A lot of you may be in the habit of just doing the minimum required to get an A (I know I was at your age). I’m not going to mock you for this (at this moment) or even make the futile argument that “you won’t be able to do that in this class,” blah, blah, whatever. You will be able to do that in this class. You will be able to do that in most classes. Most teachers are not psychic and even though I have my psychic moments I do not always know when you are putting forth a good effort and when you are patiently jumping through my hoops with no other thought about the hoops than that you should jump through them.
But is this going to do you any good?
You know the answer to that.
At some point your life has to stop being just a game, just an exercise of jumping through hoops. At some point you have to be able to say to yourself and to God that you have taken your talents and your gifts and used them to build the kingdom. And each of us has a sacred, vital responsibility to use our specific gifts to build the kingdom. Writers have a responsibility to write. Mathematicians have a responsibility to do math. Computer programmers have a responsibility to write the best dang programs they can.
A sacred responsibility.
So what? I’ll tell you what. Take responsibility for your own education. Don’t just do assignments, think about them. Don’t just blandly respond to required journal entries and dismiss them as busy work. I know a lot of stuff I initially thought of as "annoying busy work" ended up being foundational to my academic career. Just took ten years for me to understand it.
So when you have stuff you don't want to do what do you do? You search. Ponder. Pray. Pray a lot. Each of you has more power than you think. But you will never be able to harness it unless you give your whole self. Just “jumping through hoops” is tantamount to leaving your candle under a bushel or burying your talents in the ground. Some might call it sin.
Remember, you can learn here at BYU. But no one is going to force you.
Maybe it's just BYU, and maybe it's college in general, but I really like the message people keep throwing at me that we, as students, not just college students, but life students, need to take responsibility for our own progression. We will be judged not only by our actions, but by our hearts, and we definitely can start to put our hearts in the right place with education, even the little things. I know this is something I need to work with, because I definitely am guilty of doing the bare minimum to get a grade, but of course, there's always room for progress. I also am impressed with the power of the gospel, because the gospel really is the most important truth, and the references to sacred responsibility and accountability to God really transform the message in this post from something easily dismissable into something that's important and difficult to ignore.
ReplyDeletealright, i understand that we can't always jump through hoops, but is it ever okay to do that? i'm being completely honest by posting this- PLEASE DON'T DOCK ME DOWN FOR IT!!! :D is it possible to really apply myself to every single assignment from every single class? if it is, adn if it makes things easier, then okay, but if not, is it okay to just pick and choose?
ReplyDeleteLuckily I don't have very much of a problem with this one. I am a perfectionist... so this part is good, it's just the part in the other post about permitting myself to suck that will take some work.
ReplyDelete- Jessica Allen
I see where you are coming from camyd, and my brother tried doing that. I'm not sure how it worked out though, sorry.
ReplyDeleteThat was very deep. I am glad you feel this way--I decided a few months before I started college that I would not work for grades, but for a genuine education. If you are willing to help me become an educated, skilled writer, then this could be fun!
ReplyDeleteI am guilty of doing the minimum since my early years but I really want to learn how to become an effective, skilled writer and learn such skills that will later help me in my profession and life. Sounds like fun!
ReplyDeleteDr. SWILUA, you really pump me up. I have never been fond of writing, but I took this class because I knew being a good writer is an important part of succeeding in college. Being at BYU in general, and reading this blog have really started to change my attitude.
ReplyDeleteOn the subject of picking and choosing-I think it's like reading the scriptures. No one starts out reading scriptures and hour a day. It starts with just one verse, one chapter, at a time. Eventually one starts to read longer and deeper. There is progression just like everything in life. Maybe at first we pick and choo...se which hoops to jump, but if we persevere, we will stop jumping hoops and push forward for our own sakes.
ReplyDeleteCan I just add here that I absolutely love the fact that we can tie the gospel into something like a writing class. My teachers in high school would have had a heart attack, but I think that it's just such a unique and amazing experience. I love BYU!
ReplyDeleteI completely agree. Only putting in the minimum effort will only result in a sub-par education
ReplyDeleteI love Carlie H's comments, and completely agree. The gospel teaches us of eternity and about eternal progression, and I think it's important to realize that things come line upon line, and we need to learn how to take things one step at a time, because that's what we'll be doing forever and ever.
ReplyDelete"At some point your life has to stop being just a game, just an exercise of jumping through hoops."
ReplyDeleteI do jump through hoops, and I've done it all my life. I call it shooting the bullet as close to the bullseye as I can. The bullseye is the 89.5% mark. I'll have to say, I've missed it a few times. It's one of the things that I want to change while at BYU, but really, in the 2 days of classes so far, I am already imagining how I can go as skimpy as possible.
Goodness gracious. Every post I've been reading pretty much describes the kind of person I am (not the good person who has learned the lessons, the bad one who doesn't amplify his learning). Anyhow, throughout my high school experience, I came to learn the system. I knew which classes I could not pay attention in and still have an easy time with the homework (which was often busy work). Sad to say, I DID take my high school education for granted. I'm not saying that I didn't try or anything, but I didn't really think about learning as a sacred duty. To be honest, I started reading this blog for the extra credit, but reading these posts have actually put a lot of things in perspective: if I consider learning here at the University as a sacred duty of mine, I feel like I'll be extra motivated to stay on task and give my best effort.
ReplyDeleteSean Kang
Well, I'll really have to work on the whole "jumping through the hoops" thing when it comes to math, but I promise I'll try. At least I love writing, so I don't think I'll be taking this class for granted!
ReplyDelete~Mykell Aidukaitis
I love the way you went from normal lecture about doing your best to a thought provoking responsibility filled one about class AND the gospel. I think i'll do better with remembering this one that way
ReplyDeleteI like how you put it. Don't take as busy work but instead make it yours. We're the ones that make it what it will be. It doesn't have a busy work tag attached to it unless we make that attachments. It's what we do with what you give us. We can take it as work, or we can take it as something to apply to our own lifestyle of just rolling with no reflection and nothing on our minds.
ReplyDeleteWhat if your gift and calling WAS to jump through hoops? like hula hoops?... food for thought... but more importantly, this is also valid. curse wise wisdom that creates guilt for being human!! jk I think college is a good fresh start and an opportunity to break habits like this. We can make stuff happen! :D
ReplyDeleteI've always done the minimum amount of work. However, writing is one thing i want to get better at.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I've been a jump-through-the-hoops student most of my "education" choosing to spend my real effort on things that actually interested me. Starting college has been a wake-up call of sorts though and I genuinely intend to actually learn something this year instead of learning information for a test or for a grade. Yea new goals!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jessica, or I should say I am a fellow perfectionist. I think the only time I did the minimum required was when my parents forced me to. Let me explain. My parents have always thought I try too hard. They have asked questions like, what do you really need to get done and still be fine? In the beginning I listed off everything and anything, but then the list would narrow and I did less work on projects and assignments. You know what the results were? My grades reflected my effort. In the beginning, I scored 98% to 100%, but by the end after my parents worried intervention, I was scoring 91% to 93% on papers, assignments and tests. Why? I wasn't doing everything I could be doing. You may ask, "What's the big point? You still got an A," but to you I will say, I didn't give myself an A. Yes, I pleased my parents, but I didn't please myself. It may be a sacred responsibility, but I think it's a personal responsibility as well.
ReplyDeleteThat is my goal as I begin my college career. I wasn't a huge slacker in high school, but there were only a few occasions where I actually went out of my way to learn about what I was being taught. I think a lot of prayer will be necessary for me.
ReplyDeleteBrandon B
I think that for me to not try to get by on the minimum amount required, I am going to need to get myself interested in the class, to be curious about what I am learning. In high school, the classes that I learned the most from were generally the ones that I 1)took because was interested in the subject or 2) the teacher made interesting.
ReplyDeleteThe only way I will try excessively hard in a class, is if I am really interested in the class, or if I have set a goal to do so. There never seems like there is enough time in the day to get everything done. Living independedntly is all about responsibility and time management. To get the A, or to earn those extra points, we are going to have to prioritize and work. Definately not easy, but in the long run, it's worth it.
ReplyDelete-Ariel P.
I have a confession to make... I have totally done this! And I'm going to make it my goal this year to not 'jump through the hoop' this year. I had to say it in front of all of you to just so my back is against the wall so to speak and I'll have to do it.
ReplyDeleteI was kind of lazy in high school. I never really studied for anything. I kind of wish I had now-I don't remember a lot of what I learned, because I was mostly in it for the A and not much else. I got the A, sure, that's grand, but I have to say I didn't get much else. Hopefully I'll actually learn things this year as I start college.
ReplyDeleteIt does seem like most of us don't really know how close we are to our careers, the rest of our lives. I personally see myself trying to get through these general requirements to graduate and focus on my major, but then I think of how that may not be my passion. The best way to go in the end is trying your best at every class you have, and then you might actually end up finding something else, or even learning crucial skills for future careers and purposes.
ReplyDeleteI don't want to sound like I'm making excuses but I feel like the public school system encourages students to just do the required work to get the grade. I am really making it a goal this year to really learn what is important, not just do what I need to do to get good grades. And then hopefully, the grades will come.
ReplyDelete"So when you have stuff you don't want to do what do you do? You search. Ponder. Pray. Pray a lot."
ReplyDeleteI've already discovered this through my job. Praying actually kept me from quitting like a weenie. (But of course though I'd never really quit unless I had another, better job lined up, I did think about it a lot.)
I'm definitely guilty of working for the grade instead of working to learn; looking back, I did that quite a bit in high school, especially in classes that were either tough to get a good grade in or in classes I thought were uninteresting. I think it's easier to focus on learning when an A is easier to get. But that can also be turned around; one may say that an A requires less effort, and thus will learn even less. Anyway, I like this post. I'm going to think more about learning as I start college.
ReplyDeleteI am pro at jumping through hoops. It's sad, really. But I am also pro at being nerdy and learning for fun. Wish I could combine the two...
ReplyDeleteBlog Stalk Confession: Sam is the bomb. Especially when he bans you from wearing white after Labor Day.
Sam IS the bomb. Kid is hilarious.
ReplyDeleteI've never thought about schoolwork from a spiritual perspective. But now that I am, I can see that what Dr. SWILUA said is true. I feel guilty now, thinking back on all the times in school that I only did the bare minimum amount of effort required to get an A. But I'm going to work harder and put my heart more into it now.
ReplyDeleteThe days of senioritis have passed! And the days of late nights (or more like early mornings) and hard core work have begun!
ReplyDeleteWhat if you do things in bulks? Not necessarily the same thing as jumping through hoops. I just have so much to do here; and most of my classes are so confusing that if I don't do it with a study group, I get completely left in the dark and die of over-extended brain cells. The only down-side to study groups is that it takes us forever to get things done--not because we get too distracted, but because only one or two of us really understand the assignment. Therefore, the days divide into three classes: math days, physics days, and everything else. Which is not good for your course-work log-thing, but doing math and physics takes forever. I don't skip reading/writing/etc. on purpose... it just happens. :/
ReplyDeleteI'm kind of failing the course log thing, but that's alright. Cuz I gave myself permission to fail (see comment on previous SWILUA's blog)
ReplyDeleteLove reading everyone's posts, and thanks for them, because some really make me see things in a new light!
ReplyDeleteI agree with the above comment, these posts are fun to read.
ReplyDeleteSame here, Tygan. I've got less than 50% of that course log done so far. Anyways, I totally agree with this post. It's so hard to get your head out of that mentality, but once you do, you actually learn instead of getting a grade.
ReplyDeleteI have learned so much this semester and this is definitely something I have learned. The things you are taught, YOU have the responsibility to do that. So, DO IT!
ReplyDeleteThis is one area where I don't feel too terrible about my study habits. I try to get as much as I can out of my classes, and I want to truly understand things, not just get an A. I think this is easier to do if the subject you are studying is a) graded easily (the subject matter can be challenging, but it is nice to not be worrying about grades) and b) interesting. Please let it be interesting. Luckily, when you are engaged, pretty much everything can be interesting.
ReplyDeleteI try to get the most out of all of my classes. Sometimes though, I have found that if I have a class that I don't really like, or a teacher that I don't really like, I tend to slack off in the class or just forget about that class. I don't end up putting my full effort into those classes, and it kind of shows on my grade.
ReplyDeleteThis definitely makes so much sense, like alot of BYU students, high school was not difficult and therefore I have not learned how to keep myself motivated. But I have tried to remember to do more than just jump through hoops here because this education is thoroughly important to the rest of my life.
ReplyDelete