A second “sin” of the student that I’d like to suggest is less encompassing than the first (short-sightedness) and actually could be regarded as an example of it. The “sin” is not taking notes (or not taking good notes).
I’ve told my students that the greatest mistake I made in college was not taking good notes, and the best thing I did in grad school was to take good notes. So I speak from experience, both good and bad.
In college I was a youth ministry major and the classes were intensely practical. The teacher was excellent and I learned a lot from him. But his style did not foster taking notes. For instance, some days we would go sit outside “under the oaks” while he taught. He rarely gave exams, and if he did, they weren’t based on the “lecture” material. His style was also rather informal, and it provoked discussion. In other words, I “felt” like it wasn’t necessary to take notes. And I didn’t. What I regret now is that so much of that wisdom is forever lost to me. I heard it and I forgot it. If only I had written it down and I could go back. And yes, even though I’m not in “youth ministry” per se, much of it was just general wisdom that would be beneficial to me whatever I’m doing.
By the time I got to grad school (M.A. program in Israel), I had figured out how to take notes. One thing that helped was that the teaching method was largely lecture and a lecture-based exam. Sometimes the one exam determined your grade for the whole course! So I learned to take good notes. My method was/is simple: bring my computer because I can type about 5x faster than I can write (and if you can’t, take a typing class or buy a typing program and learn to type – it’s worth the investment of time and money!). Then I simply would type everything the teacher said. Or almost everything. I can’t always keep up, but I do as best as I can. Afterwards, I go back and organize and arrange the notes. This both makes the notes more accessible and understandable to me in the future, but it also helps me to review and learn the material.
This is still my method today. When I go to a lecture, I bring my computer and type everything. Students think I’m strange. But I want to learn it and I don’t want to forget it. And if I don’t take notes, I certainly will forget it. I know this because from time to time I go back to various notes that I have taken in the past and it reads like I’ve never heard it before :-). I hate the fact that my memory is so poor, but I use good notes to compensate for it. And I have 13 years (so far) of blessing from it.
I’ve heard you say this before, and have adopted this method myself for a few years now, but it’s always good to hear. How I wish I had taken more extensive notes in college… and in life. I used to try to write down the things I thought were important. But Greg Behle killed any perceived logic behind THAT method when he said (paraphrase):
“One of the main reasons you’re even IN this class is that you don’t KNOW what’s important and what’s not! If you already knew what was essential and what was peripheral, you shouldn’t have signed up for the class. Rather, write down EVERYTHING, and decide later (once you’re more informed) what’s important and what’s not.”
I’d rather take extensive notes and later find out that they’re not important than NOT take notes and later realize that they would’ve been pure gold.
Thanks, Todd. This ‘series’ is “wisdom crying out in the streets,” whether your readers are still students or not.