This is an excerpt of a speech I delivered at St. Mary College Suleja during a sensitization programme of the NYSC Suleja local govt. Mass literacy club. You may consider one or two points as an advice to your students or brethren.

5 things to do in Secondary School

As contained in the national policy of education (2004); secondary education shall raise a generation of people who can think for themselves, respect views and feelings of others, respect the dignity of labour and live as good citizens.

Actualization of these goal of secondary education is indeed a no-no for many secondary school leavers whether in the urban or rural -set of dependent, playful and lazy teens. But… I got some tips you may use in beating this otherwise challenging task and maybe blaze a trail in some endeavours too.

Here they are:

Establish a good online-presence

I know you have a smart phone, who doesn’t? You got an account on leading social media and even some I do not know and in fact you spend all day surfing these links. Is that what I mean “good online-presence?” No!

Get mature with this things, create appealing usernames, gather as many online friends as you may wish, post fascinating things and stop all those “bathroom selfies”. You may try to explore your dream career through social media. Say, you want to be a doctor, like hospital and medical colleges’ pages or follow a professor in your dream field.

You may consider making your page or account a diary as an art student, not “I am chilling at the restaurant” but something like making relevant posts on current affairs. You don’t want to be too serious? You love sport? You may consider some sport analysis too, you got that “analysis”!

Your account will soon become a reference point for peers and you may grow into an e-celebrity like….lip sealed!Graduate_caps

Establish good relationship with people

The other time you bullied the short guy in your class or extorted the poor junior girl, did you envisage him/her growing to sit in front of you as a hiring manager in an interview? God forbid you said? Dear, wake up to reality.

It may not be a formal one, he/she may save you the hotel bills when you come around his locality for a function. What if it’s some economic or political favour? You just have to create a good rapport with everyone, senior, junior, short and tall. If you have a cause to punish a junior, do that responsibly…hmm!

To your teacher be good, you may see them as a permanent entity in the position they are today, but bro/sis they may save a you on a needy day- ask the guy who lost a dream job because he didn’t get his principal to write a recommendation.

Develop your talent

Guy A sings? He got a talent. Guy B creep walks? Probably another, and you don’t do any of these you think you don’t have a gift? Wrong!

Everyone is blessed, it is in you, you only need to look for it and enhance it by constant practice. You may consider joining one of the school clubs to develop yourself. Good for you! That skill of yours may be the way to wealth or on least, a key to scholarship.

Learn how to speak and write

Without this point, all talks are just empty. What best complement your gift, social networking and good relationship if not speaking and writing skills?

Not your gist and gossips nor your subject note writing, I mean you need to be productive on paper and fantastic in front of crowd. These are the easiest and cheapest ways to market whatever ability you have gotten.

What should you do? Get a note-book and jot down your thoughts in a constructive way, even if you think it’s not appealing. Your jargons may one day sell you like a wagon.

And speaking? Will you stand in front of the class to say a thing everyone will love to listen to? If you will, kudos! You have started.

Make your O’ level

Your WASSCE or NECO SSCE are as important as your 6 golden years in the secondary school. Alas! That is probably the only exam that summarizes such lengthy period and the basics of every other academic endeavor to come. Fight hard and put distractions aside, read and shun the beautified evil called malpractice.

Excelling in your SSCE is the biggest gift to your parent at your age, you will save your head from blames and tensions, what of those many tiring tutorials for second sitting? Hmm.

The news is that with your O’level result, you are equal in qualification with many of those men under the Abuja green dome.

These points are one, two, three, four and five out of many wonderful things you should do to meet the lofty goals of secondary education, try to think through before you are through.

Thank you!
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