How To Improve Your Grades: What To Do

In the introductory part of this topic, we specifically pointed out that learning is more important than good grades. A good grade with no mental power which is the real essence of education is nothing.

So, when learning is taken seriously, how can a student make good grades? If a box is filled with so many junks and just a few important things, it will be very hard to retrieve when you what to make use of the important things. Finding will be very hard. The box is your brain. The more junks like Tvs, video games, social medias, music you keep in it, the lesser space for the important things and when it is time to retrieve, its almost impossible. Junks will keep coming out. What you get is Ds, Es and Fs

Students with poor grades blame it on so many things and people but themselves. “the teacher is wicked, I don’t like him, he is boring” “the examination questions are too hard” “oooo! Its luck”  The truth is, Laziness is the major reason behind low grades.

Students with good grades aren’t all geniuses. They only do some things which the low graded students are too lazy or aren’t just doing. Serious students set goals for themselves and work hard to achieve them. They think of knowledge before grades. Thinking of grades before knowledge is academically disastrous. Students with good grades are organized and scheduled. Good students know that making good grades depends solely on them and not the hard questions, Teachers, luck or any other external factor. The lazy wants the good things and they sometimes fake seriousness so that people won’t call them lazy but in their mind, its empty.

How do you study?

An educational psychological journal states that “an increase in time spent on homework has a positive effect on a student’s grades in school” it further said that “with 1 or 3 hours of home work a week, the average low ability student can achieve grades commensurate with an average ability student who does not do homework.”

You need to be hard on yourself if you want to make good grades in school. Discipline yourself when it comes to distractions when studying. Tv, music or anything that can easily distract you must be avoided.

Where do you study?

No doubt a very quiet and spacious environment is the best to have an effective study. If you can’t get it in your home, look for it elsewhere; might be a friend’s place, or even a public library. Your reading table must be spacious, get all you need so as to reduce the numbers of time you need to stand up, it’s a distraction. Make sure the environment is well lighted and ventilated to reduce tiredness.

I am sometimes not in the mood to read

Some psychologists have advised that it’s better not to study if you don’t feel like so as not to stress one thing or the other in your neurological system, bla bla bla. But tell me, is it every day the adults feel like working? NO but they make it a habit. It’s a must for them to work so that they can take care of their responsibilities. Good grade here is your responsibility and you have to make studying a habit. You will get used to it. This might help. Just as workers get used to their office space, you too can maintain same study spot, be it in your home or in the library.

Your study routine

·         Be organized. Arrange what you are going to study.

·         Don’t just jump into it. Try glance through the whole materials you are about to study.

·         As you glance through jot down points you know you might find hard to grasp.

·         Now, as you glance through and jotting, make questions on your own. Put them down.

With all these, you have just prepared your mind for studying, you have also set a goal – what to achieve at the end of the study. Now, as you study, find answers to the questions you have made for yourself. Now go back to the second step, glance through again and you will realize that you are now more familiar with the material. You should try to set questions again and answer them and answer without looking into the material. This will help you to remember what you have studied. Make sure you plan a break in-between if the material to be studied is lengthy. I made mention of a box in the beginning, as you store valuable information in it, you start to feel knowledgeable, you will be self motivated to want to add more to your box (brain/mind)

Ahhhhhh……. I guess I’ve passed my boundary of 500 or 600 words. Lets conclude this topic in our next discussion we will touch test preparation and dealing with failure.

Like I always say, I appreciate your audience and will be happy and motivated to read your comments and feedback.