Throughout my life and career, anything I may have achieved can be attributed to lessons instilled in me by my teachers – from kindergarten all the way through college. From the pre-med and accounting professors who gently convinced me those fields were not a good fit for me, to the journalism professors who welcomed me, and taught me how to gather facts, organize and present my thoughts. 

I know most of us can point to specific teachers who guided and helped shape our own lives. But we should also remember that teachers are absolutely foundational to the functioning of our society. I have been to 90 countries, and I can tell you that where teachers abound there is more prosperity, more peace, more justice, more tolerance, and more health. And where teachers are scarce, the exact opposite is true.

One of the things I love most about being Chancellor is the opportunities I have to spend time with brilliant and passionate educators who are absolutely devoted to the success of their students. This certainly includes the Fellows of the UT System Academy of Distinguished Teachers. The Academy was created a few years ago to recognize exceptional teachers and enlist them as advocates for classroom innovation.

Recently, the Fellows, who hail from all eight UT universities and are professors in every conceivable field, met to discuss how they could help the students returning to class and, especially, those arriving at college for the first time. After much discussion, the group put together what they call their “best advice.” Dr. Catherine Ross, Associate Professor of English at UT Tyler and a Founding Fellow of the Academy, was kind enough to share it with me, and I am pleased to share it with all of you here. 

Thanks as always, for reading. I’ll write again soon.

Advice to Students from the Academy of Distinguished Teachers:

First, don’t be shy. Make friends and interact with fellow students in each of your classes. Find a group of like-minded peers who are studying the same things you are studying; interact with them outside of class. The friends you make your first year will often be friends for life. 

Second, keep healthy. Be careful what you eat (and drink!), get your rest, and exercise regularly. Find an activity you enjoy to relieve stress—running, swimming, tennis, dancing. 

Third, get to know your professors. In the first week of class visit your teachers’ office hours, introduce yourself, tell them about your hopes and plans, ask some questions. Make a connection and show them that you are taking college and your course work seriously. (They will like this.) Once classes are underway, cultivate a habit of talking with your professors before, during, and after class. 
    
What about your course work itself? First, be prepared for the work to be hard, recognize that you will need to learn how to learn in different ways than you did in high school. Second, accept the fact that you won’t be good at every challenge college presents you—but trust that you can get better, if you will work at it.
 
Here are some basic rules for classroom success; develop these habits in your first year, and they will serve you all through college and afterwards as well.

1. Buy the course materials–your professor will use them. If you have the choice between reading an assignment online or on your phone and in a book, choose the book.
2. Go to class, even if you didn’t do the homework, even if you don’t feel like it. Every single member of the Academy put this item at the top of their list.
3. Be ready for class. Do the assignments.
4. Participate actively in class. Take notes, ask questions (professors love questions), do the group work, or whatever your professors assign. They know what will help you succeed and are there to help you do just that.
5. Study early and often. A lot of high school students know how to “do their homework,” but haven’t learned how to study the way your professors will expect. “Study” means read carefully, take notes, think critically about what you have read, talk with others about it, and review or even re-read the assignment. Don’t wait till the night before the exam to get started. Trust us, in college, cramming rarely works.
6. Turn in your assignments on time. But, if for some reason you are going to be late, talk to your professor before the due date and make arrangements to turn your work in as soon possible.
7. Form study groups with other students in your classes. You will learn a lot from each other and make new friends as well.

Be responsible when it comes to your college experience. See an academic advisor early and often, keep track of your course requirements, your degree plan, and university policies about financial aid, grading, plagiarism, absence, illness, missed work, etc. Paying attention to these details will get you to graduation on time. 

Take teachers not classes; you will learn from and be inspired by the people more than the material. Challenge yourself with classes that expand your intellectual boundaries. When you graduate, you are going to enter a constantly changing workplace, so you must learn to be flexible and to develop a broad range of intellectual tools; expect that life’s opportunities will take you well beyond the focus of your college major. 

Finally, have fun—you are about to embark on the time of your life.