5 Practical Ways to be a Better Student
Daniel was an excellent student at the University of Babylon, and because of his excellence he testified before kings. God calls us today also to excellence. But let’s face it, whether you’re at an Adventist or public university, being a student isn’t always easy!
Here are five simple, practical ways to be a better student, wherever you may be:
1. Add an hour to your morning.
While the extra hour in the morning may seem like a complete time-drain, you are first and foremost a Christian, not a student. Ask the Lord to help you etch your ways according to His will. Take your burdens and praises to Him—He hears each one.
The Bible will stretch your mind. One of the most valuable skills that I used as a history major, the ability to read and closely analyze texts, came from my exegetical study of the Bible (though of course the latter is to be treated with the singular respect and reverence that the Word of God merits). Inspiration tells us that “the study of the Bible will strengthen and elevate the mind as no other study can” (A Call to Stand Apart 47).
When you set apart time in the mornings for God, you learn to better value and use the rest of your time too. Your mind takes on a sort of time-sensitivity that makes you more aware of what you’re supposed to do when.
2. Do a little bit on Saturday night.
Make the Sabbath a special time to bask in the presence of God. But remember that Sabbath ends at sundown on Saturday. It’s fun to hang out with friends—and there’s nothing wrong with that—but if you get a small edge on studying on Saturday night, you won’t feel like such a plow dragging through a mountain of homework on Sunday.
Make time to read and take a crack at #1 on your problem set, even if you don’t solve it. Make time to break open that sociology book and read the first three pages, even if you’ve got fifty more to go. Just do it.
3. Sweat it out.
True education is “the harmonious development of the physical, mental, and physical powers” (Education 13). Don’t create glass ceilings for your academic or spiritual life by not taking care of your body. Sign up for a 10k, if that motivates you to do something!
I don’t like getting out of my studying groove and neat little daily schedule to slog up some crazy California hill while sweat is pouring down my face. But. But!—I never regret making the choice to do it. I’ll always feel more energetic and focused when I get back home.
4. Ask, listen, and invest.
Don’t make someone your project, because they’ll totally be able to tell. But DO ask the Lord to show you someone, preferably of the same gender, to whom you can be a blessing.
Get outside of your comfort zone/social circle/whirlpool of lethargy to look the person sincerely in the eyes and say, “How are things in your life right now?” and withhold the urge to splatter her with the fine details of your exhilarating trip to Wal-Mart. Listen. Take her food. Give her a Bible study. Offer her a ride to get groceries. Pray for her. Whatever that person needs.
At the end of your college experience, you should be able to think not just about the excellent grades you earned, but the lives you’ve changed.
5. Don’t just highlight.
Whether it’s your biology textbook or a biography of C.S. Lewis, don’t just highlight what you think is important. Make comments, exclamation points, smiley faces, diagrams, and whatever else describes your reaction to the text with your pencil in the margins: be WEIRD.
If you disagree—and if you’re a public university student like I am, you quite often will and should—write “No!” or “How about what [Bible verse] says?”
If you’re in a Biblically-taught Bible class, ask yourself what real-life implications the subject has. Ask the Lord to help you reflect His character in yours, and remember that we are changed by beholding, not by simply rote-memorizing (2 Corinthians 3:18).
When you go back to review your material, you’ll find that it’s a lot easier to recall your initial experience of reading through the material by looking at your reactions to it. Make an impression on the text, and it will make an impression on you.
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Michel Lee is a BA/MA student at Stanford University. She also serves as Vice-President of Resources for GYC.