Students, in every class you take, you are part of the experience. And you get to decide what part you’ll play.
The disruptive student detracts from the course experience.
The pleasant student who prefers to achieve quietly, almost anonymously, exists within—neither improving nor detracting from—the course experience.
The driven student who works hard and earnestly chimes in when called on is contributing to the course experience.
The engaged student, who not only works hard but is also legitimately curious about the material, who’s willing to ask questions and to contribute to class discussions, who will do the work for the A but is more concerned about learning than she is about her GPA—that’s the indispensable student. She makes that class better for her peers and for her teacher. If she disappeared, people would notice. The class wouldn’t be the same without her.
Which student will likely fare best when asking the teacher for a college letter of recommendation?