What Makes a Good Student?
The ideal student is regular and punctual in his work. He does not waste his time in idle gossip or frivolous pursuits. His whole time and energies are devoted to the acquisition of knowledge, and the formation of good habits and character.
The ideal student must be an early riser because a lie-in bed fellow can never make satisfactory progress in his studies. He will bathe and say his prayers, and then begin the day’s work with a definite programmer. He will attend his lectures in time, and while innocent fun is not forbidden, he will have nothing to do with the wicked jokes of mischievous hoys. He keeps aloof from had companions and chooses his friends with care.
The true aim of education is to form character, and a good student will never neglect the opportunities which he has of forming good habits under the guidance of his parents and his teachers. He will discipline his body and mind, and learn those things which will be of use to him in after-life. An English writer says, As I look back upon the days when I was a student, I can see that here I went wrong, and there I mistook, here I missed a golden opportunity, and there I acquired a wrong habit, or received a wrong bias; and as I sometimes walk past a college. I pause, and sigh that I cannot go back, and begin life again, carrying with me my present experience. A good hoy need not regret like this, for he will follow the example and advice of men, wiser and more experienced than he is, i.e., his parents and teachers.
A good boy, while he attends to his studies, will not neglect his body either. He will take regular exercise. The development of body, mind, and soul shall in the case of an ideal student proceed side by side, viz., his development will be harmonious, and not one-sided. By taking exercise daily, his mental, as well as physical faculties, will flourish.