Personal Responsibility - Essay Example

Personal responsibility is a willingness to acknowledge, respect the important standards set for individual behavior and make a deliberate effort to abide and live by them. This means that when the student does not meet their own goals, they shoulder the blame and not attempt to lay it on other people or external factors. Personal responsibility entails understanding the choices one makes willing to accept the consequences of these choices in view of how they will affect other people (Mergler et al, 2008). Consider two students leaving an exam room; A says “I think I failed that paper, but it is not my fault that teacher never taught us any of the real stuff that was tested in the exam but only used obscure examples, which made no sense at all”. Student B is saying, “The exam was very difficult for me, and I will not be surprised if I get an F, but, I should have known better and spent more time revising instead of playing video games”. Both cases are of course hypothetical; nevertheless they personify common phenomena in schools wherein some students take responsibility of their actions (B) and others like A want to abscond this. Ultimately, by accepting responsibility B has identified the problem hence has an idea of how to rectify the situation in posterity. “A”, on the other hand, might fail more exams in the future since he is not willing to take responsibility for his inactions and blames a third part whose errors he cannot rectify. This essay discusses the role of personal responsibility in students, as well as some of the strategies they may use to improve their chances of achieving success in their various field of study. It is the onus of every student to ensure they come up with the best plans and strategies, so they can guarantee their academic success. For a student to come up with these strategies, it is imperative they put into consideration first several factors, have the strategies they want to use been used before in similar circumstances? If so, were they successful? They could also consider the resources in terms of time and academic resources, so they make strategies, which they will be able to execute from within their budgeted time, and other resources. The past is also an important consideration when it comes to strategizing; before one makes any plans to improve themselves, it is crucial they consider what lead to their lackluster or mediocre performance in the past. A student wishing to see real improvement must first do a thorough post Mortem of the past performance, in order to identify the weak points in past plans and avoid repeating them in the new strategy. Student may apply the following are strategies to improve their performance; They should take to account the learning styles which provide them with the best results this is the individuals preferred orientation toward learning (Bulut andYukselturk, 2007). Some students learn through class discussion others through listening in class and other by active research where they seek out the answers for themselves; the student should hence apply whichever technique, or combination of techniques, that works for them and hence adapt their plan to the most suitable learning theory for the best results. The student directly takes personal responsibility for their performance through setting personal goals, since they dictate, autonomously, the kind performance they wish to achieve. Operating in any situation without predetermined goals is analogous to running a race without a finish line. As such goals are a vital aspect of any accomplishment in academic pursuits, they can be measured in a number of ways depending on individual students such s Grades, or personal fitness and other forms of self-improvement like, read two books a week. Goals should be specific, measurable, and students should write them down and ensure they are in a place where they are seen daily, so they are a constant reminder. One should also have both long-term and short-term goals, the latter, which help them evaluate their performance in the short run. The goals should be adjusted periodically depending of changes in the environment and the student should reward him/herself on accomplishment of the goals, so they can remain motivated. Time management is critical for success both inside and outside school, when a student manages their time well; they are less prone to stress resulting from last minute rushing and confusion (Macan, 1994). Students should make use of daily and weekly planners, so they have a “To do” list on a weekly or monthly basis. It is crucial for one to identify those activities that waste a lot of their time (Time wasters) and develop ways of reducing them. One should also avoid accumulating work in such a way that they study at the last minutes for long hours; instead, they should utilize their time well and study when they are free without putting themselves under undue pressure. It is also important that the learner evaluates the time needed for each subject or unit; this helps balance attention and he/ she can determine which ones need more time. It is essential that one attends the lectures and listens to the teachers first hand since the textbook and other material can only supplement not substitute the lecture; furthermore, research has proven that a majority of students understand best when they actively particulate in a class as opposed to cramming. The teacher’s presence is an added advantage since one can ask questions and clarify the vague or confusing ideas. Test are an inevitable part of the education system they are used to gauge ones understanding of the concepts learnt; nevertheless many students fail in a test, because of among other reasons, anxiety in anticipation of a test; which has been found to increase chances of poor performance in students (Cassady and Jonson, 2001). Students need change their perception of tests and see them as challenges not obstacle in the cause of learning in order to avoid panic and a negative attitude towards exams. In addition, they should take time to prepare and use above strategies to cover all the material in the cause that way since when one has not studied enough, likely to be scared of the exams which naturally translates to dismal results. Ultimately, academic success cannot be separated from personal responsibility and careful and strategic planning on the part of the student. The learner must take him/herself to account for their decisions and focus on rectifying the problems that arise as opposed to looking for scapegoats in teachers, colleagues and other external factors. Furthermore, to achieve any reasonable degree of success, it is imperative that one comes up with practical plans in which they take consideration their present positions weakness and experience in order to develop individual strategies tailor made to suit their needs. However, none of the strategies mentioned above will work without the student following up on them and exercising considerable self-discipline as well as taking responsibility for, and correcting any setbacks that may occur. References Cassady, J. C and Johnson, R. E. (2001). “Cognitive Test Anxiety and Academic Performance”. Contemporary Educational Psychology.27, 270–295. Mergler, A., Spencer, F. and Patton, W. (October 2008). “Personal responsibility: the creation, implementation and evaluation of a school-based program” Journal of Student Wellbeing. Vol. 2(1), 35-51.35. Macan, H. Therese. (1994). “Time Management: Test of a Process Model.” Journal of Applied Psychology. Vol. 79. No. 3, 381-391. Yukselturk, E. and Bulut, S. (2007). “Predictors for Student Success in an Online Course”. Educational Technology & Society. 10 (2), 71-83. Read More