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Top Three Essential Survival Skills for Students

by Fortuna Seva. Casiller

School time is usually a dreaded time for students especially when coming from a break or vacation. They seem to focus on the number of lessons they need to learn, the number of projects they will need to finish and the much homework they’ll need to accomplish with the many late nights spent on finishing those projects or studying for quizzes or exams. But school really isn’t that bad, especially if the student is able to learn the top 3 essential survival skills.

To ensure students can go through school and survive through all the challenges here is the first skill they need to learn – Time Management. Students must learn to manage their time. They must learn to account for all their dues and prioritize their activities. They must be able to put there to do’s in order of importance, amount of work and time needed to accomplish the tasks, and date and time of the deadline. They must be able to schedule all tasks to ensure that all are accomplished, and deadlines are met. They must create and maintain a list and ensure that all listed activities are carried out as planned. In the schedule, one must also allow time for unexpected delays as inevitably disruptions could and would usually happen. Students must always keep track of their progress, accomplishments, targets, and delays. This way they can adjust their speed or time allocation on specific activities accordingly. This skill cannot be learned overnight. It needs practice, practice, and more practice until it becomes automatic. By then, students will see that the challenges of school won’t be so overwhelming.

The second skill students must learn to survive is – Discipline. Even if the students can develop the best schedule for time management if they do not develop the discipline to carry it through, then what good would it be. Like time management, discipline is not a skill to be learned in a day. Students must constantly remind themselves not just every day but every so often that they have things to do – and they simply must do it, if it is scheduled for today – then they simply have to do it today, if it is scheduled for this moment – then they simply must do it this very moment. Discipline has been defined as “doing the right thing even when no one is looking.” This is precisely what students need to learn to do. Because whether someone else is looking or not, the self-discipline they develop will benefit themselves and no one else.

The third and last essential skill students need to develop is – Humanity. What? What does this have to do with studying? Humanity is necessary because the school environment is made up of members of the human race: the student, the classmates, the teachers, the school staff, etc. So, if students will go about thinking that everybody else is a robot who will follow everything they say and want, then they are in for a surprise. Everyone is a human being. A human being with intellect and with feelings, with aspirations and disappointments, with hopes and fears, and with joys and sorrows. Therefore, students must understand that when a teacher gives a difficult test, it may be because he aspires for the students to strive harder, or when a classmate is not able to contribute to the group it may be because he is going through some problems, or when the students are scolded for misbehavior, it may be because the teacher is disappointed as he expected the students to be a bit more mature already, etc. Students must understand that the environment they work in is composed of people, and so they must learn to be careful with their words and actions so as not to hurt, thoughtful of what others are giving up for them so as to learn to be thankful, patient and understanding when others are going through some troubled times so as not to expect unreasonably from them and create friction and forgiving when oneself falls short of self-expectations because one is human after all.

These are the 3 essential skills every student must learn to survive the rigorous demands of school life, Time Management, Discipline, and Humanity. They are not easy to learn but not that hard either. For Time Management and Discipline just remember that practice makes perfect. For Humanity, however, you must remember that nobody’s perfect. Strive to achieve these three and you’ll go through school life like a breeze. You’ll see that all the effort will pay off and that you’ll pull through every challenge, even those you may have feared previously, just perfectly.

About the Author:

Fortuna S. Casiller is a Secondary High School Teacher from SDO Caloocan. She finished her Master’s Degree from the University of Caloocan City and is currently enrolled with the same university for her Doctoral studies.

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