Author’s note: I started this essay when my son graduated from high school. He is now a college senior. (Procrastination is a problem I need to deal with one of these days.) I publish it now so that readers may share it with the college students in their own lives. Students get a lot of advice of varying quality. This is advice from a father (who knows college and understands learning) to his own child.
Dear Son,
You are heading off to college. I’m proud of you and all you’ve accomplished. I know you will thrive in college, but it’s going to be a major transition both academically and socially. Often people don’t realize just how profound the transition is from high school to college. You will be creating your own independent identity and making important choices for yourself for the first time. Those choices will influence the kind of college experience you will have. Sadly, some students who are capable of success in college get lost in this transition; they struggle and may even drop out. As your dad, a long-time college teacher and cognitive psychologist, I wanted to share some insights and advice to help you have a successful first year.
2 Responses
It was very interesting and valuable to read the letter from Dr. Stephen L. Chew to his son. These recommendations are invaluable and very comprehensive; at times, I even wished someone had left me such a letter—it could have come in very handy.
Thus, believing in own success, developing good habits during one’s studies, engaging in effective rather than easy learning, receiving feedback on one’s knowledge level, learning from one’s own mistakes, finding good instructors, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle—these are the factors that enable personal growth and successful completion of studies.
I also want to highlight two concepts that seem most relevant to achieving success in learning.
The first recommendation that, in my opinion, leads to academic success is that learning should be effective rather than easy, given that memory involves a highly complex, multi-stage process. Moreover, learning that comes easily does not always lead to progress, because even our mistakes help improve our learning skills. I also found the recommendations regarding lifestyle and proper habits to be extremely important. A truly sound study-and-rest routine, healthy eating, and the right habits—such as completing homework on time rather than at the last minute and frequently reviewing material—form the backbone that keeps the learning process organized and structured.