The Super Student: debunking the myth & putting down the crutch
Our assigned text for the week, Learn How to Study by Derek Rowntree is another in the series of assignments that might be considered ‘preparatory’ in our doctoral studies.
The book takes its place with the other books we have read this semester that aimed to prepare us for our rigorous course of study by helping us know how to read and even to talk about things we haven’t read.
In this way, the text is less a book in the traditional sense and more of an literal study guide, a handbook with tips, tools and tactics for how to engage with and process the material that we will come across in our studies. This focus is clearly seen in the author’s introduction and even in the subtitle of the book, where he calls it a ‘virtual tutorial’.
From a practical perspective, while I am sure that I will reference this book on occasion, one of the most helpful pieces of information came in the very first paragraph of the introduction, where Rowntree states ‘This book will not tell you how to study. That’s why it’s not called How to Study. The fact is, I can’t tell you how you should study. Nor can anyone else.’
I say that this is the most helpful single piece of information, because I have found in my own life and have seen in others experiences that one of the biggest barriers we often face in learning are the artificial ones that we create ourselves. We are all different, of course, so it stands to reason that each of us would have slightly different optimal ways of learning and studying that which we have learned.
My two oldest boys present an excellent example of this: Charlie, our oldest, has to get every bit of his work done as soon as possible (he sometimes even does it on the bus on the way home, which I am fairly certain is not a Rowntree approved method). Charlie is pretty self motivated and usually can’t really focus on anything else until his work is done.
Jack, our second oldest, is a completely different character. Because of his brother’s example, and the underlying ‘that is just what you are supposed to do’ factor, we tried having having Jack complete his homework immediately upon getting home. This was, almost always, a disaster. Homework became a battle and a math fact sheet, which was 10 minutes of work, would take (sometimes literally) hours to complete. However, we found that when we allowed Jack just a little bit of time to get a snack or play outside or just even sit for a few minutes, and then return to the work, suddenly the tasks didn’t seem so daunting. Different kids, different tactics and patterns of work.
I think understanding and believing the truth that there isn’t a ‘right’ way to study that works for everyone is tied in as well to the other important myth that Rowntree debunks – that of the ‘super student’. We all have an image that is conjured when we think of the ‘super student’ – always prepared for class; didn’t just understand but somehow enjoyed the assigned reading; never seems overworked or out of time; etc.
I was very worried – and maybe still am???? – that some of the students in my cohort might fall into the ‘super student’ category. But Rowntree does an important service when he calls the super student a myth. There are no ‘super’ students in the way we often imagine them – as the (obviously less cool) academic version of a ‘super’ hero – like these super students have simply been ordained with these gifts and abilities through no effort of their own and their work and understanding is unattainable to us, mere moral students.
But the truth is that, certainly some of those people we think of as super students are exceptionally gifted intellectually, it is much more likely that they have done the hard work of trial and error in finding what type of studying works for them and then faithfully, consistently and purposefully used that knowledge to study the topic at hand.
This is important, maybe more so for some of us than for others, because acknowledging that these super students aren’t just supremely gifted requires us to admit that, if we are willing to do the work, similar results are likely possible for us.
This book, and this idea particularly, in many ways was a reinforcement of the overriding theme of our first advance together: Our mentors, advisors, the GFES staff, etc. have created a program and a support structure that sets us up for success and creates a navigable trail to follow to the promised land of our Doctor of Ministry degrees.
That is, of course wonderful news: Yeah! I really can do this! But it also was sobering for me – there are no excuses, as this assignment (and the few before it have shown) the program is specifically designed to help us make completing this journey and reaching our destination a reality. This program, though rigorous and challenging, doesn’t have a sign that reads ‘Super Students Only’.
So now it is up to me to do the work (then maybe I can look like this). Agh!
About the Author
Chip Stapleton
Follower of Jesus Christ. Husband to Traci. Dad to Charlie, Jack, Ian and Henry. Preacher of Sermons, eater of ice cream, supporter of Arsenal. I love to talk about what God is doing in the world & in and through us & create space and opportunity for others to use their gifts to serve God and God's people.11 responses to “The Super Student: debunking the myth & putting down the crutch”
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Chip, I’m actually sitting in my daughter’s house now with 4 grandchildren who all show those differences as your boys do. It is amazing and so wonderful that God created us all uniquely. I have the privilege of speaking to Christian kids about how God has made them all special and they are all SUPER! It is fun for me because I am reflecting on how to study in my own life. They think it’s neat to see Grandma sitting at her laptop doing her homework. I hope I am a good example to them; I hope they see that the study habits they develop now will help them for their whole lives. I really enjoyed your post.
Being one of four children we all learned very differently. I preferred to study with background noise. When it was too silent my mind would wander and I couldn’t focus. My younger sister is the complete opposite. She needs total silence and doesn’t want to be disturbed at all while she was doing her schoolwork. My parents did what you did which was allow for us to learn in the way that works best for us. It took some adjustment for them to figure that out but when they did each of us were able to excel. Now being a parent I try to do the same for our son. I don’t want him to learn a certain way simply because that is how we have done it but rather learn in a way that excites him and motivates him to want to learn more.
Great post Chip! I appreciate and envy your ability to be transparent in a way that is both humorous and impacting. What an insightful post. You have the gift of breaking down those “artificial walls” that you talk about in your post. It’s a powerful gift, and I’m sure it makes you an excellent husband, father, pastor, and leader. I know I value that about you within our cohort. Thanks for sharing about your family and life. That’s where the “real” learning takes place. A great post Chip!
Jim, Thanks so much! The kind words really mean a lot. I think we are all blessed to be in this together – and I think we have a lot to learn from, and teach, each other.
Self-awareness is important in this respect. We need to know how we best learn, organise and work, and not try to emulate our fellow students or be super student. At the same time, I want to hear tips and tricks from fellow sevens and to learn all I can from how others approach tasks and study. It’s a balancing act between the two I think!
Chip,
You brought back memories of my children’s habits. Sooo different. We all have our special ways of studying and some include some bad habits. Each of us has our individual study habits and some of us have similar ways. We must do what we can mentally handle.
The whole “Super Student” thing really hit me as well, Chip. Since I wrote my post I have been reflecting on why the super student syndrome has become such a thing, especially in my own life. I think (for me) it comes from growing up hearing “to whom much is given, much is required.” Then there is the whole, “God helps those who help themselves.” My parents and teachers would say “You’re too smart not to do better than this.” Those words stay with a kid and become a shame pool from which to draw over and over again every time a B (or worse) shows up on a paper or report card. What Rowntree drove home for me is that hard work and organization are crucial, but LEARNING is the main goal, not a perfect GPA. So I love that you have taken the time to learn the differences in the way your children study rather than shaming them to fit some pre-determined mold!
Thanks, Kristen. I didn’t get into it in my post – because it was, at least theoretically, about studying and not my kids :), but one of the things I have been working on as I try and support and encourage our kids is the emerging idea from behavioral science that essentially boils down to: don’t praise the result, but the effort….. So don’t say ‘good game – you played well’ or great job on that test, the A was what we hope for . …. rather always praise the effort – because that (the effort) is the one thing that they completely control…I think how that applies most fully here is that, I know part of the allure of the ‘super student’ for me has always been that it seems effortless and easy. Of course any super student reality is far from easy or effortless.
And, that is what we want to clearly communicate and support in our kids/friends/ourselves – this will be hard work – however you do it, but the hard work is worth it.
Ahhh, the elusive, mythical Super Student! Do you remember in Snow White when the dwarves stack themselves up & throw on a trench coat to kiss SW as her “Prince Charming”? Perhaps that Super Student is only a reality we’ve stacked up in our minds: we identify one peer who writes well, one who turns everything in on time, one who can form coherent thoughts on a dime, one who easily engages verbally, etc. Taken together, the SEVENS would make one heck of a Super Student! But that’s combining each of our individual strengths.
We talk about the Body in the Church, each using our gifts for the common good. Maybe we can look at that imaginary S.Student in the same way; we all have something to contribute, but no single one of us can embody that perfection.
Super students…who are they really and do they exist or are they a figment of our imagination threatening to invalidate us as students? It sure seems like they loom around us in our classes and haunt us from our past. I can still see some of their faces as they protest in indignant rage for getting an “A-” and not an A+, as I sit relieved with my “B”. I believe there are no super students (because Rowntree says so and you helped to debunk the myth) but do the super students know this? Should we tell them? I think not. I just relish in the thought that we are all equals or all students with super uniqueness. Like your Jack and Charlie. Sometimes I access my “inner Charlie” and get the job done with swift efficiency. And sometimes I go kicking and screaming like Jack, fighting the whole darn system finding as many shortcuts as possible to avoid the inevitable tasks that await me. So who do you relate most with? Jack or Charlie?
Fun post!
We definitely can’t tell the ‘super students’ that they really aren’t that super.
As for who I identify with, honestly – neither! Charlie is much more like his mom, in getting right to the task at hand…. he does get his swiftness from me (we have never met a standardized test we couldn’t finish first – which has very real benefits & drawbacks)
Probably too much disclosure, but I am a classic procrastinator…. it used to because I was just interested in doing other ‘fun’ things, these days, it tends to be that I have to do what is ‘due’ next, and there is enough on the plate that I very rarely get a ‘head start’ on anything…. sigh.