{"id":9651,"date":"2016-10-13T11:32:46","date_gmt":"2016-10-13T18:32:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dminlgp.com\/?p=9651"},"modified":"2016-10-13T11:32:46","modified_gmt":"2016-10-13T18:32:46","slug":"the-super-student-debunking-the-myth-putting-down-the-crutch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/the-super-student-debunking-the-myth-putting-down-the-crutch\/","title":{"rendered":"The Super Student: debunking the myth & putting down the crutch"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Don'tOur assigned text for the week,\u00a0Learn How to Study<\/em> by Derek Rowntree is another in the series of assignments that might be considered ‘preparatory’ in our doctoral studies.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

In this way, the text is less a\u00a0book<\/em> 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. \u00a0This focus is clearly seen in the author’s introduction and even in the subtitle of the book, where he calls it a ‘virtual tutorial’.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s why it\u2019s not called How to Study. The fact is, I can\u2019t tell you how you should study. Nor can anyone else.’ \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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. \u00a0We 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.<\/p>\n

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). \u00a0Charlie is pretty self motivated and usually can’t really focus on anything else until his work is done.<\/p>\n

Jack, our second oldest, is a completely different character. \u00a0Because 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. \u00a0This was, almost always, a disaster. \u00a0Homework became a battle and a math fact sheet, which was 10 minutes of work, would take (sometimes literally) hours to complete. \u00a0However, 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. \u00a0Different kids, different tactics and patterns of work.<\/p>\n

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’. \u00a0We 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.<\/p>\n

I was very worried – and maybe still am???? – that some of the students in my cohort might fall into the ‘super student’ category. \u00a0But Rowntree does an important service when he calls the super student a myth. \u00a0There 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.<\/p>\n

But the truth is that, certainly some of those people we think of as super students are exceptionally gifted intellectually, it is much\u00a0more 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

That is, of course wonderful news: Yeah! \u00a0I \u00a0really can do this! \u00a0But 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. \u00a0This program, though rigorous and challenging, doesn’t have a sign that reads ‘Super Students Only’.<\/p>\n

So now it is up to me to do the work (then maybe I can look like this). \u00a0Agh!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our assigned text for the week,\u00a0Learn 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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":88,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[913],"class_list":["post-9651","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-rowntree","cohort-lgp7"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9651","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/88"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9651"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9651\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9651"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9651"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9651"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}