THE INGREDIENTS OF SUCCESSFUL EDUCATION

In this lesson we will took at two ingredients that are conductive to success motivation and
attitude. These ingredients may explain why your friend anto is a successful student, or why
Anti, your other classmate is a complete failure. We will also look at some factors that may
affect those two ingredients.
Activity 1: Brainstorming on factors conductive to success
Below are factors that are conductive to education. Add to the list and discuss with your friend in
what way they contribute to success.
a. Funds
b. Intelligence
c. Motivation
d. Scholarship
e. ……………………. …………………… …………
f. …………………….. ………………. ……………
g. …………………. ……………. ……………
A. MOTIVATION
One of the important ingredients of educational success is motivation. Motivation basically
explains why we do the things we do, or why we behave the way we do. It is about our drives
wants and needs. Our individual needs direct our goals. Our goals determine our actions and
may later trigger other needs. The figure below shows the relationship.

NEEDS ACTIONS

GOALS

A simplified Motivation Cycle

Psychologists distinguish between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Behavior based on
long term goals or a person’s established preferences is considered to be intrinsically
motivated. Behavior based on some external reward is considered to be extrinsically
motivated.
Most of our daily behavior, however, is a complex mixture of both kinds of motivation.
Going to college may be mostly a matter of intrinsic motivation, for the goal - in this case the
academic degree - can only be reached after a long period and concentrated effort. But the
effort that is put into daily assignments’ may be partly motivated by extrinsic factors, such as
praise from teachers, incentives from parents, and admiration from peers. In other words, the
chances of success during the years of schooling are biggest if one can draw support and
encouragement from others. In the absence of such support and encouragement, the chances
of success may be slim.
 Activity 2: Identifying motivational forces
Read the two short passages below and mention the different kinds of motivational forces
in each paragraph.
a. Sir Richard Burton, a well-known English traveler and orientalist who developed an early
desire for learning oriental languages, in his youth had great confidence in his ability to
achieve success in school.
b. The many wishes, hopes and desires of his parents should make up the motivational
forces in Iwan’s school life, but these forces have not turned out that way. Obviously,
there are other forces that influence classroom behavior – and they seem to be beyond the
teachers’ control. The desire to be accepted by his peers has distracted Iwan from
studying. He prefers staying out class, hanging around in front of the school and bullying
other students. Obviously, he doesn’t realize how the people he chooses as his friends are
affecting his life.
Activity 3: agreeing and disagreeing with ideas
What is your opinion of the idea in each statement below? Do you agree or disagree with
it? How do you justify it? If you agree, write A, if you don’t, write D.
1. To succeed in school, one needs to be motivated.
2. In addition to a strong desire to study, self-confidence is important to achieve success in
school.
3. Not getting support and encouragement from others doesn’t affect the chances of one’s
success.
4. Intelligence is the only factor that determines success in education.
5. Forces that influence a student’s behavior in the classroom are always under the teacher’s
control.
6. A student’s need for peer acceptance can negatively influence his or her willingness to
work hard at school.
7. Family support is vital if a student is to succeed at school.

B. ATTITUDE
The second important ingredient of educational success is attitude. It is our way of feeling,
thinking, or behaving. We have our own attitude toward certain aspects of life, such as cultural
values, education and politics. As our behavior is influenced by our attitude, so is our success in
education. Therefore, we need to have the right attitude to achieve educational success.
Generally speaking, our attitude can be positive or negative. For example, if someone is fond of
reading, he or she most likely has a positive attitude towards school. On the other hand, someone
who does not like to study might develop a negative attitude towards education.
Activity 4: identifying positive and negative attitudes
Now decide whether each of the sentences below expenses a positive or negative attitude
towards learning goals. Put a tick (√) mark for a positive attitude, and an (X) for the opposite.
1. Tina is studying to become a veterinarian, but she doesn’t like pets. (……)
2. Rudi attends lectures irregularly. (……)
3. Since her parents are poor, Fita is applying for a scholarship. (……)
4. Punctuality is a problem for Nina. (……)
5. Bambang doesn’t want to lag behind his peers in his academic records. (……)
6. Being the oldest son stimulates Yanto to put in his best efforts at school. (……)
7. Hana’s poor grades are the result of her habit of studying at the last minute. (……)
8. His love for his parents made Hardi study more seriously. (……)
Activity 5: looking at reasons for negative attitudes
Work with a partner. For each negative attitude in the above activity, discuss its possible
underlying reason(s). think of ways to improve the negative attitudes.
Antonym context clues
Consider the following example to see how an antonym context clue provides a clue to the
opposite meaning of the new word.
Example: Firman manages his time judiciously while I manage mine foolishly.
The word while signals that an antonym will follow. Foolishly is the antonym or opposite of
judiciously. Thus, judiciously means wisely.
Activity 6: finding the meaning of words through antonym context clues
Each of the following sentences contains an antonym clue to the underlined word. Locate the
antonym clue and circle it. Then circle the antonym, too. Finally, select the best meaning for
the underlined word from the given options.
Look at number one as an example.
1. Rini has a love for rote work, but no fondness for creative jobs.
Rote means: A. imaginative B. Mechanical C. free

2. Some students were inadvertently late for class while a few were purposely tardy.
Inadvertently means: A. accidentally B. intentionally C. always

3. Today’s teachers seem to be more liberal in ideas than their conservative colleagues in
the past.
Conservative means: A. old B. traditional C. free-thinking

4. Unlike her brother, who is indifferent to books, Julianna is an avid reader.

Avid means: A. occasional B. indifferent C. eager

5. He wasn’t penurious on the contrary, he was extremely wealthy.

Penurious means: A. needy B. well-off C. stingy
Each of the following sentences contains an antonym clue to the italicized word(s). first,
circle the signal word or phrase and underline the antonym itself. Then write the meaning of
the italicized word(s) in the space provided.
1. Good students attend classes regularly, while bad ones play truant repeatedly.
Play truant means:
2. Contrary to his careful nature, Prof. Abdullah made a reckless decision.
Reckless means:
3. Her writing was imbued with creativity but totally lacked precision.
Imbued means:
4. The instructor insists that we give to the point answers to his questions rather than
evasive ones.
Evasive means:
5. While Sam strives to be the best in class, his brother, Rick is very negligent in his studies.
Negligent means:
Attitudes reflected in writings
An attitude that people believe in and stick to may sometimes be expressed directly or
indirectly. It may be expresses through physical, observable behavior, or reflected in verbal
form, as in a proverb, for example. The proverb “Hitch your wagon to the highest star” may
reflect a person’s optimistic view of life.
Activity 7: identifying attitudes reflected in proverbs
Some of the proverbs below are centuries old, while others are of a more recent date. what
attitude is expressed by each of them? First, write down what each proverb means. Then,
identify the attitude. Can you add more to the list? When you are finished, submit your work
to your teacher. Your teacher will then discuss your work in class.
1. A stich in time saves nine.
Meaning : a small piece of work done now may save a lot of work later.
Attitude : careful, cautions
2. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Meaning :
Attitude :
3. When there is a will, there is a way.
Meaning :
Attitude :
4. A rolling stone gathers no moss.
Meaning :
Attitude :
5. Haste makes waste
Meaning :
Attitude :
6. ……………… ………………. ……………………. ……………..
 Meaning :
Attitude :
7. ……………… ………………. ……………………. ……………..
Meaning :
Attitude :
8. ……………… ………………. ……………………. ……………..
Meaning :
Attitude :
Factors that affect our motivation and attitude
Motivation and attitude generally differ from one person to another. Motivation and support
may undergo changes under different circumstances. Support from family and the
environment or surroundings is important in maintaining motivation and a positive attitude.
Family support, which can be moral or financial, is essential in accomplishing goals in
education. Family support can also consist of facilities, like free meals, laundry, telephone or
even transportation. This kind of support means a lot to some students, for, without it,
tenacious efforts to reach goals in education may be in vain.
Aside from family support, support from friends and the immediate surroundings can also
influence one’s efforts in pursuing an education. Support from people living nearby and
friends can come in the form of encouragement, praise, and sometimes also rewards.
Sometimes, neighbors and friends give support by studying together, providing private
libraries, or setting up a free kitchen during study sessions for examinations.
Activity 8: Identifying family and other kinds of support.
The words/phrases in bold in the passage above are examples of the many forms of support.
Now, what kind of support is provided in each of the following passages? Provide reasons for
your choice. Sometimes more than one kind of support is elaborated on.
1. Born into a simple farming family, Akhmad had wished to become an agricultural
engineer since childhood. He was finally accepted at one of the best universities in this
country. Earlier, back in his high school years, he fully realized that his parents wouldn’t
be able to support his studies any further than high school. His parents, however, would
tell him about the importance of a good school education and that a high school diploma
is better than not having one at all. So, he studied seriously. In fact, he had always been a
good student. In his final school year he stood out as the best student in class and won a
full scholarship from the government to study agricultural engineering.

2. A group of housewives who decided to pursue their studies, enrolled into a program of
English at the Open University. As the university does not require students to attend
classes, the housewives decided to study together and worked out a study schedule.
Determined to make a go of their studies, they gave up some of their family activities.
Twice a week on weekdays, after husband and children had left the house in the morning,
 and sometimes during weekends, the ladies studied and held discussions together. They
took turns in providing a place at their house for study sessions. Sometimes one
housewife would volunteer to bring snacks and soft drinks, while another would supply
dictionaries and reference books. The housewives had a lot of fun studying together. All
passed and are now full fledges “sarjana”.

3. Rika, majoring in law, feels that digging up classic law cases or current law journals is no
longer stressful, because her computer is connected to one of the internet providers in
town. She can now go browsing for law cases and sometimes, when she is lucky, she can
even find condensed versions of long-winded cases. Before her computer was hooked to
the internet provider, she used to spend a lot of time going from one library to another
just to find the data needed for her cases. She owes Sandra, her friend, for introducing her
to the internet, and she thanks her lucky stars that her parents did not object to paying for
this expensive equipment.

4. Kasha was determined to graduate within four months. However, a traffic accident
confined him to his bed for almost three months. He almost gave up his studies where it
is not for his girlfriend, Imma, who majored in architecture, just like himself. Imma
devoted hours at his bedside talking and explaining about lectures she attended. She
brought him textbooks and highlighted the parts the lecturer had discussed. She even
gave him “tests” to find out how much Kasah understood. When he had questions she
could not answer, imma would consult the lecturer and bring back the answers to him. On
the day of the final examination, Kasah showed up in a wheelchair, with strong
determination in his heart and faithful imma by his side. Both Kasah and imma passed
with flying colors imma was so happy she could not hold back her tears.

5. Randa lives with his parents and six brothers and sisters in a small house. He has to share
his room with his three brothers. The family gets along fine, but in the small house they
have almost no privacy. They bump into one another all the time and there is simply no
room to study seriously. Randa, in the final year of SMU, is facing his final exam and is
wondering where he can find a place to concentrate on his study. His room is out of the
question. There is always a brother lying in bed and he will end up chatting or having a
pillow fight. The living room, where the rest of the family crowds in front the TV, is just
as unsuitable. The worst place yet is the tiny front garden. There, his dad, a handyman,
has set up a kind of workshop where he hammers away all day and fixes things for
neighbors. Randa’s next-door neighbor, Mrs. Suwarno, for whom Randa sometimes run
errands, notices his problem and offers him her late husband’s study room. Mrs.
Suwarno, a widow with no children, works as a nurse on night shifts in the local hospital.
Randa can study at her house in the evenings while she is on duty in the hospital. By
house-sitting for her, Randa can now fully concentrate on his study.