Profile of a Student
Michel De Lottinville
This is an opinion. Void of research and expert commentary. No books were consulted and no advice was sought. This opinion originates from 21 years of teaching experience, from teaching my children to eat with a spoon to teaching adults to speak French, and plenty in between.
Students come in three categories and for the sake of reflection rather than judgment; I’m not advocating preference of one over the other. The bottom line is that they are all at different junctures in their journey through their education, and their lives for that matter.
All students, at any given time, are dealing with family issues, social issues, peer issues, and self-esteem issues, to mention a few of the many elements constantly challenging their capabilities. Each student is at a very different level of understanding accountability, time management, moral development, self-regulation, and team work, to mention a few of the expected educational objectives. Each student has been ushered into the education system for various reasons and by various mentors. Their upbringing, background, or genetics cannot be attributed to any specific type because my experience has shown that students from all backgrounds have fallen into all three of the types discussed herein.
In keeping with my effort to refrain from terms that will qualify or favor any of the three types, I will call them today-students, tomorrow-students, and someday-students. With the elimination of any attempt to assess or evaluate these students, I firmly advocate that they are all intelligent and all capable. So, we have the today-student, the tomorrow-student, and the someday-student; these nouns mean absolutely nothing. These are the students who are assigned to teachers on a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis. In the end, all students either hover around or fit perfectly into one of these three types.
The today-student only participates when asked. They observe, think, analyze, and remain, for the most part, silent participants in the classroom. They never disrupt. They take initiative only when strongly encouraged to do so. They never settle for less but rarely aim for more. They have one goal in mind; to pass with the highest average possible. They are silent participants, quietly absorbing information and the atmosphere. Their talents, initiative, and drive, are stored away, waiting to be pried out of their inquisitive beings. Assignment are completed on time, and homework is delivered on due dates. They usually refrain from other interests such as groups, teams, extracurricular activities, and the like. When they do participate in such events, they assume low-key roles or positions. They are like rainbows hidden behind a sheet of “when I’m ready”. Stepping up or stepping out, is, for some reason, a scary or tough choice to make. They are punctual and rarely absent. These students only ask for assistance when they feel safe, secure, and confident that the helper is a willing provider of insight or information. Their minds are constantly processing the daily flow of thoughts that fill their brains. Today-students wonder how they measure in comparison to their peers. They usually envy tomorrow-students, and protect themselves from being a someday-student. It’s not a matter of judging the someday-student; it’s rather a matter of having a different goal in mind. Today-students are quietly decisive; they get to where they are going, eventually. They offer insight and academic help to any other type of student who asks. On graduation day, the today student is thinking “I’m done for now, let’s have lunch”.
The tomorrow-student is the energetic and driven student who completes all tasks and assignments on or before the due date. This student works diligently and very effectively in group settings, they raise their hand to answer questions, they offer creative and often unique answers and perspectives, and they ask tough questions that can send teachers on a research adventure. They never make excuses, are consistently prompt, never disruptive, and they make it clear that they appreciate their teachers and that they love to learn. Tomorrow-students keep their teachers on their educational toes. They come to class when they don’t feel 100% and they manage their time very well. They know ‘no’ stress, and to them, another assignment equates to another opportunity to learn something new. These students walk through the curriculum as though they have seen it all before; if understanding snags arise, they ask for clarification or they initiate further research, which may include asking for help from a peer, a family member, or anyone known to have the knowledge they need. Tomorrow-students usually complete their class work before the others, then, they study another subject or ask for more work. Their voices and their opinions are shared on a regular basis in the classroom. They rarely ask the teacher to justify the mark they received; instead, they want to know where they went wrong or what they missed. Their dog never eats their homework and they beat the ‘jam’ every time. These students participate in extra-curricular activities, they join clubs and associations. Often times, they also find time to volunteer for valued causes. They help teachers when they can and they bring a rewarding energy to the teaching experience. On graduation day, they have their diploma in one hand and a career or university pamphlet in the other. The tomorrow-student eats energy for breakfast, knowledge for lunch, and anticipation for dinner. Their desert is usually loaded with ‘give me more’ syrup. They are there to learn, period. All other life related issues are secondary to their primary goal of educational success, and they know it!
Someday-students arrive to class, when they arrive. They want to be punctual, but if they aren’t, it’s not an issue unless the teacher makes it an issue. Assignments are usually a chore and a demanding task that infringes on their ultimate goal of socializing. Assignments are usually left to the very last moment. They stay up late, attempting to study. They have a tendency to ‘find’ an answer to their assignments elsewhere, unless the topic is a passionate interest of theirs, then they deliver. Group assignments are a huge undertaking for someday-students. They usually deliver a very limited effort to the team. They ask that others ‘help’ them with their portion and they willingly let team members complete their work. Assignments are rarely, if ever, delivered on the due date. Sometimes their assignments never even appear, and there’s always a reason from the ‘reason bank’. Their understanding of accountability is “Well I was going to do my assignment”. Someday-students actually care about their future, just not right now. They are often absent with a good explanation from the ‘reason bank’. If they participate in extracurricular activities, there must be an opportunity to be noticed, to socialize, or to have some fun. They have needs to be met. Their initiatives are short lived and the life span of their dedication is often disrupted by social networks, personal interests, or relationships. They are loaded with a desire to accomplish, conquer, and succeed, but they haven’t developed the discipline to attain those objectives just yet. At times, when they feel the pressure to ‘pass’, they may resort to, well, cheating or plagiarizing, but, they usually ‘didn’t know’ that it was plagiarizing. Unlike tomorrow-students, someday-students are highly impacted by the teenage challenges of life. Family issues, relationship issues, money issues, loneliness issues, self-judgment, and future expectations, can really inflict havoc on their academic attempts. They push the lines of accountability and they ride the fine line between work and play. Someday-students walk off the graduation stage, if they manage to earn the spot, and they wonder ‘what now?’ Tomorrow is as far away as Jupiter, only the moment matters, for now.
Some students are ready today, some students will be ready tomorrow, and some students will be ready someday. All students will certainly end up somewhere…one day!
Copyright ©2011 Michel De Lottinville.
