FIVE STRIKING REASONS WHY OAU STUDENTS READ TO FAIL

Author: Matthias Eke

At about 9:05 pm on the 1st of January 2023, after an overdue but relieving holiday that lasted about one hundred and seventy-five seconds, I began my journey to the Hall of Great men to give my eyes some darkness having exposed them to so many experiences of merry and frenzy on a day where we get to celebrate the change our calendars in our living room.

My advent at Road 1 gate made me quiver thanks to my friend Sylvester who welcomed me and brought me some humour as a relief. I experienced a multitude of knowledge-thirsty young men and women. They flanked the left and right lanes as though they were expecting the itinerary of Messi, however, this is not Argentina neither was any notice of his coming made known. On greeting Sylvester, he hinted at his need to read extensively for his Exams in two days.  At this point, the student in me stood up to confront me saying “are you not aware that you have your first papers in two days too?”,  “oh my … oh my ….” I said, running to hijack the next bikeman I saw. 

Surprisingly, there he came, as if I ordered an uber, “Awo” I said  “200 naira, do you have change?” he answered as I said to myself,  “I  will pay you a thousand, I need you to get me out of here” and there he zoomed off.  I can't leave without bidding farewell to Sly “we go catch, my guy” I said, “oya now” he responded.

At this time, the air on Road 1 was at -4 degrees. The erection of my hair follicles couldn't shield me from this Atlantic I found myself. A striking question popped up in my mind. If students hustle this hard-to-read, why do they fail?  

I resolved that there are a plethora of reasons why students fail and we could categorize them as Intrinsic and Extrinsic reasons. The extrinsic reasons that ensued were; How the lectures were delivered, school system grading standards, in some very minute cases human errors from the examiner these and many other reasons I would like you to add in the comment section popped up, but all these are out of our control, ain't they? 

In this article, we shall focus on five intrinsic reasons why students who read find their results below their expectations;

Sleeeep: Asides from not remembering what you have read, not having enough sleep is the road to having a mental illness. Sleep helps us relax our neurons. These neurons are the channels that transmit messages to the brain making information meaningful and retentive. A well-rested neuron is fat enough to carry enough neurochemicals. If you don't want to go to the exam hall blank for the first 30 mins, get some nice sleep already.

Plaaay: Do you play enough? How well do you engage in exercise and workouts? While you read, the nerves in your brain become tensed, tightening your synapses- the point of contact with a fellow neuron.     The more spaced and lubricated the synapse, the faster electrons are transmitted and when this happens retention becomes a lot quicker.  

Distractions: Are you sure you read better with those AirPods on? Can you differentiate discussions from studying? The brain memorizes through attention. Increased attention to information helps you recall it better. Remember that your brain receives information from your five senses, when the attention of all five senses is focused on a particular information, recalling it becomes easier. Hence, try to focus on one piece of information at a time. How about some selective attention? 

Chunking: Have you ever pictured your brain as a library? Imagine yourself in the library with the books scattered on the floor. How would you find the little novel you are searching for? That is exactly how your brain feels when information is not chunked properly. In Chunking, the information is grouped into different layers, we connect different information as a whole so that at the end, we have few wholes and not many scattered pieces.

Regurgitate: No you are not a goat! You are retrieving information so that it can be properly stored. Making use of knowledge has been proven to help increase the lifespan of information. Sharing knowledge before the exams helps you ascertain you have stored the information. You don’t have to be embarrassed at the wailing of shana that follows cause that's what you are (winks).

The sound of “Presiiii” knocked me back to consciousness.  Who called me? I sort of looked back, but I couldn't see the face as the man sped off. The bike stopped and the scramble for change began. But, I had to rush down to get some sleep, I wrote down his plate number and told the bike man “we shall meet again”.

Don’t forget to drop your extrinsic reasons.🥂

Happy Reading🌺