Pay attention, this is important.

Pay attention, this is important.

While you are somnolently (that means sleepily) cruising through another day on Planet College, you may, while sitting in one class or another hear your instructor say, "OK. Pay Attention. This is important." While the temptation is to let this become a part of the endless ebb of sights and sounds of another school day you could be well advised to actually do what she says. That is, Pay attention.

Here's why.

While it is generally a given that students need to pay attention in class, that is why they are there, it is also a given that they don't. Don't usually pay attention. With this in mind many instructors have learned to highlight important material, material they regard as important, with the introduction at the top of this post.

Your instructor in this course has spent many, many hours of her life preparing to teach this course. Really. So when she determines something is important she is going tell the class, "This is important." What this means is that this lesson, presentation, set of facts, formula, author or whatever she is referring to is going to be on the test. Yes. That is why she is calling the classes' attention to it. Instructors are like that. They like to point out stuff they think is important.

There. That was important.