SPOTLIGHT ON EXCELLENCE
by Sir Peter Birkett | August 2021 | Education
FRAMING THE SUCCESSFUL SCHOLAR
(PART TWO)
Many studies exist on how to predict student drop-out from Colleges or University. Poor attendance, risky social behaviours, low expectations, low achievement and lack of engagement with college life are all indicators of a young person who has effectively given up on their academic future.
In Part One, we identified 8 main points which all successful students follow, so let’s now look at some other key points which will help Frame the Successful Scholar:
- Identify bite size short-term learning goals that link with your longer term ambitions.
- Regular honest self-assessment is essential to keep yourself on track and helps to identify any potential pitfalls before they arise.
- Connect with your tutor, ask questions regularly to improve your understanding of a subject to avoid gaps. A sense of being ‘left behind’ can feel as if you have lost control, and this will inevitably create stress.
- Read for 30 minutes non-stop and take a break, this allows the brain to assimilate the information better.
- Summarize what you have just read on paper to retain it in your memory.
- Keeping to a routine is important — especially establishing regular sleeping patterns.
- The brain benefits from rest and mindless activity occasionally to allow it to reset — so don’t overload yourself with work and worry!
I always try to do the following 3 things every day:
- Do something good
- Retain a constant
- Learning something new
The secret to all successful students is commitment to most of the above points we have covered in these two blogs. Perfectionist traits are not synonymous with success — we need to be able to fall down occasionally to allow us to appreciate the times we do triumph. Failure is part of life and is a part of Learning.
Thomas Edison was described as ‘too stupid to learn anything’ by his teachers. This did not deter him from his goal, however, and after 10,000 failed attempts, he finally invented the lightbulb and changed the world. His retort was ‘I have not failed, I have just found 10,000 ways that something won’t work!’
Edison showed us that success is all about reframing your thoughts about something, rather than giving up because it feels ‘an impossible task’.
‘The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.’
Lao Tzu
