“Listening, taking notes and asking questions is what the lecture room is for. Subscribe to this understanding and do well.”

According to the Macmillan dictionary, lecture is “a talk or speech given to a group of people to teach them about a particular subject.” Here in the University of Competitive Choice, a lecture is a formal meeting, and as a matter of fact, lecturers tackle lectures a bit different from other schools. They pass on knowledge and subtly highlight crucial areas which when missed may cause you great loss in the examination. This is why we are always encouraged to take lectures seriously. Careful observation from experienced and smart students share in the fact that an ample percentage of questions that come in the examination are subtly highlighted in class by the lecturer himself. Knowing this key, you will attest to the truth of how important it is for students who genuinely want to make the A’s and first class.
“Nothing good” they say, “comes easy.” In our part of the world, we desperately need scholars and critical thinkers to rescue Africa, especially Ghana out of its deploring state. This is actually the reason for which Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah established the University of Cape Coast, University of Ghana-Legon, Ghana Institute of Journalism and other higher level educational institutions. As a scholar, he could make arguments that even convinced some Black Americans to be interested in Africa, so he realized how important it is for his indigenes to make the most out from school. We are encouraged, by Nkrumah’s vision, to do well. But, as we persist, there seems to be some resistance of opposition. As we endeavor to bring the Ghanaian dream to life, we are destructed by so many things. This raises the alarm that, we ought to fight in order to make the most out lectures and school at large. If you are tempted, for instance, to use your phone in class, it is dangerous because you might miss the opportunity to have received knowledge from the lecturer, which in turn may cause you to not do so well in your exam (with this, nothing distinguishes you from the dropout because you both have one thing in common – failure in exam). This applies to every form of distraction. If we fail to make things happen, we fail ourselves, Nkrumah’s dream for Ghana, and many generations to come. This is why we have to make the most out from school. How then can we make this possible?

Knowing we all want to come out good, and make Ghana’s dream feasible, here are a few eye-openings that could help you make the most out of lectures and possibly even come out with flying colours:

• Ask questions when things are not so clear for you. Politely ask the lecturer, “Sir, could you please explain it differently” or “please use another example that you thinks may be of help for my understanding.” If you still don’t understand, you should see a friend who did understand for elaboration. This is what great people do.

• Discipline yourself to notes of whatever the lecturer is saying. Discipline is the common trait behind many of the world’s success. It is what distinguishes the greats from the average. The calls can wait, social media will not pass you by. Just get the lecturer’s point and you can go on with those things some other time after class.

• Right after class, do well to go over what you noted down during the class. Going over deliberately reminds you of what was taught. Repeating it makes it stick faster.

• Read more on what was taught to keep yourself informed. And also try to find questions on the treated areas and solve them.

• Finally, find out from the lecturer what he intends to cover in the next class. Do this so that you can prepare beforehand and contribute when he asks for your thoughts on the subject at hand.

If you can do this, you will be good to go. Try this and see the massive improvement. Let us not fail Ghana. We owe generations our quota. Let’s do this once and for all.

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