Calm Down Before The Countdown (Exam Stress Busted)

CALM DOWN BEFORE THE COUNTDOWN

Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi ji, gave a speech on 16th February 16, 2018 about exam stress. The issues taken up were very bold and beautifully explained to realize how to deal.

I am here not to repeat those matters of how we could do just the same. I am here writing the points that I find fit (totally unrelated to that speech as I did not hear it but only had hearsay experience). Any resemblance of any topic or any idea written hereby shall be taken as unknown to my knowledge of its resemblance.

Question. The biggest question I see or feel is that why is even a space for exam stress in the mind of children giving exams?

Answer. The biggest causes are the :

1. Lack of preparation

2. Scared of being a failure

3. Hating the school

Let’s focus on the part where

The child does not prepare

The child is either procrastinating or not in the mood to give an exam. The reasons of procrastination can be anything. The parents did not help in preparation, the child is not well, the child is unable to get into the mood of studying or the child is sick. These are not the only reasons but the few that I consider as a point to focus on.

Scared of being a failure

This issue comes when the child is expecting himself to do more than he/she can or the parents are expecting more from the child, or one more thing can be that the child does not want to show itself as dumb and/or be made fun of.

Hating the school

Hating the school majorly means its environment and aura that the child is in. The child could be facing problems like being bullied. The teachers also can be insulting or saying hurtful things or the child is way too innocent and shy to get through it.

Apprehension about the consequences

The child has the fear of being scolded, beaten or unheard of why he did badly in the exam or why he had no way to score big.

Parent’s expectations

Parents these days expect their children to give nothing less than a 99% score in all the subjects that are being taught to the child. This makes the child vulnerable to imaginative scenarios of being beaten or scolded badly.

Methods to cope up with the exam stress

Lifestyle : correct lifestyle will make up to better grasping abilities. Time of sleep and waking up should be right. There should be discipline and balance of both studies and games.

Nutrition : the right food for engaging and keeping brain active shall be greens and vegetables, no junk food and sometimes chocolate that helps in building concentration.

Time management : it is a skill most people lack till date. But once you master it you can do anything productive in the right amount of time. It does not only mean being in and on time, it also means how to divide your time in the exam and how much on which answer. Then that division of time shall be followed to get the required result of better performance. This will enhance your speed and efficiency. Improve on it by doing at least 4-5 sample papers of each subject.

Information : stay informed on all the notes and lectures that are given and held respectively. Also stay aware of the exam schedules, time and exam hall. Keep your admit card, pencil box and water bottle available and prepare the night before by keeping it all in place for the next day.

Ask for help : ask for help of any kind from your teacher or parent or anyone who can help you understand what you don’t. Do not hesitate in doing so. Ask your friend to teach you what you don’t know and in return teach them what you know.

DOES AND DO NOTs :

1. Do not fear the content coverage, instead try to learn everything in small chunks.

2. Do not binge study. Try to take small breaks. For example : study an hour and take a break of 5minutes.

3. Do not study just the night before the exams. Instead study and revise daily each subject at least an hour.

4. Never do an all-nighter in the exam days, that will only leave you tired and sleepy on the day of exam.

5. Do not think yourself as less than anyone. Have confidence in yourself and do not compare yourself, your hard work or your time given to studies with anyone else’s. Also, do not compare your marks with someone else’s marks. Try to do better every time but do not compare. Only compare it with your own previous results.

6. Do not demotivate yourself even if you score low. In fact, reward yourself on your little victories. For example : Go out for an hour after completing your daily revision.

7. Do not have negative thoughts about yourself and never stop your efforts. You will fail only on the day that you stop trying.

8. Don’t keep things bottled up. Confide in someone like your parents or a mentor or a teacher you find who could help you, or consult a counsellor.

9. Do not cram everything because that way you will never be able to understand anything and won’t learn it for the long term. Instead, try to revise as much as you can that will prevent you from forgetting over long period of time and also help you to understand everything better.

10. If you don’t understand a thing re-reading helps to have a clearer perspective. And above all, PRACTICE IS THE KEY. Keep practicing, keep revising and do your best. Leave the results and focus on the efforts, they will give you the results. Do not be disheartened if the result isn’t good in the first attempt. The results will be great sooner or later, just don’t stop trying and working for it.