Excelling in academics is what every school and student should aim for-it is relevant. However, what happens after school? Are students equipped enough to succeed in life when they are done with studies? It is hence with no doubt that being equipped with skills that will guarantee success after school is important as well. Students hence need societal skills such as conflict resolution and critical thinking for advancement. But how can students be groomed for this? Emmy Ntigurirwa, a Swahili and English teacher at GS Ruramba, Nyaruguru District says when learners leave school, they are expected to make it in life but unfortunately some of them don’t. He explains that this is because they haven’t been prepared well to track their own progress. Teachers should allow students to own their future, by doing this he says it becomes easier to help them figure out and make a plan for what they want to build or become. “Ask them about their desires and goals, this will help them determine what habits they need to establish for them to guarantee their success,” he says. He adds that when students are given all the support needed, they will always have morale and determination to do all it takes to achieve whatever they want in life. Teachers need to be role models Most importantly, Ntigurirwa says teachers should act like role models noting that students are no longer motivated by their teachers due to how some teachers carry themselves nowadays. “For instance in the past, when kids were asked who they wanted to be in the future, many of them said they wanted to teachers. I wonder what happened today because no one really wants to become a teacher,” he says. Aminadhad Niyonshuti, an English teacher at Apaper Complex School in Kicukiro says education is preparing a future and if students are helped to get this, they can work very hard knowing that whatever they will become in life, it will be through their determination. However, he says what is required is educators to instill students with skills that will ensure that they really work towards achieving their goals. He adds that it’s also important that teachers train learners but let them understand that for one to be successful in future, what one does in the present matters a lot. “Students should understand that while at school, they should not have a mind-set of getting out there to be given jobs by the Government, but rather work hard to create their own,” he says. If they have the knowledge and know how to put it into practice, he says this becomes easier to achieve their goals in life. Isaac Ddumba, a teacher at La Colombiere School in Kigali says it’s all about sensitising and mobilising students to work hard, towards achieving their goals. He says teachers should always aim at encouraging students to set milestones for all tasks. The process, he says should start as early as their childhood to enable them set their own targets and work towards achieving them. He notes that it’s also the role of schools to invite mentors, who can help when it comes to enlightening students on what they want to be in future. Ddumba explains that there are some students that have the potential of doing different things, but lack someone to guide them. “When schools provide mentors, it’s easy for a child to open up and say what they think will work better for them. It’s through this that mentors can guide or help them on the way forward,” he says. Ntigurirwa on the other hand says parents should as well work hand in hand with teachers so that the child gets all the support that is needed for them to succeed. He says that parents can step in by ensuring that learners are supported when it comes to resources. “They should also talk to their children and find out if there are things that drag them behind so that they can work on how to improve on them as parents,” he says. He adds that there is need for parents to create time for their children for their absence can contribute to the failure of some students, because there is a lot they would be missing as far as parental love is concerned. editor@newtimesrwanda.com
