HAPS is a society focused on the teaching and learning anatomy and physiology, but educators are just half of this equation. We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for our students. Check out the second post in a series of HAPS blog posts featuring A&P student extraordinaire, Becca Ludwig.
When I was in high school I had a history teacher that was passionate about his subject and his job. The one thing that I remember the most about him and his class is the poster on the wall that read “your education is your responsibility”. He opened the class with his speech about the poster. The speech went along the premise of: it is the student’s job to learn, it is the teacher’s job to facilitate the learning.
His view of his grade book looked like this: if a student failed his course it was because the student did not take the responsibility to get the help they needed, not his fault for failing them. Each semester this speech runs through my mind when things get hard. It is my job as a student to take the responsibility for my learning. I feel like so many students miss this concept.
- It is not the professor’s fault I did not understand the material and failed the test. I should have asked the questions.
- It is not my computer’s fault for crashing the night before my paper is due and I still have half of it left to write. I should have started it earlier and saved it in more than one location.
- It is not Wikipedia’s fault that I got misinformation. I should have cross referenced or not have even used the source at all.
- It is not my roommate’s fault for keeping me up at night and not studying. I should have been assertive and said “after my A&P exam I can hang out with you.”
I am honestly embarrassed to say that many people in my generation are afraid to take responsibility. There is always something or someone to blame.
I know it can be scary to have office hours with a professor. The humbling experience of asking for help is intimidating enough, let alone the fact that professors are super smart in their subject areas and I don’t want to look stupid in front of them. More often than not, I leave the office more relaxed knowing that I am on the path to success in their class. In fact, correct me if I am wrong, isn’t it a professor’s JOB to answer questions for students? Students need to learn to use all of their resources.
When I take the responsibility upon myself to learn the material and grasp the concepts it makes school life so much easier. I find that I can be proud of the work that I did and feel a real sense of accomplishment towards mastering the course. So here is a call to action for every student. Take the responsibility to learn because it is your responsibility.