Characteristics of a Perfect Student

I teach children with special educational needs. Some of these children have learning differences, some have behavioral disorders, and others have physical disabilities. I teach children in the autism spectrum, children with auditory processing problems, children with emotional behaviors, children with dyslexia, children who have attention deficit disorders with or without hyperactivity and children who have a combination of some or all of the above.

My students are special children. They must work harder than those children in the regular education class to just keep up with their peers. Where a student in the regular education classroom could take ten minutes to complete an activity, one of my students may take up to an hour for the same activity.

If students in the regular education class would work as hard as the students in my special education classroom do, they would all have perfect scores and, even more important, be prepared to learn for life.

• Students are prepared for class. They have all of their supplies, paper, pencils, and any other needed items close and ready to use. They have studied their lessons and completed any assignments.

• Students are ready to listen and learn. They are not playing around or talking with friends. Their minds are on the lesson and not on what they are going to do later at home.

• As the teacher is speaking, students are listening and asking questions when they don’t understand something. The teacher knows that students are paying attention by listening to the questions. A great student wants to understand everything about the lesson.
• Students want to learn. They don’t want to come in to class and just sit and waste time until the bell rings, they get involved and actively take part in the learning process. They know that they must participate in order to take full advantage of what the teacher is trying to teach.
• When it comes time to work, students do their best. They don’t just go down the page and answer questions, they research to find the best answer. They don’t take the easy way out, they put in the hard work to get the best answer.
• Students know how important learning is and try to motivate others to do their best. When a friend is talking and should be working, a great student will redirect their friend to the assignment. If a friend is having difficulty, a great worker will guide them to the right answers. A great student will not give his friend the answer, but will give them the information to find the answer.
• Students know how to solve problems. Not just 1+1=2, but how to find the information in their textbooks, online or through life. They know how to work with others to get the best answer and how best to get others to get along and solve problems.
• Students know that their behavior is also key to learning. They know that if they are off task, talking and creating a scene, they can’t learn and they keep other from learning, as well.
• Students stick with a problem until it gets solved. They don’t give up at the first sight of trouble. If they can’t get the answer one way, they find another way to get it solved. They are persistent and keep on going.
• Students have fun learning. This doesn’t mean they are playing around and goofing off, it means that they actually enjoy the process of learning. They love learning and teaching new strategies. They love to spread their fun of learning with others.

There are many more characteristics of a perfect student, but these are a great start. My students must do all of these things in order to learn to the best of their ability. All students can take these suggestions to do the same.