How to be an A+ student

Everyone loves to be a winner. We all want to excel in our books and to pass with flying colours. This will enable us to secure a bright future and to get the best in life. There are, however, certain critical elements that make for an A+ student.

An A+ student must have a clear vision of his/her life. He must know early in life what he wants to become in future. This requires knowledge of oneself in terms of likes, abilities and completeness as well as a thorough knowledge of the environment and the opportunity that it offers. A good vision should not have a goal that is easily achievable; it should stretch one to his or her fullest potential.

A good and captivating vision should normally cause one to be disciplined and single-minded in the pursuit of their goal. Discipline is the hallmark of a successful person; it enables one to stay focused in their goal and to avoid distractions. Discipline should come from within an individual because of their personal vision—it should not be something that is enforced by parents or teachers, but it must be personal and intrinsic.

An excellent student must be organized. Study is too important a task to be left unplanned. There must be a study programme that one adheres to religiously. A study programme should come into effect right from the onset of a course. One should be consistent in study over the whole continuum of the course. Information and skills developed consistently and over a period time are more useful in an examination room than the outcome of a last minute crash programme. Do all your assignments early, do not procrastinate.

Learn to participate in class. Participation enhances understanding and enables one to stay focused on the lesson. The mind of a passive person is easily distracted. Participation makes one stay alert and awake.

An exceptional student must believe in himself/herself particularly in his/her ability to learn and to understand what is taught or what he/she reads. We may not all understand at the same pace, but we all have the ability to comprehend. Confidence in oneself is, however, is not the same thing as complacence; it is the positive attitude that enables one to take up a task or to attend a lesson with enthusiasm.

Success in school requires resilience. One should not be a quitter. There is need for perseverance and endurance. Loss of a battle does not mean loss of the war. The road to success is littered with many failures. The successful person is the one who frequently picks themselves up, dusts themselves up and forges ahead, spurred on by the lessons learnt from previously failures.

There are obviously a lot of other aspects that make an A+ student. In this article, however, I have gleaned a few nuggets that, from experience, I consider to be most crucial.