Morris 1

Hailey Morris

Marisa Enos

English 111

22 February 2018

Students Lacking Studying Etiquette

When thinking of studying for a test or exam most think of it as an easy thing to do.

When it may be the most difficult thing in high school and college if a student doesn’t use their

time efficiently or study correctly. As some think studying is just for exams and tests, they may

also think you can just do it for a couple days then you are ready for that big test coming up.

Then there are some whom may not even studying, thinking they know the materials just because

they took that class before. But, the correct way for studying is before, after, and during the

chapters and tests to increase your knowledge on what is to come and to make sure that student is

prepared.

Habits are one of the main deals on students failing on the correct studying etiquette.

Knowing habits follow us everywhere we go, students bring there good and bad habits that they

used in high school with them to college thinking it may just help but, it only negatively affects

them. As Matthew Crawford has stated in “Attention as a Cultural Problem”, “We can take a

critical stance towards our own activities, and aspire to direct ourselves toward objects and

projects that we judge to be worthier than others that may be more immediately gratifying.” (47)

Students choose to study the way they want to instead of the ways teachers show them the

correct way of doing this. They may think their way is better and helps more instead of the

teachers as well. With them doing this, it doesn’t just affect their grade on that test but, there

overall grade and their GPA.

 Morris 2

The author Roger Schank of “Story Skeletons” has a quote that connects with Crawford

and students and their habits of studying. He has stated “We see events in so many ways we must

decide which story skeleton is acceptable.” (134) With Crawford stating that students are

choosing the way they want to study and ignoring the correct way that they teacher is teaching

them that will be more efficient. Schank is stating that students see so many ways of studying

that they could use to be more efficient, but they decide to use their way and may even give

excuses on how it may apparently help them more and may give the idea to other students as to

trying to prove their habit of studying is than the way others are being taught without it being

true or not. The reason between students being adamite about using their way is because it is a

habit. They are hard to break. They have been using this method for many years from middle

school to even high school. Then it is following them to college. As VanderMey has stated

“Habits are a simply a form of intertie, we get stuck in them and become unfree.” (15) They are

stuck with the habits that they have created in studying. They can’t free themselves from it

unless they overcome the way they study and continue to use the correct way of doing so.

As stated before, students aren’t studying accurately. They think they only need to study

for tests and exams but, not understanding why they aren’t fully understanding the material.

That’s because they are only studying for what is on a test. They don’t study the chapters and

materials to keep themselves up to date with the teacher and understand the material fully.

“Students are learning to think, and are practicing doing it, but most are simply studying for the

exam.” (78) Robert Leamnson stated this and it is true. Students are only learning to think. They

aren’t storing that information to use it in the future but, only to use it just for an exam like stated

above. Students may think they don’t need this knowledge for whatever career they are going for

but, they don’t understand that they are going to need to know some of the material. For
 Morris 3

example, some may go into the health career and must take math. They may ask why do we need

math for health? Well they still use charts and algebra in the health career. Then if they don’t

store that knowledge they were taught in math, what will they do when it comes to the time to

use that math they were taught, and they don’t remember because they only studied for an exam

not for their future lives.

One bad habit students use the most is studying the day before or the day of the test or

exam. They may use the excuse that they have already took the class in high school and they

already know the material. With students creating this habit and bringing the study habits they

have accommodated in middle school and high school, it may just result in lower grades and not

getting anywhere in class. (Leamnson 79) But, with the help of overcoming those habits that

have been brought from years prior, will help students in the future. Even if it isn’t just for

schooling but, the future as well. Some careers require a test before they get the job. What is that

student going to do if they study the day before and don’t fully acknowledge what they need to

know for this test? They can’t just say” I know the material, I took it in college”, that’s not going

to get them that job they want or need. It will just result in failing that test and not furthering

themselves in their chosen career. A habit is a tendency to act, say, or think in a certain way.

(VanderMey 13) Sometimes when that students says they can’t help what they are doing or the

way they are doing is because the habit they created. So, when that student has poor studying

skills and can’t help it. It is only because they have the tendency to do it and have been for many

years. It takes a long time to overcome a bad habit and it is a lot of practice to do day after day.

They need to create new tendencies and practice them day by day until they overcome that poor

habit they have. Just like studying, trying it a new way and continuing with it everyday will
 Morris 4

create a new habit of study. Instead of studying the night before or day of, they could change it to

a couple days before and keeping it at a smaller time span then increase it little by little.

Crawford has stated “Our attention is directed to a world that is shared, one’s attention is

not simply ones owns, for the simple reason objects are presented to others as well.” (Crawford

43) That statement connects to teachers trying to show other students good studying habits and

needing to make sure you understand what you are learning. It is very important because

resulting to failing will result to failing your goals and what you want to do in the future to better

yourselves. Students think they know it all because they have learned similar material before. So,

they don’t understand when a teacher is trying to show them other ways or even giving another

student more attention than another. They don’t understand that just because they know the

knowledge, others may have trouble with it, even if they have taken the course in prior years.

One problem is students aren’t remembering material that they have learned a day ago or

even studied for a test a day prior. Sometimes it’s because students aren’t studying, paying

attention, or just don’t care. Leamnson on the other hand thinks its due to our brain circuits. He

has stated “students find it easier to run through established brain circuits that have knowledge

stored in there but, they find it harder to previously unused regions of the brain and to work to

make those synapses stabilize.” Just because a student learns material doesn’t mean it is going to

stay with them. They need to store that information into their brain circuits, so it stays there, and

they know the information for the future. The only way for a student to properly store that

knowledge into there brains is to properly study. Doing it the correct amount of time and taking

the time to take notes and go over information profusely will help more than they think it will.

The thing that may cause poor studying is our environment we do it in. It may be to quiet

or even to loud. It just depends on the environment we are used to. “When we inhabit a highly
 Morris 5

engineered environment, the natural world seems to be bland.” (Crawford 45) When students are

so used to environments at home or some where else, they may just think it is boring. Then they

get bored with what they are doing, for instance studying could be one of those things they get

bored with. If a student can’t concentrate at the environment they are at then they may just fail

the test they have to take due to not being able to study. Some students may need music or other

loud things going on around them, then others may need it to be complete silence. Sometimes

you can’t control the sounds going on around them and it may be hard to get what they need

done.

Studying for exams aren’t always the easiest thing to do. Some students just aren’t

capable of studying correctly due to habits, environment, and other things. But, fixing those

things could be easier than thought of. Changing habits, environment, and the things they due

will help them succeed. Just depending on if they are willing to do it is up to them.
 Morris 6

Works Cited

Crawford, Matthew. Attention as a Cultural Problem, Exploring Connections: Learning The 21st

Century, (2015) Page 43-47

Leamnson, Robert. The Biological basis of learning, Exploring Connections: Learning The 21st

Century, (1999) Page 72-79

Schank, Roger. Story Skeletons, Exploring Connections: Learning The 21st Century, (1991) Page

133-134

VanderMey, James. Remarks on Habit, Exploring Connections: Learning The 21st Century.

(2016) Page 13-15