Different kinds of students

How do you look at students after thirteen years of teaching them? After looking at them carefully for such a long time? After interacting with a number of them? After teaching 300-350 odd students every year?

I have seen a variety of students, including my own self, people who studied with me and people whom I have taught at various levels. I am not an expert in human psychology but I believe I can classify my students into few categories. The first is the type who is very quiet, hardworking and is the studious kind. This type gets good grades and is always present in all lectures but is normally less communicative in classes and is not very forthcoming in communicating with the teacher.

Then, there is the second type that is present in lectures, sometimes misses them, is involved in other activities and is articulate. They are the ones who can communicate their problems to the teacher.

Both type one and type two are capable of respecting their teachers.

Then there is type three, which is quite different. Type three is not bothered about lectures and isn’t bothered about any other extra activity in the college. They would like to leave their homes, come to college, drink coffee at canteens, roam around with boy or girlfriends all the time, not attend lectures and usually make fun of anybody around. This type is usually someone who feels that they have parents who can do anything for them in their lives. However, soon, when they leave college or university, they learn that their enthusiasm was quite misplaced.

I find it very fascinating to observe young people (in India) and how many of them can be quite insolent and feel as if they have the world beneath them, whereas they have done nothing at all in their lives.

In my next post, I would like to follow up with a write-up on Diffidence as an impediment to success.