TALKING ABOUT FAILURE

It may surprise you that I am talking about failure. Every average Nigerian would quickly reject it with the following sayings; “ it is not my portion” “ back to sender” “God forbid” and many other phrases like that which are actually misleading so many young people today to believe that any time you experience failure in any activity you engage in, that something evil is responsible for it. I am not here to talk about religion or religious beliefs.  However, just as Senator Ben Murray Bruce would say, I want to make common sense, hope you would be willing to reason with me.
Failure in itself is not a bad thing, it depends on how we see it. I want to begin my discussion with the following quotes.
⦁ You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don’t try – Beverly Sills (1929)
⦁ Nobody cleared a path for themselves by giving up. – Alacia Bessette (2010)
⦁ If at first you don’t succeed, find out if the loser gets anything. – Bill Lyon.
I am discussing failure as a topic, because, the results of the last session’s examinations are already being released by different departments. Many people would record success, while many may fail one or two courses. How you handle your failure would determine your success in subsequent examinations. Therefore, rather than looking for the causes of your failure from the outside, I want to encourage you to take out time to review what factors actually contributed to your failure. It may be:
1. Lack of adequate time to study,
2. Inappropriate study habit, study skills and attitude,
3. Examination anxiety,
4. Over-confidence,
5. Misplacing your priority during examination period, that is, ‘robbing Peter to pay Paul’,
6. Hoping that there are other shortcuts to success, which may disappoint you at last.
After you have reviewed the factors listed above, you would definitely identity one problem or the other that contributed to your failure. You therefore need to consciously work on that problem in order to overcome it before the next examination.  Let me conclude with the following quote.

“Don't be discouraged by a failure. It can be a positive experience. Failure is, in a sense, the highway to success, inasmuch as every discovery of what is false leads us to seek earnestly after what is true, and every fresh experience points out some form of error which we shall afterwards carefully avoid.’’
John Keats
English lyric poet (1795 - 1821)

Thank You.

IMPROVING YOUR READING SKILLS

                             
Have you ever read a book? How well did you understand what you read,? or do you find it difficult to finish any book you decide to read. Reading is the process of looking g at a series of writer symbols and getting meaning from them. Some people can   read for several hours at a stretch with perfect concentration and understanding, some read for only 3hours and get tired. Our individual brains have different capacities to understand what you read?
Reading is the process of looking at a series of written symbols and getting meaning from it .Some people can read for seven hours at a stretch with perfect concentration and understanding. Some read for only three hours, and feel the need to engage in some other activities before they return to reading. Our individual brains have different capacities for absorbing and understanding what is read.
SKILLS NEEDED TO IMPROVE READING
Pick up a book. Try finding something to read that interest you. Explore news papers, magazines, novels etc
Practice your reading habit. Now that you have found what you like to read, you
Can set a goal of 20 minutes a day of reading. After you have achieved this, you can increase the time to 1 hour a day
Do not give up. Winners never quit. If you find you cannot complete the task in the first place, do not be discouraged.
Do not put too much pressure on yourself. When you find yourself being stressed while reading a book, do not continue reading under pressure.
Before you read a book, go through the table of contents first, in other to form an idea of what you are about to read
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

                         


                 
                                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                   \                               READING DIFFICULT MATERIAL

Read the title and the first paragraph.
   If there is a summary at the end of a chapter, read it. Get grasp of how the material is organised. If you need more background seek another source. Now decide if you have enough background to begin reading.
Look for main ideas
Look for titles, headings, and subheadings. Pick out topic sentences. Utilise graphs, charts and diagrams. Take notes while you read.
 Look up words
Look up words whose meanings are important to your understanding of the material, but you cannot discern from the content.
Monitor your comprehension
    Periodically stop and ask yourself, ‘’what have I learned’’ connect this to what you already know.
Reread
     If you do not comprehend an idea, go back and reread. Restate difficult ideas in your own words.
Read to the end
Do not get discouraged and stop reading. Ideas can become clearer the more you read. When you finish reading, review to see what you have learned, and reread those ideas that are not clear.

                             
 

ATTITUDE IS ALL

MANAGING EXAMINATION ANXIETY

Anxiety is a normal thing in life. Every human being at one point or the other experiences a little bit of anxiety in life. When an individual is faced with a new task or a challenge, such an individual is bound to experience a kind of anxiety. Anxiety sometimes propels an individual to put in more effort into an activity. However, when anxiety affects an individual’s performance negatively; such as when it makes one not to perform optimally in an examination, it then becomes a problem that the individual needs to seek solution to.

HEALHY JUICES

HEALTHY JUICES

Health is wealth, staying healthy is one major step that any individual who want to succeed must bear in mind. Dear student the residential is here again, this is a period when must student leave the comfort of their homes just to study with the hope of excelling. It is a known fact that most students just eat what they see at this time. Most often will say ‘is it not just for three weeks (3), will soon go back home to take care of myself’. However staying healthy is an important examination tip. A student with a running stomach or weak body cannot study, not to talk of passing the exams.

Please try as much as possible to stay away from all sort of carbonated drinks and junk food. The following are some healthy drinks that will keep you healthy not just for the exams but throughout your life time, if you can give it a trial. It is safe, cheap, available and convenient.

v Carrot +Ginger + Apple  = Boost and cleanse our system

v Apple + Cucumber + Celery = Prevent cancer, reduces cholesterol, and eliminate stomach upset and headache

v Tomato + Carrot + Apple = Improves skin complexion and eliminate bad breath

v Bitter gourd + Apple + Milk = Prevent bad breath and reduce internal body heat

v Orange + Ginger + Cucumber = Improved skin texture and moisture and reduce body heat

v Pineapple + Apple + Watermelon =Dispel excess salt, nourish the bladder and kidney

v Apple + Cucumber + Kiwi = Improves skin complexion

v Pear + Banana = regulate body sugar content

v Carrot + Apple + Pear + Mango = Clears body heat, counteract toxicity, decrease blood pressure and fight oxidization

v Honeydew + Grape + Watermelon + Milk = Rich in vitamin C + Vitamin B2 that increase cell activity and strengthen body immunity

v Papaya + Pineapple + Milk = Improve skin complexion and metabolism

v Banana + Pineapple + Milk = prevents constipation

TIPS FOR WRITING CBT (Computer-Based Tests or Examinations)

The new trend in the field of education requires that candidates utilize the latest information communication technology in writing examination. Unlike the conventional pen and paper examination, computer-based examination requires that candidates will take their test or examination by using the computer and the Internet. Many students these days, owing to technology phobia, are always jittery about taking CBT examinations. Today I want to allay your fears and give you these useful tips on how to approach CBT examinations. These are some of the things you need to do.

TIPS FOR A SUCCESSFUL EXAMINATION

A successful result depends on good preparation and appropriate behaviour during the examination. You should be reminded of the following tips for a successful examination:

• Stay calm and focused; avoid anxiety as much as possible.
• Read the instructions slowly - at least twice before you start.
• Ask for clarification (if needed) from the invigilators and follow instructions as may be given by the invigilators.   
• Fill out personal details first (as required) before proceeding with the examination.
• Select questions that you can attempt better.
• Divide the time among the questions equally, to avoid running out of time.
• Think properly before you write your answers.
• Sketch a rough outline of answers, if possible use Mnemonic to remember the points.
• Adhere to the time allocations
• Attempt the necessary number of questions
• Write clearly, using simple language.

Watch out for tips for writing CBT Examinations Next Week.
Good Luck.
From the Counselling Unit, DLI