Top 3 Skills A Malaysian Secondary School Student Needs

althed-com (44)in #steempress • 6 years ago (edited)

Ever thought of outperforming your peers in secondary school? No, I'm not talking about studying. I'm talking about skills to gain an edge for life. Let's face it, school only lasts for 11 years. However, the main goal is university and your future career. For that, studying is only part of the full skill set that you need.

As such, if you are keen to find out, then read on!

Image source

Public Speaking

A lot of my students who enter university always get the shock of their lives. They assume that since memorizing is needed to pass exams, surely university is no different. However, a lot of university evaluations are assignment based. Meaning, your exams may only be 50%, if not 40% of your overall grade. The rest depends on written work and of course, presentation. Thus, rather than waiting for that day where you have to go on stage, you should start it in secondary school.

Of course, doing so not only helps you overcome that dreaded stage fright, it also helps in gaining confidence. Furthermore, this skill comes in super handy when interviewing for scholarships or for your first job. Also, it is highly likely that you will be asked to conduct presentations when you start working. Thus, get on that stage and start practicing!

A MEAN Skill

Image source

Of course, public speaking is not enough. Thus, why not try picking up a MEAN skill. Ok, let me define what a MEAN skill is. MEAN is an acronym for:

Meaningful
Expert
Actionable Plan
Needed Skill

Yes, I just made it up. Meaningful in this case means that it can be used to benefit your future or it can be used to benefit your community. Often such skills develop into a passion and it looks awfully good on your Curriculum Vitae (CV). A few examples would be a sport that you are good at or even a community project that you are leading.

Next, you have to be an expert in that sphere. So, if you pick gaming to be your MEAN skill, do bear in mind that you would have to represent Malaysia. To do so, you have to rank at least top ten in the country to be considered an expert.

To do that, you may need an actionable plan. Here's the part where I tell you not to give up on your study and have a plan to focus on your skill as well as your study. Doing so does help build your time management skill which is a great skill to have for life, not just until SPM.

Finally, this skill has to be needed. Thus, if your skill can help you land a job or a scholarship, it is a needed skill. Coding for one has been all the hype and programmers are known to be paid rather well. Such a skill is considered needed even in the very near future.

Image result for future

Image source

Strategizing

Last but not least, learn how to strategize, not just in your studies but in planning your life. You would have noticed that studying is not mentioned much in this post. That's because studying is not the most important thing. Sadly, it is the only thing assessed in your final exams.

However, you have a full life ahead of you which does not consist of studying only. Thus, strategize on the skills you need and the knowledge you need. Sun Tzu said if you know yourself and your enemy (your weakness) you can win a thousand battles. So when you see that you are failing a subject in school or losing in a particular tournament. Instead of reading more or practicing more, take a step back, reevaluate your strategize and try to achieve the most with the least amount of time needed.