Ultimate Answers to the TOP 4 Questions Students Ask Educators

Save Time! Learn These Academic Secrets NOW!

By Amy Barr with The Lukeion Project

During a lifetime career of lovingly and attentively educating students, we teachers hear some questions far more often than others. While we educators are known for saying, “there’s no such thing as a dumb question,” we also know that some questions have ulterior meanings and motives. I provide here in no particular order the answers to your biggest and most pressing academic questions, so you’ll never need to ask them in class.

#1 I got busy and forgot. Can you reopen my assignment for me? Will you give me feedback anyway?

"Sure. I had no real reason behind putting a deadline on that task. Do what you like! Not."

Most students ask this question because they’ve had time management issues to the point that things have gone off the rails. For some students this is truly a rare occurrence, and their heart is in the right place. They had one of those weeks. They hope to mitigate the damage.

For other students, time management is mismanaged more frequently. This issue will eventually spread to every class, every assignment, and cause long term trouble in one’s personal life once time is complicated by things like jobs and adult obligations. Some modern pedagogical approaches have given up entirely and now offer endless re-dos and zero deadlines. This approach has its merits for a few subjects but, especially for academic topics I have seen few benefits for anyone, student or teacher.

Decades of teaching (and parenting) experience confirm that simply having firm deadlines is enough to help most students develop the skill of time management now while things are less dire. Experienced educators know that 9 out of 10 students who ask for a please-just-this-one-time-only extension will ask for deadlines to be adjusted for the rest of the semester and forevermore.

Here’s the answer: No, you can’t have an extension because everyone is busy.

A good educator knows that once a student hits a certain age and maturity, she will never build better time management skills by constantly offering her more non-emergency extensions. The rest of the class prioritized an assignment enough to finish work on time so rewarding one person with a random extension is unkind to all, including the one asking for an extension. Your educator allocated a certain amount of time for grading and feedback on a particular task and, by asking for extensions, you are making unmerited demands on another person’s schedule. Many educators are generous to make that offer once or twice but most won’t continue to be charitable once a student turns it into a lifelong pattern.

Manage your time or it will manage you. 

#2 When are you going to grade my assignment?

"Let me check…hmm, yes. I’ll be done next Tuesday at 3:02 am."

Most students ask this question because they are at a loss for how to politely say, “Hurry up! I want to know my grade!”

We understand it can be frustrating waiting for scores. It is tempting to look at your educator’s job as somewhat limited to dealing with only your class and only your assignments. If you have that perspective, then it is easy to imagine your educator is leading a pretty cushy lifestyle. How long can it take to slap a grade on one essay, for goodness sake?!  

Here’s the answer: Nobody is as interested in finishing the task of grading assignments more than your educators!  

The best day of each semester is that one moment when we have everything done at last (the next moment we must start working on the new semester). Your educators spend all day teaching several classes but still tuck in grading sessions every spare minute possible. Toss in some lesson planning, research, writing, unscheduled academic crises, a few emergency college recommendation letters, a couple necessary faculty meetings, and an occasional desire to (gasp) take the weekend off…you get the picture. Your educators have plenty on their plates. Unless you think that something has gone seriously wrong with an assignment you turned in, tread softly. We are all working as quickly as we can. You’ll score more points by being understanding.

#3 Will this be on the test?

Most students ask this question because they want to know if they should bother to listen, participate, take notes or study the material at hand. Whenever students ask this question, your educators actually hear, “do I need to exert any of my own energy here with this stuff going on or can I go back to playing my game online?”

Here’s the answer: Yes, this will ALL be on the test.

Once you get to middle school and certainly high school and beyond, time is very limited in class. ALWAYS assume that what your educator is presenting to you or incorporating into a discussion is intentional. Will this exact material be on a “quiz”? Maybe! Since you are learning the material (not teaching the material) you’ll be delighted to hear that we educators usually have a plan in place to help you master a whole body of material! Presume that your job is to stay engaged during the whole class and to take notes to help you focus. It will never pay to try to calculate how little is necessary to pass a class. You’ll score more points and gain a better education by being attentive and engaged in class and discussions.

#4 Sorry I’m late, did I miss anything?

Most students ask this question because they are at a loss for how to politely excuse themselves for arriving late.

This question, if asked aloud, will cause your educator to grow incensed and, depending on how strong his or her filters are, it will get you any variety of responses ranging from a polite “come in please” to a snarky “we were sitting here silently waiting for your arrival to begin our work.”

The mother-of-all-responses to a student asking this question is a poem by Tom Wayman written in 1945 but so true today.

 

Did I Miss Anything?

Nothing. When we realized you weren't here

we sat with our hands folded on our desks

in silence, for the full two hours

 

Everything. I gave an exam worth

40 percent of the grade for this term

and assigned some reading due today

on which I'm about to hand out a quiz

worth 50 percent

 

Nothing. None of the content of this course

has value or meaning

Take as many days off as you like:

any activities we undertake as a class

I assure you will not matter either to you or me

and are without purpose

 

Everything. A few minutes after we began last time

a shaft of light suddenly descended and an angel

or other heavenly being appeared

and revealed to us what each woman or man must do

to attain divine wisdom in this life and

the hereafter

This is the last time the class will meet

before we disperse to bring the good news to all people on earth.

 

Nothing. When you are not present

how could something significant occur?

 

Everything. Contained in this classroom

is a microcosm of human experience

assembled for you to query and examine and ponder

This is not the only place such an opportunity has been gathered

 

but it was one place

And you weren't here