ncssm I the stentoria
opinions
September 2002 ■ 5
How to Win Grades and Influence Teachers
Davis Bowen
A s a senior here at this
estimable institution, I
feel I have some
advice to give to the class of
2004. I will attempt to share
with the juniors the correct
procedure to getting on a
teacher's "good side". This is
an oft-overlooked aspect of
high school, but an important
one! If you can manage to be
one of the teacher's favorites,
surely things will turn out in
your favor during your two-
year career here.
First, it is important to
demonstrate mastery of the
subject being taught. You can
do this by simply never doing
your homework, and claiming
to know everything being
taught already.
This shows teachers that
you are a "go-getter" with the
ability to leam without need
ing to show off your talent.
This also saves them time
grading your homework, and
teachers value free time just as
much as you do!
Next, it's important to
develop a strong personal
bond between your teacher
and yourself You should start
calling them every day to see
what's going on with them and
to "chat them up", and occa-
Triangle Shirtwaist Company
disaster to the time your cat
got locked in the attic, be sure
to share.
sionally invite yourself over to
their house to eat.
If they tell you that they
are busy, just go ahead and
sneak in and wait for them.
They may say that you are
"invading their privacy" and
that they are "calling the
cops", but don't worry. These
are just formalities, and once
you post bail and get back to
class, you'll surely be reward
ed for your devotion to study.
Another great way to
show your knowledge of the
subject being discussed is to
relate what is going on in class
to something in your life. You
should find things in class that
remind you of long stories,
and be sure to tell the whole,
class your story. If, for exam
ple, you can relate the
This is
called "putting
things in con
text", and
teachers are
glad to spare a
few minutes of class time so
that you can make sure every
one knows that you are on top
of things. It also helps the
teacher, because if you spend
time talking in class, they
don't have to spend as much
time trying to think of what to
say for a
Once you post bail and . ,
get back to class, you'll fifty-
surely be rewarded for minute
your devotion to stud^J ^L'y^ii
be very happ^nat you bailed
them out for a few minutes,
and your valiant rescue effort
will not go unnoticed.
Hopefully, if you put
these tips to work, you will be
the apple of your teacher's eye
in no time. Either that, or
you'll just end up seeming
weird, but chances are, if
you're here at NCSSM, seem
ing weird has never really
been an issue for you.
If these methods really do
cause' you to wind up in jail, feel
free to call me. I reserve the right
to laugh at you before bailing you
out.
L**l
.•As**
i
^ v«tL
Andrew Chen
Meg Sorber asks a question in ciass in order to get a few brownie points from Dr. Teague.
Keycards: working hard or hardly working?
By Vera Dadqk
T he keycard system, like
Communism, is a good
idea in theory, but not
in practice.
I'll admit that when I first
heard about keycards, 1 was
not wild about the idea, but I
could see some valid points.
However, now that the system
has been installed, its defects
more than outweigh any ben
efits.
When keycards came into
our lives, students made a
horrifying discovery. An irri
tating, loud, and useless alarm
is attached to the system on
Bryan halls. If at any time an
unsuspecting student or facul
ty member happens to lean on
the door, forgets to flash the
card, or does not wait long
enough after flashing his or
her card, an alarm will go off.
Back in the good old
days, an attempt to open the
door without a code resulted
in the door remaining closed,
but now there is an alarm
every single time. I, for one,
am very glad that 1 don't live
near the doorway.
This alarm is intended to
keep us safer, but since some
one on hall would have
already opened the door by
the time security arrives, any
murderers who were trying to
enter would have already
done so.
Perhaps the purpose is to
get the attention of people on
halls, so that instead of
knocking, people can make a
louder noise by turning on the
alarm. I seriously doubt this
since it is connected to the
security computer, but
nonetheless I predict that peo
ple will use it as a doorbell,
and also as a prank. I am
already imaginiiig a year of
hit-the-bar-and-run pranks as
people walk by.
In addition to the huge
hassle that the alarm of this
system is creating, the key-
card system is not working
well. Newly installed, this
system is already inoperable
much of the time.
So far
I "Newly installed, this
system is already
inoperable much of
the time.
there have
been two
major forms
of malfunc
tion that
have endan
gered our safety. Sometimes
the readers don't work at all:
the keycards aren't necessary.
and the doors open for anyone
who pushes on them with no
problems. At
Dhruti Patel
Third Bryan RLAs, Vera Dadok and Genevieve Woipert, eagerly display their new keycards.
other times
the doors will
open for any
one, but the
alarm goes
off for every
one, card or no card.
Another safety flaw is the
likeliness of people losing
their cards. Not only is
always carrying a card around
an annoyance, it is also an
inevitable way to lose the
card. Anyone could pick up a
card and get onto residential
halls. Before, it required a
student to purposefully tell
someone the code, limiting
the spread of information.
Now someone could steal a
card or find a card, and before
that account is canceled,
everyone on that hall is at
risk.
1 think that keycards are a
hassle, an annoyance, and a
disruption to our peaceful hall
atmosphere, increasing inse
curity, confusion, and ten
sions. It is one more thing to
worry about, and although the
system may be working hard,
it's hard to work and hardly
working.