Are we failing students where it matters most?

They come eager to learn, eager to study, eager to get good grades. Graduation day comes, their hats fly, their smiles shine and we’re all celebrating. Time to finally get started, right? WRONG!

photo credit: Karl Fredrickson

We live in an age were employment has never been so unnervingly complex and fast-paced. Long, long, long gone are the days were a university degree from a respected institution was an almost guaranteed ticket to a top-notch job, brimming over with benefits and a hefty retirement plan. Today, relevance is the name of the game and in such an economic environment, ex-students who are not naturally inclined to thrive out of their comfort zones tend to suffer the most. Those who are avid, life-long learners, optimists, risk-takers, non-conformers and critical thinkers on the other hand enjoy the ride.

I feel that the entire education industry is still, sadly, bogged down in the 1990’s. We award good studying, good memorization, good exam scores. Yet we know that this kind of academic success is woefully inadequate in the real world. In this turbo-charged, digital information age, where it takes literally seconds to access the most sophisticated knowledge out there does it really matter if you know your text-book stuff well? I tell it to my students all the time, what’s in your text-books today may not be so tomorrow. So why are we still attached to the antiquated modalities of knowledge?

Perhaps the time has come to drastically redraw our teaching strategy. Our goal can no longer be to impart facts that are rapidly replaced almost as soon as they graduate by updated ‘versions’. We need to teach students to think, to dream, to rise. We need to teach students above all, that they can learn, and learn to love, any subject they set their sights on.

The future belongs to those who can embrace all the intricacies of a world so mind-bogglingly connected and we, as professors, may very well be the only thing that prevents them from learning all this the hard way.

Marc Mikhael, PhD

The Apprentice's Compass - Navigate University!

Two reasons why the way you sit in class really matters

I'm constantly observing my students to see how my message is coming across. Are they comfortable, are they bored, are they challenged? And you know what, I can tell so much more about them just by carefully noting certain details. I can tell if they value intelligence and knowledge. I can tell if they want to get ahead, cruise on autopilot or have no idea why they're sitting in a biology class. And I'm doing this while teaching! The truth is the way you stand, sit and talk can usually give people - and teachers - a pretty (to roughly) accurate picture of what you're going through and how you are as a person.

Photo by Charlie Foster

Here are two reasons why you should be more intentional about your posture during class:

1) The way you sit in class affects how much you learn

I can't stand the bored student. It innervates me! Why is he bored? How??? I mean, you know... I'm not a boring teacher... ok, I admit, sometimes, lectures can be boring especially if it's about chemistry and, honestly, don't let biology teachers teach chemistry. Period. But seriously, if you're sitting in class looking bored you're going to get bored. If you sit up, at attention, pencil in hand scribbling unintelligible notes, coffee/tea/water in the other, studies have shown you will learn better - except when you spill said hot beverage on your lap. Slouch, fold your arms, put your hands on your face so you're either covering it or leaning your head to the side on it and you're going to retain far, far less.

Yes, it's crazy. We move the way we feel. But studies have shown over and over again that the way we move affects the way we feel too! Yeah, really, they've measured things like the levels of endorphins (the happy molecules) and testosterone (the confident, I-am-strong hormone) that change with body posture. If you're upset try smiling and make the most fake laugh you can ever imagine for the next 10 seconds. If you're happy, frown and fold your arms. And then note the change... it's remarkable! Our bodies are wired that way and it makes total sense to harness it's peculiarities in this regard.

And hey, why waste your time? You're spending 40 or so hours a semester going to a single course. Use that time wisely and learn better in class so you can study less at home. Sit as if you're there to learn and have fun doing it and you will indeed learn and have fun while you're at it!

2) The way you sit in class gives a powerful first and lasting impression

I write the following not so you can manipulate teachers. I write the following so you'll learn to better communicate and give better impressions not just to your teachers, but to people all around you. Become a student of body language and this stuff will really benefit you in your personal and business life alike.

Obviously, the student sitting in the learning posture we described above is a great way to cultivate a good first impression. But if you want to go the extra mile, here are some extra tips.

Nod while your teacher is talking. Nodding is a fascinating tool to employ in conversations. There are some cultures that seem to encourage nodding and agreeing to everything you say... they are not agreeing really, but they are simply agreeing on the fact that you are talking. But still, it gives a powerful impression that you are listening when you nod. As a teacher, when students nod it gives me encouragement... they understand!

Avoid closed gestures. It's intimidating to stand up in a room and talk when most are sitting there with closed and negative gestures... you know, folded arms, clasped hands, tight lipped with the death stare, etc. Did I just give you an idea with what to do with the teachers you don't like? I don't know, they're your grades, not mine. :)

The head tilt. Have you ever seen a dog that's curious? They tilt their head sideways and it's quite cute. Well, people do this too. It indicates they are interested at something. Doing this when listening to someone really tells them you're listening. You get lots of points with that, especially if your wife is talking to you.

The chin stroke. Yes, we stroke our chins when we think, goatee or not. It can make you really look smart. It also means you are seriously considering what you are hearing.

Mirror, mirror on the wall... This is an old one. Mirror the gestures of the person your listening to and they'll feel like you get them! Soon you'll be best buddies. There are some gestures that you can mirror even while sitting down. It has a powerful effect that communicates you're on the same page as the person doing the talking.

Are there more? Sure. Lots more. Subscribe (click here for that) and stay tuned for a post that'll tell you where to learn more! And why not share this using those fancy buttons on the left? Thanks! See, you're already learning how to impress people.

Marc Mikhael, Ph.D.
The Apprentice's Compass - Navigate University!

The power of money

It seems that money is everything in this world doesn't it? We constantly hear, Money is power, Cash is king, Money is the root of all evil and the tell-tale sign that we think too much about it - Money isn't everything. Or is it?

We've been conditioned to believe many lies about money. Foremost among them is the idea that money's power is in how it enable it's bearer to buy things. From childhood we see our parents go to supermarkets, pull up their wallet - out comes the cash and in comes the milk... and sometimes even candy! We see this over and over again and after a million times finally our super fast mind makes the connection; Money provides me with what I need... and what I want. It's one of the most powerful, universal and yet ever so fallacious conclusions that we ever come to.

Photo by Julien Lux

To be sure money cannot buy happiness, life, joy, peace, health and love. It does help - more or less - in many of these aspects but it is never the key ingredient to our inherent desires of fulfillment and delight. And to be surer still, greed for money is the root of all sorts of evil. Greed kills your soul and kills your body. But now that we got that out of the way let's get to the bottom of all this.

I've got a bag of wheat kernels lying in the kitchen's pantry. It's been there for a year and a half and only yesterday did we finally cook some of it! If I had taken that wheat and sowed it I wouldn't have doubled it... I'd have a kitchen full of huge sacs of wheat. I'd be able to make bread for a year, cook half of it and then sell and give away enough to feed fifty families and still have enough to sow even more seed than I originally did. See? That's the power of money... it can multiply!

Here's the thing. Most people use money to buy things. They spend and consume and in this state money always comes and always goes. The more money comes the more it is spent. There is no multiplication. Just addition and subtraction and in our consumer-oriented world it's mostly subtraction that wins!

If you can understand that money is like seed you're off to a great financial future. Really you are. That thought - that money is seed - is itself like a seed that will open a world of opportunities if you take the time to nurture this idea.

Just think with me a second. You're in university for how many years? How much money will have to flow into your pockets and then ever so quickly out of them to sustain your education? How about your living expenses during this time?

What if you decided to take only a portion of this money and instead of throwing it away on expensive, but small and short-lived pleasures, and instead of consuming it, sowed it? I guarantee you that some of you will graduate into your own companies! And I hope many more still will enter the job market with a completely different mindset than those who haven't begun to sow their money.

So how do you go about sowing your money? Stay tuned for more to come! In the meantime, I'm sure you'll figure many things out as you let the creative machine of your mind start churning to make your financial future far brighter. Here's to your bright future...

Cheers!

Want more on this subject? Check out Your Million Dollar Mistake! And don't forget to share this post with your friends... countless successful companies start with partnerships made right now, when you're a student.  :)

Marc Mikhael, Ph.D.
The Apprentice's Compass - Navigate University!

Your Million Dollar Mistake

How can you make a million dollar mistake? Well, a hint is that it has to do with the years of time you're already investing in university, compounded by the large (or not so large) amounts of money used to fund that endeavor. In reality though, this mistake is actually far greater than a million!

Now there are many mistakes uni students are doing nowadays. They range from choosing majors based on misconceptions and irrelevant observations to overlooking great aspects of university life outside the classroom. (That's why I wrote this free booklet - you can click here to get it today).

Photo by Didier Weemaels

But if there's one thing, we as universities (and schools) are completely shortchanging you with it's education about money - financial literacy. Financial what? Those must be the two most boring words on the planet. And yet, almost every single university student is there because they think their degree is a ticket to getting a job so they can earn their wages! How are we preparing you for the real world when we don't give you 10 cents worth of knowledge about money, what it really is and how to manage, spend, invest, increase and give it away, the right way.

That's the bottom line. True... business, economics and finance students know more about this topic. And honestly, guys in those majors get much more on other key skills such as leadership and management courses though these are needed in every major and I can't think why they shouldn't be offered as compulsory courses in all programs. But anyways I'm here to rectify this, in the way I can.

So what's the million dollar mistake almost every student of university is committing as we speak - financial illiteracy! How do you go about fixing this? Listen, most parents and most teachers don't teach this, simply because they don't how to or don't know much about this subject or dismiss it as unimportant (and usually it's a mixture of these elements).

So you need to go out there and hear from people who know what they're talking about and are good teachers. They do exist - a word of caution though, stay away from the greedy ones. A good place to start and anyone who ever read this book will understand my particular attachment to is Good Dad Rich Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki. (I particularly identified with the former!)

Good enough? Probably not! So stay tuned for more to come by clicking here to subscribe! 

Marc Mikhael, Ph.D.
The Apprentice's Compass - Navigate University!

How to tell what your teachers are thinking

Do you know that more than half of communication is non-verbal? We tell eachother what we think all the time by the way we sit and smile and stand and move. Most of this type of communication is biological and whether you realize it or not you already can read it to some extent. But what differentiates some of us from the rest, is when we take this form of communication to the conscious level (good politicians and leaders are experts at this).

As a university student, you're going to spend hours of your life watching teachers which can prove to be massively more interesting if you tune in to that form of silent communication they're constantly showering you with. Here are some very common signals to watch for... the benefit is huge!

Just one thing to mention... these moves must be looked at holistically, as a group and not individually. One negative gesture amidst many positive ones should be discounted. You get the point. So take these tips with a grain of salt. :)

Courtesy of Flickr: Tim Ellis

1) Hands in the pocket

It means "I don't want to talk." That's pretty much a deal breaker for me if you do this right before talking to any audience. Hands by the way, do lots of talking, some cultures more than others, but if you hide them in your pockets your telling them that you're not interested really. Try it! Next time you go to a party stand around with your hands in your pocket. It's a sure way to be avoided.

2) Touching, scratching or rubbing the head and face

Watch out as this could mean a lot, including lying! But not always. Most people who want to project power and authority rarely reach for their face or head. Scratching the head may be an indication of thought... or dandruff. But watch out for the tell tale nose, neck or eyebrow scratch that's accompanied by a somewhat suspicious statement. "If you study well, you'll do well." + nose rub = change the teacher! (I'm exaggerating). Here's another move. If you ask the professor a question, lets say, and his immediate response is to bring his hand on his face, very briefly covering his eyes than mouth, he most likely wishes that you'd disappear and he doesn't need to say anything. Hands over the mouth, similarly could mean, he's restraining himself from saying something or doesn't want to talk. 

3) Closed hands, closed soul

If your prof's hands are crossed or come together it's usually a negative gesture. It doesn't mean that you're the negative stimulus. Share bad news to someone who you know likes you and they might adopt this gesture to protect themselves from the bad news, symbolically speaking. But lets say you ask a question and the teacher folds her arms, it's a sign of her discomfort. She could be challenged by the question, annoyed that you asked it or simply uncomfortable with being there.

4) The podium

Grabbing the lectern tightly and leaning on it is usually a sign of discomfort and lack of confidence. The more open, confident and authoritative figures will move away from the podium or only and occasionally lightly embrace it provided that they have the freedom to move away from it. 

5) The legs tell you the true story

A man with legs apart is usually quite confident... he's exposed but shows strength in allowing himself to be exposed. Crossed legs while delivering a lecture means they are defensive... or need to go the bathroom. Tapping feet can show impatience and if the prof's always pointing his feet to the door, he's showing you that he really can't wait to leave!

6) Watch the palms

Open palms facing you are a good sign that the teacher is being open with you. Get a little rowdy and noisy and watch how those palms turn downward "Ok, enough guys". That's an authoritative sign. The worst one is the pointed finger. Very, very negative gesture. Studies have shown that you retain far more information when the teacher uses open palms as compared to the downward facing palm, and very little of the lecture with the pointed finger. Dictators (and parents) often use the pointed finger... seriously. 

7) The steeple 

If the finger come together lightly touching each other at the tips with a slight bounce, it means he's got the answers.

8) Office chairs

I didn't design my office but the way the chairs are arranged in it are to project power and authority while minimizing the student. Here's how they do that - you give the teacher a big chair, with arm rests and a taller back. (Think thrones and kings). You place a desk and on the other side two shorter, smaller chairs, with a straight back and no arm rests. If you sit in the teacher's chair you'll feel the power. If you sit in the smaller chair, it'll force you to look small and you'll actually feel smaller. You don't have to give into this by the way. Sit on the student's chair, lean forward and maybe place your hand on or elbow on the table. You've effectively claimed your territory! But if you're there to get something you know you don't deserve (like bonus grades), it's better to look small and sad and not be so challenging.

9) Hands grasping each other behind the back

I'm in charge! This walk exposes the front (mostly men do this) and it's a sign they are not afraid. Imagine your teacher doing this as he walks down the aisle when you're taking an exam.

There's so much more to mention but I think this is a great place to start. I'm sure it's bound to make you're lectures more interesting. 

Want some more? Next time I'll write about what gestures to adopt to give a better impression to your teachers. You can subscribe (click here) so that you'll be to see it when it comes (plus you'll get a gift!).

Enjoy.

Marc Mikhael, Ph.D.
The Apprentice's Compass - Navigate University!

Four ways you give your teachers power over your life

I've seen it all. I've seen the students confessing in tears that they cheated, but had no idea there were different versions (I was asked to correct the exam based on the answers that were not copied!). I've seen students so worried about having exams at one date or another that it seemed as if the world as they know it would collapse if a date change wasn't made. I've seen the student who thinks that their grades in a single course (or even a single exam) will determine whether or not they're life-long career dreams will be made or broken.

Courtesy of Flickr-stockpower.com

If you think your teachers have power over you, over your schedule, over your aspirations, over your success, here in university or beyond, you're believing a lie that's entirely in your head. The truth has always been that teachers have great power to influence students, but we want to influence our students so that they will be inspired to achieve more, pursue their dreams and conquer new heights.

True leaders never take power from those they lead; instead, they empower them. Sadly, those who are led and do not lead in this world, are very often those who forfeit what only they can give. You see, as a student, as a citizen, as an employee or whatever position you may find yourself occupying at the moment you'll have leaders, but no one can take this power from you... unless you let them.

External circumstances can change beyond your control (at least to some extent). But how you respond to them is an entirely different matter. That's something you decide. And the ability to decide is this power I'm referring to.

Related post: Changing your life starts here

Here are four ways students are empowering their teachers rather than themselves.

1) Asking for less material to be included in an exam

Many students ask (if not beg) for me to give less material for each exam. They don't realize that doing so only means more material will be on subsequent exams. I should write about planning in a later post! But what this seemingly harmless request does, can be very harmful... it subtly destroys your self-image and your self-image is key to academic success (and other kind of success too). This kind of request is what makes you think that you are unable to do well with the resources you are given to accomplish a required task. Those who succeed believe they can accomplish their goals with what they have!

When you think you need less material on an exam, or simpler material, you are shortchanging yourself into thinking that you are not capable. Guess what the outcome of such thinking will be? Certain failure!

I have a student who does the exact opposite. "Whatever you want to include, I'm fine with it! Whatever date you assign for the exam, it's ok with me." she says. I love that attitude! She knows she can handle it and she refuses to let the decision of a teacher affect her academic success or even worse, dictate how her life during her university years should look like. That's an attitude every student needs to have.

2) Asking for exam dates to be postponed

There is a right reason to ask this question (think schedule conflict). But this again follows the same line of thinking as above. Many students have no idea how to schedule their time. They end up riding the surf waves of exams, which usually means cramming for every exam and having little time to breathe. Surfing is much funner than that!

The way to strip time of it's power over you, is to organize it and refuse the demands, small and large, important and insignificant from determining what you do, how you do it and when you do it. More to come on that!

3) Complaining about the course content.

It's too hard. It's too boring. It's too complex. It is because you let it be. Granted, I'm not talking about your teacher's teaching style. That's another story. But you can condition your mind to like even the dullest of subjects. I used to tell myself that math wasn't my forte. I then decided to enjoy solving it's problems. It worked so well I can't even remember struggling for the sophomore course,  a course that had terrified me as a very hard subject... but I'll admit it, I don't remember anything about the courses content... just that I enjoyed studying it!

4) Pushing your teacher to raise your grade

Can you accept failure? Can you accept frustration? The next time you face a rejection or 'failure' rethink it as a redirection in your life. Learn from your mistakes and move on. Don't define yourself based on your failures, think of it as "Well, now I know one way not to do that." Ever heard of how Thomas Edison tried to invent the light bulb? He tried 1000 different ways which all failed. He said he discovered 1000 ways how NOT to make a light bulb. He learnt from his failures. Or consider KFC's Colonel Sander's, who traveled across the US at a staggeringly 'old' age trying to sell his recipe for chicken. He received the answer 'no' a thousand times! Today, KFC is everywhere I don't need to define it.

So when you choose to avoid responsibility for a decision, you've just surrendered more power to world, more of your power to be precise. Next time you get a bad grade, face up to it rather than blaming it on circumstances. See what you did wrong, learn from it and move on!

Related post: Don't waster your failure! 

In conclusion, take responsibility for your life, your habits, your time and stop blaming other people, circumstances or the world for what you do, think or say. Learn to see challenges as mountains to be scaled rather than obstacles in your path believing that if someone else did so can you. It's one of the most empowering things you'll ever learn to do, in university and the real world too!

Marc Mikhael, Ph.D.
The Apprentice's Compass - Navigate University!

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Changing your life starts here

To every action there is always opposed an equal reaction.

Isaac Newton

Courtesy of Louish Pixel

He was talking about physical laws. And yet I am surprised how completely accurate of a statement
this is when applied to personal laws! Just think for a moment... what do you think best describes the behavior of the people around you? Are they reactors or actors? What do you do when external or internal circumstances that you are not in control of bare on you?

The world teaches us to react. That's the world's system. If you're friend punches you in the face,  you'll probably punch him back. What happens when someone tells you they'll be here or there at a certain a time and then don't show up? Why of course, you'll be upset. Isn't that natural? I'd say it's automatic, not 'natural'; think of it as a default setting that was programmed into your mind by the constant friction we experience as we move along in this world. 

Recently, I read about a man called Victor Frankl. An Austrian psychiatrist and professor, Victor, being a Jew, was taken prisoner and sent to the concentrations camps during WWII by the Nazis. Steeped in Freudianism - which basically says you are the sum of your experiences and environment - this man would have buckled under the horrors of torture and constant threat of death. One by one, his family and loved ones perished. His parents died, his wife too was killed, only his sister was spared.

One day, naked and cold, this man had a revelation. What if he chose to be in control of his response to all that was happening? What if - instead of being tossed here and there by the whims of his captors - he would direct his thoughts, emotions and actions? Freudianism makes us animals - we are merely the products of genetics and stimuli thrown at us, in other words, reactors. Frankl threw that down the drain as he realized that his inner freedom to decide how to respond was something no man would ever be capable of taking from him.

Victor became an inspiration to fellow prisoners and even some of the soldiers guarding him. He began to imagine himself lecturing to students back at his university and telling them about his experiences in the camps. Those 'dreams' came true. He went on to write a best selling book.

I want to invite you today, to look around you. Observe yourself. Take note of all that is moving you for ill or good. Feel the pressures of daily student life grinding you. Now, take a step back, realize that you can be proactive rather reactive. You can decide how to respond to everything that comes your way, so that you'll be in control of your mind, thoughts and emotions and not this exam in a week or the assignment due tomorrow.

It really is that simple. Don't let life just 'happen' to you. Take charge of that one freedom animals do not have... the freedom to choose. You've always had it in you and now it's time to use it. You'll find that university life won't be a blur of stress and toil, but a breeze of fresh air in your life. And why stop with university?

Marc Mikhael, Ph.D.
The Apprentice's Compass - Navigate university!