Study Skills from the Other End of the Classroom

Academics are an interesting lot. Some of us take the weekend off — I know some my colleagues who make it very clear he’d prefer a weekend with the family. Others are not so free — last week, I also exchanged a few moments with a noted professor at Westminster who was in the same boat I’m in as well — we both work on the weekends and we don’t complain!

Weekends my end are some things I wish I had a bit more of. Last week I remained on campus for “a little too long”, as there were involvements nearly every single day. Embassy business on Friday as well as central London appointments meant I only got some time off on Sunday. Heading into Monday, I’d be preparing and finalising everything for our course, fresh at 11:00 on Monday.

To be quite honest, as someone who has taught since 2000 in China and Europe (in fact, since 1996!… if you were to count my first “teaching appointment” from my 7th grade tutor; the instruction was to teach written Chinese to 8th graders!), I’ve seen it all… both responsive and unresponsive teachers, both those who make a point of being active lecturers and those who nearly fall asleep in front of the microphone reciting scholarly monologues (everyone else did fall asleep already!). Whilst everyone else was wondering, “What can this David Feng bloke give us for Study Skills?”, I’m wondering more: “It’s not about the payslips, it’s more about what the kids of tomorrow can take away from Study Skills; I don’t mind lecturing to one or a hundred, I just want you to get results and to progress to academic perfection…”

I’ve also exchange thoughts with fellow academic peers and have had a further insight into what’s making the lives of people in academia tough — when it comes to the paper-work (quite literally). Here’s what I’d like to make this course into…

• I’d like to make this course into a highly interactive session where the talk continues as much online as it does offline.
• Understand that I’ve only one pair of legs and I can’t be “everytime everywhere” (note: this is not a secretive endorsement of some random UK mobile telco). But I’d also like to help wherever possible.
• I’d like to help students turn out papers that will make those reviewing and marking your papers moan the least. As someone on this end of academia, I personally hate moaning as well. To me, I go by the motto: Whinging doesn’t help; solving problems, does!
• I’ve been a student since 1988, a teacher since 2000, and I’ve been to nearly 25 countries around the world. There’s a lot of experience my end. Some instructors hide all that for their own benefit only. I am the exact opposite.
• I have been through some dead boring lectures. Their actual (sleep-inducing!) effect turned out to be better than the kind of music that gets you to sleep in no time. I’d like to make mine as approachable and as easy-to-understand to you as possible. We are not supposed to be here to make the complicated, well, remain complicated. We must share the wealth of knowledge and wisdom.
• Whilst we’re on that point… as much as possible, I’d like to give you the tools, the weapons, the rod and line, so that you can use them to your benefit.
• I’ll guide you to your success: I don’t like fishing for you (and I do admit I need to work on my tempers! Life in major Chinese cities remains very fast-paced and some of us do have very quick tempers!), but I’ll show you where to fish, how to fish, and secrets to fishing. Of course, you’ll be fishing in the end, so to speak, but to you and to me, there is no greater satisfaction than to see you fish — the fruits of one’s labour is always the best experience.

I’d like to end this on a personal note:
Study skills, MAs and PhDs (in future for you) will appear to be like something — much like driving in the UK is for me.
For the longest time I’ve driven in China and mainland Europe, where the steering wheels is on the left, and we drive on the right-hand side.
I made the “mistake” of driving to Beijing Airport in early August, then flying over to Heathrow, then — on the very same day — drive from Heathrow to Harrow.
I thought I was going to hit something — for the entire day. I knew how the cars worked, but to me, it was something new, somewhat exciting, but also very much daunting.
In Beijing I can drive both automatics (more mileage) and stick shifts (my first car; plus I did over 100,000 miles with them). In the UK I stayed away from anything other than an automatic for the first month.
I just returned a car back to Heathrow yesterday (this being a reservation done in a hurry, I ended up with a stick shift). The fact I made it to Heathrow in my car, in one piece, to the irritation of as few fellow drivers as possible, shows how far I have actually come.
To me it basically means now I can drive nearly anywhere on the planet. (I have two licences: a Swiss one, which is good mostly everywhere — it works well with an international licence; and a Chinese one.)

Nothing was impossible once I mastered the once-impossible.
To you studying here at Westminster will be the same.
Never mind we walk and drive on the wrong side of the world.
Give the once-impossible your best try.
It might just work!

To me, I can now drive anywhere.
To you, I’d like to see you finish Study Skills and go: Right, now I can pick up a pen (or open up the laptop) and get cracking on an academic paper. On any topic related to your research.

Enjoy!

PS: One more thing…
You will find you have more and more freedoms and free time in university.
You can do one (or both!) of the two things:
1. Go on train trips around the country and forget work / study (not a great idea, but probably something for less busy weekends); or
2. Stay on campus and listen to the talks and lectures that matter to you.

I’d combine Idea 2 for the week with Idea 1 for the weekend.

Understand that nobody is an Energiser bunny in real life! That’s why I would say: Give your first five days in the week all the academic knowledge you’d need, then set yourself free over the weekends. It’s a great balance which could work for you!

(Now I just wish they made the entrance at Northwick Park Tube station a little bigger. Don’t we have a lot of people on campus?…)