I read many research papers to understand the front vs back bench effect. But how can we compare success? Marks? Future salary? Satisfaction?
Hi everyone! How have you been doing? While reading the research articles, I remembered my own funny incidents of school and college and I have tried to list them here. As always, feel free to write back and you know I always respond. So here we go:
Once upon a time, we used to attend physical classes. And we would mostly choose a similar seat everyday.
There's some notion about back benchers. You know what I am talking about:p
Read the line: "Poori ke liye jagah nahi hai yaar"
What about first benchers?
Well they are considered 'studious guys', 'teacher's pet'! Basically nerds who consider teachers their ideal guru.
My college friends will relate with, "Where's the duster?" Lol
Since most of the time I was a front bencher, I present to you my side of the story.
# We attack the teachers! Haha no offense to them. (We love them). We counter question and don't let them take it lightly:p
# We are not afraid to ask anything from the teacher. Nope, no fear. Okay, maybe a pinch of fear. But we are daring and don't settle easily.
# We want to be the first to attack with answers and the first to listen to the lecture. Strange but focus on the aggressive approach to learning!
# We don't care about a peanut if anyone's sitting behind us. Yup that was me. Not even turning my head to notice anyone behind.
[Apologies to my best friends who used to sit behind me and are reading this. (I miss you guys.)]
# Offense is the best defense!
Though shy, we are fearless in asking questions.
# Oh and we happily scare them by pointing out all their mistakes. (Hehe evil side, don't consider us all nice and nerdy)
And though I might have exaggerated a tiny bit, you get the point :D
Let's talk about the back benchers!
I have bonded with friends in the back seats. I have had food, read a whole book and written many poems in that last bench! My guys have played whole tournaments there. [ Yup I am talking about you Namu:p ]
# Creativity and freedom are the perks.
# There's a certain attitude change at back benches. You are free! Also, not to forget, your sense of humour increases and you become fearless.
What are/were you?
A first bencher or a back bencher? Or somewhere in between?
(Record your response here: https://forms.gle/aLF7rF2RQ19PaDHm6)
But wait, you must be thinking why am I talking about this! I read a Bill Gates quote recently, "If you want to pass, ask first bench students. If you want success, ask the last bench students."
And in one video, Dr APJ Kalam admitted that he was a back bencher himself! And this made me think.
If someone has talent and s/he's ready to work hard, they can always succeed. Sitting right under your professor's nose can bring you focus but the true ingredients to success lies in personal efforts. Last bencher can be fearless and hardworking too. We know that, right? Let me tell you about an incident.
…………….
The Kurkure Supremacy
6 yrs back, I was a back bencher for some time and gained 'the back bencher habits'. So when I sat on the front bench in my favourite-Math period. I sat with a packet of Kurkure. And while solving the integration question, I took out a piece of kurkure.. and almost let it enter my mouth when my teacher caught me. I froze instantly like a photograph!
It was something like this:
Imagine the scene: I am looking at the board. One hand on my notebook to copy the question from the blackboard while one hand frozen in my mouth while depositing kurkure. And worst case, I smiled while getting caught. You can imagine what happened then:')
[ Still remember how I offered kurkure to my teacher shamelessly after getting caught and heard a lot of scolding. But I got away as I was her fav student that time:p ]
…………..
The book I am currently reading:
Pic of the month
Yup, that's me. Weird and shy and having no idea what I did and freezing in the cold while going for a walk. Also I realized I do not have a pic to share :)
My poetic ass did find some time for some lines though.
Rhymes
‘Umr bhar hum yehi galti karte rahe, Dhool thi chehre par, aaina paunchte rahe’- Mirza Ghalib
[I made a mistake all my life – there was dust on my face, but I kept wiping the mirror.]
______
If you want intoxication, how about getting intoxicated with dreams and ambitions? I wrote these lines for exact feelings. Happiness is just a driving force while satisfaction is the real game. And are we truly satisfied without any meaning of life?
Personal Ramblings
How do you 'chill'? In a conversation with one of my friends who prefers to go anonymous for childish reasons, we came to a conclusion that the reason some people don't wish to chill is because they regret wasting time and are anxious about missing an opportunity to learn something. While it may seem productive but isn't a sustainable approach for keeping oneself engaged and entertained in the long run. The idea of having a good time may seem counterintuitive to productivity but it may arise from insecurity and regret of time management issues and overly single-minded approach towards life. A feeling of not deserving to enjoy because you haven't achieved something substantial is a vicious cycle because you will always have something more to achieve. And so in case you fall in the breed of ignoring entertainment and being too productive, this paragraph was for you.
But having said that, different people can enjoy it in different ways. There need not be a common way of enjoyment. One may like to travel and learn new languages and explore than stay put. However, this month, I watched a couple of movies: Rocket Singh and Hridayam. And completed learning alphabets of Tamil and German. Heading to the grammar section from next month. Pretty decent improvement from previous months!
It's fine to have different ways to enjoy yourself. I am curious to know how you entertain yourself.
Until next month
Take care and keep shining!
Nishant (or Nish or Bookishnish)
P.S: I am attaching a book I thought of sharing.
You can, of course, always write to me by simply replying to this newsletter.
Or stay in touch by following me across channels:
………………………………………………………
If your friend has shared this with you, you can subscribe here.
Feedbacks, suggestions or anonymous comments are most welcome here.
Unsubscribe here.
You can access the previous newsletter here.
And don’t make the mistake of eating kurkure on the first bench. Bye!
‘Where you find such crazy songs’ was one response that made me send another: Battle cry by Angel Haze. Vanakkam and Tschüss.
Comments
Post a Comment