By Mzukona Mantshontsho
The National Lockdown started on Thursday 26 March 2020 at midnight announced by President Cyril Matamela Ramaphosa.
These disruptions will impact severely the disadvantaged boys and girls and their families. I hope the current circumstances force a longer-term transformational shift in the way we educate our youth.
As the year is picking up momentum, it sometimes seems as if there are more tasks that need to be done than there are too few hours in the day to complete them.
Be it assignments to submit or deciding which university to apply to, it can all become very overwhelming and one would be tempted to just throw in the towel. However, it is always helpful to remember the old proverb “you can only eat an elephant one spoon at a time”.
Therefore, cease every task with a conquering mentality, knowing that you can do it. The completion of every assignment, no matter how big or small, will take you one step closer to your dream.
Work with passion and excellence, keeping in mind that it is not always about what you are doing but that it is also about what you are learning in the process and how it is changing you for the better.
When tough times come, and the temptation to give up is knocking at your door, always remember to keep focus on the end goals as this will give you strength to carry on.
Spoke to top performing learner in 2015 at Blue Eagle High School Siyabonga Khanyi who shared some of her study tips, particularly the Matric Class of 2021.
She had the following valuable insights and tips:
Trust in the Lord in everything. Do not rely on your own ability but in His power. Faith without works is dead – James 2 verses 14 to 26.
You need Focus: – focus has several elements:
o Be true to your studies
o Say no to procrastination
o Train yourself to always believe in education.
Some Study Tips:
TIME management is vital, and a study time-table is a MUST.
Being Organized:
• School books/textbooks
• Study sessions
• Study place
• Ask for assistance if you are challenged,
• Be inquisitive be free to talk to your teachers- ask even if things seem to be easy,
• Always offer to assist -that brings balance in recalling things you have done before,
• Highlight every important part of the subject or what you study – colours always assist you to remember,
• Do extensive research
• Enough sleep helps
• Reduce eating junk food because the food drains your energy
• BELIEVE IN WHAT YOU ARE DOING- NOTHING IS EVER HARD
• Drink lots of water and healthy balance diet for the brain to function properly
• Have a book where your write your definitions and you can always paste them on the wall, so you read them regularly
• Lastly, have fun at all times-this is because whenever you have fun you never forget.
How did you organise yourself during you final year to the end of the year?
The longer you give yourself, the more time you have to discover and work on those areas that are weak. You also give yourself more time to go and find the support you need,” my favourite quote. Have a Mentor, Mrs. Mosane was and still is my highlight during my high school days besides my family.
Mrs. Mosane became my mentor the first day she became my physical science teacher. Grown as I am, I still find her more productive in my journey. Perseverance is critical. Even if you do not have a glowing academic record, it is never too late to give your best – when you start trying, you’ll start succeeding.
During my mid-year and preliminaries examinations I had to understand that every exam that we were writing reflected the final examination, so I had to pull myself up when writing the exam and make sure that I understand the key objectives of the exam.
This helped because I could relate with the final exam. It’s vital that when you write an exam especially in matric that you understand every question structure: getting used to it and not just answering the questions because you think you know the answers but answering the question because you understand the clear objective of what the question wants. This pulled me through all my examinations before my FINALS.
Any advice on funding for tertiary education?
Bursaries are everywhere, apply and apply. There is no way that you can be rejected and make sure that you shake up your results, because there are millions of students. You don’t want to be one of those who are on standby and not accepted because someone got an average better than yours.
Top performing learner in 2015 at Blue Eagle High School Siyabonga Khanyi.
