27/09/2025
REASONS WHY SOME STUDENTS STRUGGLE IN HIGH SCHOOL.
By Mr Sam VIDAMBU. โ๏ธ
1.Lack of content retention techniques.
When your kid comes home with bad grades, you always ask them, โWhy have you dropped?โ.
The child replies and says โMum, I donโt know what my problem is, when teachers teach in class I always understand but when the exam comes I forgetโ. Your child has one problem, retention problem. For this problem to be solved, the student needs a proven academic mentor to take them through proper content retention techniques so that when the exam comes they can easily deliver.
2.Negative attitude.
A bad attitude can hinder personal growth, damage relationships and limit success. The only disability in life is bad attitude. The truth is, your attitude determines your altitude. A bad attitude is like a flat tyre, you can not go far until you change it.
3.Lack of reading cultures.
The student might want to create time to go through their books, but they find themselves sleeping, not because they like sleeping but because they lack the right reading cultures.
4.Home affairs.
Home affects school, that is the truth.
If home is not settled, the student can not settle well at school. If dad and mum are fighting daily, how can the student concentrate in class?
5.Lack of study habits.
Without study habits, it is difficult for a student to do well in class. Studying is a science, to understand this science a student needs to have the right skillsets and mindset. Study habits revolves around how a student conducts the personal study sessions.
6.Bad friends.
I am not a pastor but in the bible, in the book of 1st Corinthians 15:33, it says, โDo not be misled, bad company corrupts good moralsโ.
The truth is, if an A student walks with five E students, after some time, the A student will start getting Es. You are the average of the five closest friends you associate yourself with. If an E student walks with five A students, soon, the E student will be getting As.
Hang around winners so that your wins donโt sound like you are bragging.
7.Lack of revision techniques.
An A student has reading cultures, study habits and revision techniques.
Truth is, most students donโt know the difference between reading, studying and revising. Revision is about how a student studies their topics in an organised manner without ignoring some.
The A student with the right revision techniques knows that not everything will come in KCSE but anything can come in KCSE.
8.Lack of support from parent/guardian.
Truth be told, some parents donโt care about their children so long as they are in school.
Imagine a parent does not have the phone number of the class teacher of their child. To make it even worse, the parent does not know the name of the class teacher of their child. To many parents, their role is just to pay school fees and the teachers will perform miracles so that their kids can get As and go to do medicine in the university. It doesnโt work like that, this thing needs support from everyone.
9.Sitting position in class.
My advice to students is, if you know you are not doing well in class, ensure you are sitted among the first three rows in class. The reason is, you will not be tempted to doze off or speak to your friend when teachers teach. You will be alert because you will be worried the teacher can ask you a question anytime. All the students can not sit infront, I know that, in a class there will always be some who sit at the back. The class teacher should always rotate the sitting arrangement. The people who donโt like me will comment and say, โI was a backbencher but I passed my examsโ. Everyone might not be as sharp as you were. This article is to help those who are not doing well to start doing well. If you do what youโve always done, you will get what youโve always gotten. To get the results that youโve never gotten, you must do things that youโve never done.
Remember, if nothing changes, nothing changes.
10.Lack of a personal timetable.
Many high school students donโt have a working personal timetable, the few who have donโt follow them.
A timetable for a student is like Air traffic controller for the airport.
In The Vidambuโs Timetable, it is clearly stipulated how to study, when to study, 10 reading cultures, 10 study habits, 10 revision techniques and the 15 rules for making a working, practical and proven timetable.
You Are Blessed. ๐
