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Beaven Tapureta Bookshelf
Local motivational writers seem to follow closely behind the poets/fiction writers in terms of publishing. Although it is an arguable terrain to merge the two classes of writers into a single description, that is, “creative writers”, we cannot ignore the value of non-fiction works in our lives. All writers are creative, so goes the saying. Some day or night, you will need a motivational book on your desk to get you gliding positively in a crazy reality.
While many of the motivational books we have read so far have touched on a great number of general life aspects, we hardly came across one that explains the meaning of “academic learning”. What is academic success? Is getting a good job the sole reason why we go to school, college or university? How do we learn? Zimbabweans are proud believers in education and parents in particular are always making sure their children go to school.
“Top Student: A Guide to Academic Success” is a brand new small book written by Trust Mugari and published by Days of My Youth Press. It offers some practical steps to achieving one’s dreams and changing the world through passionate study. Published this year, “Top Student” casts its net wider to include the spiritual aspect of learning. Perhaps you were on the verge of quitting learning; this is a book that will help you come back on track.
It was the Irish poet and dramatist William Butler Yeats (1865-1939) who once said, “Education is not the filling of a bucket but the lighting of a fire.”
Mugari defines academic success as “an academic experience that makes you dream, identify yourself, and become a better person than you were before. It is an experience that brings you closer to the attainment of your dreams.”
The definition demands the lighting of a fire within oneself, demands passion beyond getting good grades and/or eventually graduating with a certificate, diploma or degree.
Instead of hoping for a better job after graduating, Mugari says one has to use education to, among other things, “be empowered to impact your environment positively” and be exposed to situations which help you identify who you really are.
Our society is moving towards entrepreneurship and hence academic success, as propounded by this young man Mugari, should indeed involve issues of employment creation.
One of the myths staining society’s attitude towards education is that those children who make it to the top of the class are said to be “naturally gifted” and therefore those who occupy “back benches”, commonly referred to as “madofo” in Shona language, are academically cursed. This is how sometimes the classroom is divided and yet the crux of the matter is hard work. One has to work hard every time in order to understand his/her field of study which, as Yeats said, must light the fire somewhere within.
“People believe that academic success is a natural gift. As a result, those who might not get it right the first time end up believing that they do not have the gift. On the other hand, those who might be doing well end up not working harder, believing that they will still make it because they have a gift,” writes Mugari.
However, what the author does not explain is the myth of gender and culture in academic success. People get emotionally gender-biased when explaining academic results, with such celebratory analyses as when girls outclass boys in national statistics about pass rate. Also, old tradition of educating the boy child as a priority is fast dwindling as the consciousness of equality takes over.
One may be talented but it is worthwhile to be serious in one’s academic pursuits as well. The education will help mould the talented person the country is looking up to for social and economic development.
The author is also aware of the importance of humility especially if one is a learner and thus in his chapter “Creating an Environment That Puts You Forward” he urges students to maintain good relationships with their teachers/lecturers and fellow students.
In the other chapters, he further provides enlightening pieces of information without being too idealistic. Indeed, the author has practically considered his ideas in the context of the local student.
The fifth chapter comes with a spiritual persuasion that tries to transmute education into wisdom and where wisdom is talked about, spirituality is highlighted. The Creator is the only giver of wisdom.
In this chapter, “The Spiritual Side of Academic Success”, it is written that “one of the things you will need is the wisdom of God. This wisdom is beyond human wisdom. It’s the kind of wisdom that God gives. With the wisdom of God, failure is impossible. There is nothing you cannot understand. You cannot struggle in your academics.”
Mugari offers different guidelines in his book and makes education an interesting experience for any student.
Mugari graduated from the Midlands State University with a Bachelor of Science Honours degree in Local Governance Studies. As a writer, personal development coach, motivational speaker/blogger, he has interacted with many young people, inspiring him to start his own organisation called Success Motivation Network (SMN) dedicated to helping young people live a life of purpose. He has also produced an audio disc in which he teaches the five basic rights for every young person to live a life a success.
Online Reporter