This is how you attain academic resolutions

We’ve embarked on a new year, many people have a tendency of setting resolutions for the year ahead. However, having or not having a plan on what to do or not to do this year is one thing, while implementing it is another. Success magazine talks to teachers, parents and students on what students need to do in order to achieve new year resolutions.

Baobab Secondary School teacher Mohamed Machella, says in order to achieve your resolutions, first of all everyone has to play his/her part. Students have their part to play, the same applies to parents as well as teachers. “For students, they are supposed to work hard on their studies by paying attention to their teachers and cooperating with their fellow students. If it happens that they don’t understand then they should ask,” he says

He continues, “Parents have to fulfill their responsibilities like making sure that they follow up their children’s academic progress, and they should work together with teachers, this will help a student to achieve his/her resolutions . Teachers are supposed to be well-prepared with their curriculum, they are also supposed to be good advisers to students and communicate with parents for the progress of the student.”

Philbert Komu, a lecturer at Dar es Salaam University, department of Ethics and Philosophy, says New Year resolutions are a western tradition. “ In Africa we don’t set goals at the beginning of the year, what we do is wait for the year to start then later we come to our senses that we were supposed to plan ahead.

“Africans have no such tradition. We solve a problem as it comes. We never plan on issues,” he says

However, for Arese Ugwu, author of “The Smart Money Woman”, resolutions are made in order to change something, and the New Year is often seen as a convenient time for new beginnings, that is why it is the time when most people make their resolutions. She says this starts from home. Being a parent, she has to make sure her daughter Zikora, who is seven years old, achieves her dreams although she is young but relatively old enough to articulate the things she wants for her life.

Michael Mwakilasa, a parent, is of the opinion that in order for a student or child to achieve 2019 resolutions, as a parent you can help her/him by first having them write those resolutions and post them on a special notice board so that everyone can see them. It will give them a motive to prove to their peers.

“Parents should challenge their children by creating a family resolution, and creating a weekly or monthly follow up. For teachers, they should create rewards for achievers, challenges are very popular with students. Therefore teachers should get involved by creating a monitoring system whereby students will be challenged to succeed if they are slipping,” he adds

Mwakilasa says in order for students to achieve their resolutions, they should form groups to motivate themselves or work in groups.

In his opinion Seif Mhata, an overseas University student thinks New Year resolutions are quite personal that in order for them to be achieved successfully they must be made without any external influences.

For this reason once a resolution has been made, in order for it to be achieved both the individual and the people surrounding them must be supportive, transparent and offer polite reminders.

“If a student makes a resolution to lose weight or improve on grades or even quit a bad habit such as smoking or eating unhealthy beverages and snacks. Then what the parents can do is make the home and living environment suitable for these changes,” he says

“In addition, kind reminders and follow ups can make a big contribution as well.

Parents can always try to take the time to ask on how the students’ resolutions are going. A year is long, kind reminders and follow up questions can help the students fulfill their goals,” he adds.

Mhata continues; “Transparency is very important, because as human beings we can often lose track of our goals and drift away from our schedules and as students we need to learn to lose and be able to overcome losses without losing hope.”

For Magreth Mushi, a Speaker at youth seminars and symposiums, a resolution is something very important at the beginning of a year and students should have a plan on how to go about their resolutions, be it in studies or any other thing. For a student to be successful he/she must play their role.

“Parents should creates time and sit together with their children so that they can share their plans/goals and how they plan to achieve them. They should also have resolutions that are family related as well, these will act as lessons to their children,” she says.

Magreth, who is also an author of several youth books, one of them being 40 Tips on How To Pass Exams, says “Parents can also encourage children often to share how they are doing, and if there is any obstacle they should be ready to help.

Teachers, she says, should create a positive close relationship with students. This will help earn the students’ to trust. “Teachers can use the friendship built to show students the importance of planning and allow them to share their resolutions. Teachers should be able to encourage them and make follow up. Not only that, they should also make sure they attend all the lessons in class as shown on the class timetable.”

Every New Year marks the beginning of a new academic year. This period is always accompanied with enrollment of new students in schools, and continuing students advancing to new classes. This means that every student is new in each class.

According to author Godius Rweyongeza, at this very beginning of the year, students are always excited to perform better, work harder and reach higher goals.

However this inner fire is not always constant. Therefore it fades with time. By the mid of the semester, they begin to lose their ambitions, goals and stop focusing on their targets. They become tired!

Therefore, he advises that children need to be prepared for tomorrow early enough. This is an obligation fulfilled by students themselves, parents, teachers and well-wisher. It is possible for students to make it if everyone in the society will play his part.

“Every student has to make sure he is in the class right from the first day! There a tendency of students dodging the first days of school. They think that they will have more time to recover what they weren’t taught.

This is a lie. A good student attends all classes; he listens to the teachers, takes notes and asks questions. Once a student is taught in class, it remains upon him to make more practices repeatedly. Be curious.

A good student should be eager to know more, learn more and ask more questions! This is accompanied by reading more as teachers tend to offer more knowledge to students who show curiosity in learning,” he notes.

He advices student to choose well his/her peer group as student performance will depend with the type of company he keeps. He/she will always perform like his/her friends or a little bit above them. For him/her to perform better, they should hang around better students.

Also, a student shouldn’t get discouraged when things don’t go the way he/she wishes. If you do not understand some subjects at first make sure that obstacle should not discourage you from succeeding! Remember Rome wasn’t built in a day.