps talking and talking. Any suggestions on how I can tune out the repetition?

T-Talk: I think that a lot of the times teachers repeat things, because, with repetition, that helps the memory, and that may be the way some teachers teach. Because, as you say, some of those 'dummies' sometimes don't listen. They don't listen as you are doing. I don't know if there's a way to tune her out, but you can talk to her and ask her what her reasoning behind it is. She'd be the best person to answer that question for you. Maybe she's not aware of it, or that's part of her teaching style. I just want to let you know there aren't any dummies. I don't like those words--stupid and dumb. Those words affect people, and the people it usually affects are the people who feel that way, and they're not necessarily bad. People call them names and make them feel insecure, and they may start feeling that way.

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