Wednesday 7 March 2012

Survival of the Fittest

One of my MBA students used to say this to me, 'Generally the students of the class think you give low marks. I think it is just because your standards are high.'

Well, that is my opening paragraph. By the time you finished reading it, I am sure that some of you have started to wonder whether you have made the right choice entering my class or not. If you believe in working hard, I assure you that you have. As a person, I believe it is not right to award impressive grades at the expense of quality. On the other hand, if the impressive grade is well deserved, there is no reason why I should not award it. When you begin your working journey, competitions will be very high and second chances are scarce. In order to succeed, you have to prove yourself. You have to create positive perceptions on yourself. You have to be strong and manage your time well. The most crucial thing is that you have to believe in yourself. Your experience in the university should help you to prepare for those times. Survival of the fittest, some people say. (The phrase 'survival of the fittest' means 'only the fittest organisms will prevail' - a view sometimes derided as Social Darwinism)

However I am not looking for perfection. What I am looking for are efforts in trying to be perfect. And I am looking at improvements. At the end of the day, I do not mind if my name kind of slipped your mind. But I hope you will remember some of the knowledge we shared, and pass it on...

P/s: Just so you know, that particular student got a very low mark for his mid-term exam, but he scored an A for his final grade. It is up to us to achieve the impossible. It has been said in the Noble Qur’an: ‘Indeed, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves.’ [Ar-Ra`d: Verse 11].

“So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable.” Christopher Reeve (Superman)

5 comments:

Kay Q said...

I agree with you. When I get low marks in certain courses, I always think that the teacher already good enough, is just me haven't give out enough.

dahliaz said...

I always say this in class..what makes a good lecturer are the students. Both will need each other to enhance learning.

Cakey san said...

I have experience on this type condition. I always choose lecturer who is look humble and not so strict as well as easy get high marks in exam and even assginment. Last semester, I get this such lecturer. Everything is good with him. But when I did assgnment and presentation, he face expression suddenly become strict and judge also strict. I starting scare to him. This was because I was not prepare well in the presentation and I thought "cincai" did it and I thought it will be passed. I learnt a lesson from there, even which lecturer, they want students to learn something and act seriously in doing project. They want to see our effort even not perfect, at least as we try our best and they have see our effort. So, I very appreaciate him to give me a such good learning lesson. Now I will start to put my all effort and do seriously anything.

dahliaz said...

Whatever we do, it will create people's perceptions about us. As students, it will always help if you try as best as possible to show what you are capable of, won't it?

theng said...

From my point of view, humble is good. If the lecturer too strict and always shows their serious face will only makes the ambience of the class become tension. A good lecturer may have the characteristics of easygoing and able to get along with the students very well. This will further improve the communication between the lecturer and the students and sometimes, giving some jokes when teaching the boring topic may uplift our mind so that we wouldn't feel sleepy. When the lecturer connect the jokes with the topic, it is undeniable that we can learn and "absorb" it more effectively.