{"id":30798,"date":"2018-08-22T15:28:44","date_gmt":"2018-08-22T19:28:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/radicalteacher.com\/playbooks\/?page_id=30798"},"modified":"2018-08-29T15:33:07","modified_gmt":"2018-08-29T19:33:07","slug":"tristan-schwartz","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/radicalteacher.com\/playbooks\/tristan-schwartz\/","title":{"rendered":"Tristan Schwartz"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ next_background_color=”#000000″][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.0.48″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”1_4″][et_pb_post_title date_format=”j M Y” categories=”off” featured_image=”off” _builder_version=”3.12″ title_font_size=”20px” title_font_size_last_edited=”off|” title_font=”|700||on|||||” date=”off” comments=”off” meta=”off” \/][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”3_4″][et_pb_image src=”http:\/\/radicalteacher.com\/playbooks\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/andre-sanano-36243-unsplash.jpg” show_bottom_space=”off” align=”center” _builder_version=”3.12″ \/][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ custom_padding=”0|0px|42.5833px|0px|false|false” prev_background_color=”#000000″][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.12″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.12.2″]<\/p>\n

Abandon your instincts<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the thinygs you\u2019ll hear from (t)om more times than you can count throughout the semester is to forget about your traditional classroom practices.\u00a0 At surface level, this means stop raising your hand, create your own grading system, and DO NOT call him \u201cDr. King!\u201d\u00a0 But past the semantics, there is a very important piece of yourself that you need, and need to want (I\u2019ll explain), to leave at the door to succeed in this experience (it feels wrong to call this a class):\u00a0 your pride.\u00a0 This has layers, and is a culmination of many things I learned in this class, so bear with me through it.<\/p>\n

First of all, you don\u2019t need to do anything in this section of MGT 401.\u00a0 No, seriously.\u00a0 First day of class, tell tom you don\u2019t want attendance to be a factor in the grading system and you don\u2019t have to step foot in that room again.\u00a0 Granted, you\u2019re not going to pass, but you won\u2019t be getting an email, \u201cYou\u2019ve missed two out of three of your allotted unexcused absences, one more and you\u2019ll be losing a letter grade.<\/em>\u201d\u00a0 In fact, you probably won\u2019t get any email at all.\u00a0 What you will get, after a few weeks, is a GroupMe message, a phone call, or a tap on the shoulder walking across campus from a classmate (likely classmates) who cares.\u00a0 Because after a few weeks, they want to be there, and my hope is that you want to be there too.\u00a0 Once that mindset shift happens, everything that was once an obligation is suddenly a source of excitement.<\/p>\n

Now back to the pride discussion<\/strong><\/p>\n

This one is obvious, so I won\u2019t spend too much time on it, but remember to ask questions.\u00a0 This is complex course material and none of my class knew anything coming in.\u00a0 The kids who acted like they knew everything in the beginning were annoying (I can say that because one of those kids is now one of my closest friends, and part of that comes from this experience).\u00a0 Equally annoying are the kids who refuse to ask questions for whatever reason.\u00a0 Everyone is starting at zero, and everything you gain from this experience is progress and can help you in many aspects of life, both personal and professional, so be comfortable knowing what you don\u2019t know, and ask questions to learn.<\/p>\n

The first time I got recognition for my contributions to the group was when I drew the connection to the text that we each bring something unique to the table, and can\u2019t possibly be good at everything, so we should focus on what we\u2019re good at and let someone else handle what we\u2019re not-so-good at, because there\u2019s probably someone who is good at it sitting across from you.\u00a0 Forget about being the \u201cCEO\u201d of the group that is a finance whiz and a brilliant marketer.\u00a0 You\u2019re one of 20 students, you don\u2019t need to carry everyone.\u00a0 I always wanted to be great at the finance stuff and work with money.\u00a0 Turns out I\u2019m better at strategizing and organizing\/talking to others.\u00a0 Lucky for us, there was a pre-finance MBA guy on the team who gladly took care of the numbers better than anyone, while I made sure we were working cohesively.\u00a0 Win-win-win (for all you Michael Scott fans):\u00a0 I got to be good at something, he got to be good at something, and the class was saved from my mediocre knowledge of financial statements clouded by pride and my desire to be someone I was not.<\/p>\n

Here comes the most important part<\/strong><\/p>\n

You know how it\u2019s cool to not care?\u00a0 Not do the readings, make jokes about it, sleep through class because 10am is early and you don\u2019t need to be there?\u00a0 Not so cool here.\u00a0 Ask me why I have a D on my transcript from Managerial Accounting my freshman year Spring semester, I thought I was too cool to ask for help to the point that I dug myself out of a GPA ditch the rest of my college career.\u00a0 If there\u2019s one thing I learned early at PC it was to not be a hardo in class; not the case here. Whether we admit it or not, this is a serious feeling that every student worries about at some point.\u00a0 You don\u2019t want to be that guy or girl that takes learning so seriously in the classroom that you affect your relationships with the kids around you when you walk out the door.<\/p>\n

Please take this advice seriously and abandon that worry, at least for this course.\u00a0 Expressing \u201cunpopular\u201d opinions is necessary for growth in Organizational Theory.\u00a0 Arguing with your group members (respectfully) is necessary for growth in Organizational Theory.\u00a0 Progress will not be made without conflict, and letting fear for personal relationships get in the way of that conflict is a damn shame.\u00a0 I promise you that giving your all to this experience will not make you lose friends, and in the end, you\u2019ll be thanked by your teammates for it.\u00a0 If it\u2019s any reassurance, my classmate Jackie and I, as two of the most outspoken in the group, outwardly argued most classes from day one.\u00a0 We didn\u2019t agree on much that we learned at first, and expressed that often.\u00a0 Despite that, she is one of my closest friends and one of the people I talk to most, even after graduation, and we didn\u2019t really even know each other until halfway through our junior year in MGT 401.\u00a0 Like I said, this is a learning experience, not a class, and everything you can take away from it will give you skills to succeed in many aspects of life, so start that personal growth as early as possible (even if it means looking like a hardo in front of 19 other students).<\/p>\n

Lastly (and I only thought of this as I was re-reading so I\u2019m putting it here), be candid, be genuine.\u00a0 I\u2019m using those two to avoid sounding corny by saying be yourself.\u00a0 Forget professionalism, forget formalities, forget stringent rules,\u00a0 IF that\u2019s not you.\u00a0 If it IS you, then remember them.\u00a0 Every stage of life needs every kind of person.\u00a0 Be the person that is most authentically you, because that\u2019s the person your group needs you to be, and that\u2019s the person you\u2019ll be most comfortable being.\u00a0 Remember this inside and outside the classroom.<\/p>\n

SO, if I can give you any advice as to how to leave your pride at the door in a few bullets:<\/p>\n