Why do students fail? You will find many answers to this question. Probably, as many as the number of people you ask. Teachers blame students. Students blame their teachers. Policymakers blame politics.
Why do students fail? It is not a bad question at all. It helps us think. I don’t need a book to get my first answer. I have five answers to that question.
But there is a more important question. How to help students succeed? And I have answers too.
Why Do Students Fail?
I will write my answer to this question from three perspectives:: student, teacher, and parent.
My purpose is to help you keep your motivation to study always burning. We Filipinos believe that it is only through education that we can uplift our lives. Our failure to study would mean a bleak future for our family.
When you take risks you learn that there will be times when you succeed and there will be times when you fail, and both are equally important.
Ellen DeGeneres
Here are some of the most common reasons why students fail.
1. Inadequate Teaching Methods
Because of the dangers of Covid-19, my child must continue attending online classes. Though I think online classes can be exciting, I understand that most teachers are still learning after two years.
They try to transfer what they do in face-face teaching to online classes, which won’t work. Worst, they try to teach in an hour what they traditionally teach in one week for face-to-face instruction.
I do not blame our teachers, of course. They are following orders.
Students fail because the teaching methods are inadequate. The methods were inadequate because the policymakers were clueless, grasping in the dark.
Because I was a teacher for almost ten years, I know that students’ lack of readiness makes students fail. And when the teacher is not ready to teach well, students are bound to fail too.
Though students get high grades these days (thanks to parents who answered their modules), most students will find themselves unprepared when they return to classroom learning.
Why do students fail? Inadequate teaching methods and ineffective teachers fail them.
2. No Support System
We celebrate students who did everything to study without the support of others. We honor them for being courageous, ambitious, and resilient.
But they are very few.
The truth is that most of us need a support system. We get motivated to study when we know what we do is worthwhile – and a support system is a constant affirmation.
I don’t mean parents must answer all the modules for their kids. That is the wrong way of doing it. That’s making them helpless.
A support system is like a harness. Give students the opportunities to balance themselves and fail sometimes, but always with the assurance that people are there to support them.
Why do students fail? Many of them struggle when you leave them behind.
3. Procrastination
Even adults have problems with procrastination. There are many reasons why Filipinos procrastinate. It could be a lack of skill, lack of courage, a lack of commitment, and a lack of goals.
When students procrastinate, they get overwhelmed. And when they get overwhelmed, they do mediocre work, making them fail.
I often told my students that cramming isn’t good. Students can do most projects with 1/10th of the effort they imagined they needed. But, again, the lack of preparation and experience contribute to this.
I do not attribute procrastination to laziness. When I was in high school, I was accused of being lazy by teachers who did not know that I needed to wake up at 3.30 am so I could find work. As a teacher, I never accused my students of being lazy. It is a lazy way of explaining why students fail.
The solution to procrastination is practicing disciplined execution, increasing skills, and embracing a growth mindset.
Why do students fail? They don’t know how to succeed.
4. Lack of resources.
Public education in the Philippines is free. But for you to get good grades, you need money. You need money for internet connection, transportation, food, school projects, and more.
No money is not my excuse. No money is a fact of life. [mfn] You can learn more about education issues in the Philippines. [/mfn]
In grade school, I needed money to pay for the school project materials. I needed more money because every teacher required us to work on a project. Later, I learned that teachers got commissions for selling the project materials.
It isn’t easy to get motivated when one does not have money to get good grades. Unfortunately, this is the reality that many Filipino children have to face.
Why do students fail? They don’t have the tools to succeed.
5. Fixed Mindset
Most of us have a fixed mindset about education. A fixed mindset in Filipino is “nakapinid na kaisipan”. You can say close-minded or limited perspective.
Students who think getting good grades has something to do with intelligence are often not motivated to study.
I am not good at math subjects; that’s why I failed.
I am not good at English subjects; that is why I failed.
I am not good enough. I am not smart enough. I cannot learn.
A fixed mindset is one of the worst reasons we fail and lack the motivation to study harder.
Let’s move forward.
We can list down dozens of reasons why students fail. Most have something to do with their lack of motivation to study. But I am here to help you find easy and proven solutions to get an evergreen motivation.
I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.
Michael Jordan
Why do students fail?
Our answers to these questions help us understand. But there is a more important question.
