As someone who
has made academia a life-long career and is now an educator myself, one of my
biggest joys is seeing my graduating seniors, many of whom I’ve gotten to know over the years, leave university life and move out into the world as young adults. In
my many hours in the classroom as a professor, I’ve come to observe that students fall into three types: 1) survival
2) strategic and 3) stimulated. “Survival students” do the bare minimum to
get that passing grade in the course, while “strategic students” study what
they will only be tested on or calculate how well they need to do on an exam in
order to get the desired grade. It’s the last group, the “stimulated students,”
who embody the pure enjoyment and passion of knowledge, regardless of the
grade.
I believe what positions the stimulated students over the other two are the important life skills they acquire in the classroom that give them the advantage for success later in life. So what exactly makes the best students succeed in life after school? Below are four personal insights that I’ve observed in the classroom what I deem to be the most important lessons you can ever learn from school that directly impact your performance later in life.
1) Pursue Your Passion, Not Points
“Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors where there were only walls.” Joseph Campbell
Let’s face it, a major concern for students and their parents are grades. As an educator, I’m the first to agree that grades are important, however, what I unfortunately see are students who sacrifice their pursuit of passion for grades. While getting a high GPA will certainly improve your chances to enter into a top college or graduate school, most educators can tell you that there’s more to learning than just getting the best grades. Students, who are deeply passionate and inspired to learn, often are the same ones who find stimulation and satisfaction in their career. As I often tell my own students, “The more you find your passion for learning, the greater your passion will be for living!”
2) Failure is a Valuable Lesson
"You will at some point fall and when you do, remember this: There is no such thing as failure. Failure is really life trying to move us in another direction...Learn from every mistake. They're there to force you into being more of who you are." Oprah Winfrey
It’s inevitable that at some point in your academic life you’ll fail a quiz, an exam or, regretfully, even the course itself. While failure is never easy, it does make us avoid complacency and instill humility. Yes, your ego might get bruised from getting that failing grade–and trust me, I’ve given them out to students–but the deeper lesson is how not to let one poor grade affect your attitude or performance in the course or dampen your dreams of the future.
Whether you strike out at bat when you’re 9, fail an exam when you’re 19, get rejected from a dream job at 29, or divorced at 39, don’t let these obstacles in life crush your spirit to achieve your deeper dreams and aspirations. Here’s a great tip. If you can learn to cope with failure in school, I guarantee that you’ll be able to handle and persevere through any crisis later on in life. As some of the most successful people in life will agree–failure is inevitable, but never an option to quit pursuing your dreams!
3) Stay Curious & Think Big
“So that when I look up at the night sky and I know that yes, we are part of this universe, we are in this universe, but perhaps more important than both of those facts is that the Universe is in us. When I reflect on that fact, I look up – many people feel small because they’re small and the Universe is big – but I feel big, because my atoms came from those stars.” Neil deGrasse Tyson
If there’s one thing I tell my seniors, it’s that learning doesn’t end at graduation. I strongly believe that a valuable tool students can use for success in the world is to stay curious and always try to see the bigger picture of life. One of the most wonderful attributes I see in my brightest students is their ability to take material acquired in the class and connect it into the larger world. This is why the tests I give to my students are never multiple choice or true/false. I personally find that students retain the information on a topic more readily when they’re capable of explaining how it might apply into their own life. This is when genuine learning occurs.
The exact same principle can be said for life beyond the classroom. When you continue to embody a deep curiosity about the world and view how your actions connect with the larger picture, you will inevitably find a greater inspiration and satisfaction in anything you do in life. When you know that you and the universe, in actuality, are one and the same, you will never think small and nothing will ever seem petty in your life!
4) Honesty and Integrity Count
"Success is not to be pursued; it is to be attracted by the person you become." Jim Rohn
Sadly, this is a lesson that I’ve had the misfortune to teach on a few occasions to my students, caught cheating on an exam or copying another paper. While the desire to get a high grade on an exam or in the course is certainly a goal of many students, whenever you compromise your integrity and values to reach that end you ultimately wind up failing to learn the greater lesson. No matter how intelligent, charismatic, or popular you become, if you sacrifice your core integrity and values along the way, can you truly be successful? I’ll admit that no actual course can ever teach you to be true to your beliefs and help you maintain an internal moral compass. The lesson to practice honesty and integrity, however, is always available to you, which I believe can begin in the classroom.
While maintaining a good GPA and deciding on the right major in college are important, what matters in the end is what inspires, motivates, and challenges you to grow as a human being. Lastly, the closing remark that makes the greatest impact on my students is, “It’s not what you remember on the final exam that matters, but how you apply what you learn to achieve the happiness you deserve in life. If you do so, you will always get an ‘A’ in the most important course of all–your life!”
If you enjoyed this article, discover more related pieces, videos, and links in my "GRADUATION & INSPIRATION" issue of the Dr. Jay Kumar newsletter
Happy Graduation!
Dr. Jay Kumar
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