How to Suck Up to a Teacher Without Being Called a Kiss Up

Having a good relationship with your teachers or at least neutral ones, can make a big difference in your success (i.e., grades!). Believe it or not there are ways to get on your teacher's good side without drawing attention to yourself and turning into the class kiss up.

Nobody wants to be seen as a teacher's pet in school, but getting better grades are important and getting along with your teachers can greatly influence just how well you will do.

Follow these steps and you'll be getting better grades in no time!

Step 1: Show up (on time)

Probably the easiest step (for most of us) is to just show up on time to class. Yeah, showing up on time means you may not have as much time to talk to your friends in the halls or by the lockers, but to a teacher it means you're showing respect. And teachers love respect.

Showing up on time means you're not the one disrupting the class by coming in late. A sure way to draw negative attention is to arrive late, forcing the teacher to stop talking while everyone watches you meander (or rush) to your seat. If you want better grades, show up to school and classes on time.

Kiss UP Alert
Showing up too early and eagerly could result in the teacher's pet label so guard against that. Just show up before the bell rings and you will already be on the right track.

Step 2: Shut up

Don't talk during class and if possible, actually pay attention. (Note if you have problems paying attention, check out "How to take Good Lecture Notes" below, for some tips). Just being quiet and actually paying attention will not only earn you secret points with the teacher, but you might actually learn something and get better grades in school, too!

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You don't need to raise your hand for every question like the classic nerds and geeks on TV. That just annoys everyone.

Step 3: Turn in your homework (on time and completed)

Notice I didn't say your homework has to be perfectly neat or completely correct. Just trying your best and adhering to the teacher's due dates will make a HUGE impression. At many schools, you can get better grades just by turning homework in on time because lots of teachers mark off points when homework is turned in late.

Try to remember that once you turn in homework, your work is done, but the teacher's work on that homework is just beginning. Teachers have lives outside school, too (or they'd like to think so anyway) and it's frustrating and time consuming to grade Johnny's papers two days or two weeks later than everyone else's.

Every time you hand in homework late, you are putting the teacher behind in their work. Why draw negative attention to yourself by adding more to the teacher's work load? I wouldn't want to be the student that causes sighs and rolling eyes by the teacher when he or she gets home and has to grade late papers. Playing catch up isn't fun for anyone. Turning homework in on time doesn't make you a kiss up, it means you aren't drawing negative attention to yourself. A major key to getting better grades is doing your homework and turning it on time.

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Definitely don't make a scene by talking with the teacher about how exciting the 4 week project was. That's just disgusting.

Step 4: Try

"A" students may be easy for teachers to deal with but it's those students that try hardest that impress them the most. I can't say enough how important it is just to try. Try to do your best, not because you need to be an "A" student. Try your best because it makes life easier in the long run! Honestly, it does.

If you learn to try on a regular basis, it will make getting through the rest of your school years, as well as the rest of your life, so much easier. There will be a time in your life when you have to work, try things new and take risks. It's far better to learn how to try before you're out there on your own paying rent. If you try, the teachers will help you. They don't expect perfection they merely want some effort.

Some times you can even get better grades because the teacher gives you some unseen extra credit just for trying so hard.

Kiss Up Alert

Don't try to show you know more than everyone else (show off!). If you're smart, your teacher will see it.

Step 5: Ask for Help when you need it

This is more for you than for the teacher, but then again, being able to teach is what teachers wants to do. If you've done steps 1-4, your teacher will likely be very happy to help.

Often teachers make themselves available before or after school, sometimes by email. Your friends and enemies don't even need to know you're asking for help. Remember most teachers start teaching because they love your age group and want to teach. They certainly aren't in it for the money. It goes without saying that you can better your grades when you understand the subject better!

Kiss Up Alert

Volunteering to clean the erasers for a teacher every morning is kissing up. Going to get help when you need it, is just being smart.

In Summary

School and teachers are here for you. You are not here for them. See them as resources for your future instead barriers to your present. Follow these steps in school and you're on your way to better grades!