One of the most important ways parents and educators can assist students in their school careers is by instilling an understanding of the importance of setting goals from an early age, and tracking their progress against these goals throughout their school careers.
Goal setting is often viewed as something that is introduced later in life - even as late as when a student gets ready for tertiary education. It should not be left until then. The sooner the practice can be introduced into young people's lives, the better.
Setting goals is a way of helping a child focus their mind and make better choices, consistently and throughout their academic journey.
Too often, students reach the final year of school determined to apply for a specific qualification, only to find that they had been on an entirely inappropriate path in terms of academics not aligned with what they wanted to do, meaning they aren't able to pursue their vision and goals.
This is why parents, guardians and teachers need to guide and assist students at regular intervals, helping them match their aspirations against their current path.
Setting goals should begin early in life starting with small ones and leading to the important ones. This helps students focus and maintain their direction and provides intrinsic motivation as they strive to get to the next step, and then the next one and the next one in pursuit of their dreams.
Young people are great with setting goals, but we need to constantly bring them back to a discussion about what their original plan was, and whether they are still on target to reach their aims. This is where parents, teachers and the school play an important role.
For instance, if a student decides that they would like to go to MIT one day, he/she must work backwards from that goal and set yearly and monthly targets, as well as choose the correct subjects right from the start.
Goals should be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-based.
Knowing the goals of their students, teachers can then ensure that for all assessments and discussions, you can reflect on the future goal and determine whether the student is on target, or whether additional support or redirection is required. Even those students who are not yet sure what they want to do later in life, should have goals and subjects that cover a broad spectrum of future options.
Goal setting can be a great personal motivator for students when the process of tracking progress becomes ingrained and a way of life. Because a goal is an agreement with yourself, a promise made to yourself, you are able to apply greater focus and eliminate distractions.
Goal setting is crucial in strategizing a successful educational journey and the student, parents and the school all play a role in the way to success.
If, for example, your child dreams of going abroad after school to study, define what that entails from early on. To which country and university do they want to go? What do they want to study? Get to grips with the basics of what is at play to achieve that success in ten years' time, and then look at the steps that will need to be taken along the way to successfully reach that goal. Know what you want to do and what needs to happen every step of the way, and constantly measure your success against your plan. Adjust the plan if need be, and change direction with new goals should that be required.
It is important that schools and teachers set goals annually at the start of each year, looking at the previous year's achievements and where further attention and support is warranted.
Students should also go above and beyond, particularly in today's competitive environment. If you want to pursue mathematics find out what competitions are available and take part in them. Make them part of the goal.
Make sure you throw all your attention and focus into your area of interest, so that you can get progressively better in your field and gain the edge as early as possible.
Coetzee is managing director, Crawford International School Kenya, and Ouya the education director, Makini Group of Schools
