How to succeed in studies

“How to get success in studies”? It is one of the common tensions of students. It is a real tough question but the answer largely depends upon how an individual looks the question. Does success mean getting high marks in examination or anything else? There’s nothing strong enough base to support or reject the fact that success in studies is gaining marks. But clearly success largely depends upon one’s interest and passion on studies.

Actually succeeding in studies is just expressing oneself in the field of one’s interest. For example, Albert Einstein did nothing extraordinary from his prospective, he just expressed himself in the field which he used to wonder form his childhood. He had a passion to find what would happen if he could travel at the velocity of light which later led to famous “Theory of Relativity”, it is an extraordinary achievement on the field of physics but to Einstein himself it was just a result of his passion, an outcome of his quest to know the reality of travelling in velocity of light.

Here as well, for example, if our interest is to know actually what gravity is, why we should study about gravitation, we will catch up the idea and after knowing new thing we would be happy and would be able to get those ideas set in mind. Gravitation thus would be an easy chapter for us students. But if our interest is not to know what actually gravity is but to know how to solve those so called “very important short questions or numerical” then the chapter gravitation, which I just called an easy chapter, turns out to be a difficult chapterand those numerical and short questions become a matter of headache in examination.

Having said all these, I present here a way to adjust oneself with studies. I believe that a student should have three C’s in his mind; namely “Concentration”, “Concept” and “Curiosity”.

Whatever a person does concentration on his work is very important to get the work done properly. In studies also concentration is very important. Inside the class when the lecturer is delivering a lecture the student must have his concentration on what his lecturer is saying. Being physically present inside the classroom is not just important a student must mentally be present inside the class. And the second of three C’s, concept, is the most important thing. Whatever is learnt or taught should be made into concept. Memorizing the formulae is not important but rather understanding what the formula has to relate with physical or practical aspect is more important.

Curiosity is another important aspect in study. Whatever is told or taught should be analyzed and the student must ask questions whichever is unclear or what seems to be more interesting. If there is a curiosity to learn new thing the amazing facts in studies would gradually be unfolded and more and more interest and curiosity would arise which would lead to better understanding.

Why students in Nepal are oriented more in getting mark and why do they take studies as burden is another question to address. One clear reason for this is a rubbish mindset created in students created by society and teachers. I present here a common example of what happens in the classroom. A teacher teaching diode or transistor tells the student that the topic diode is a very important five mark question; this would make the student to be oriented in gaining mark in examination. S/he would not even think of the logical work a non living piece of circuit element would do. If instead the teacher tells that the diode is a logical circuit element that it can perform logical work of determining which terminal is at higher potential and which is at lower potential, the student will certainly be fascinated with the logical task of diode and the topic diode would be easy to him.

It is a matter of common experience that if we have watched an interesting film just once, we would be able to tell the whole three hour story of film without any difficulty but if we have no interest in what rubbish simple machine is, a one line definition of simple machine becomes rather difficult than the whole three hour story of film.

Had Einstein or Newton been oriented in gaining marks in physics the present extraordinary achievement in the field of physics would have been impossible. I will clearly suggest my all the students not to make examination a part of education, but to realize that examination is just a part of education system. Enjoy whatever you learn and learn whatever you interest at. The science we study posses immense potential of fun and joy just try to discover that potential the whole problem of success in study would be solved within seconds.