Topic 3: How Should Children Deal With Exam Stress?
Examinations amongst children is not a modern-day phenomenon. With the competition rising and number of seats not increasing to the same proportion, stress during exams is unfortunately here to stay!
According to children's author, Monarose Pereira, "Tension brews as examinations are around the corner. Today, this tension is unbearable because a student's entire life is determined by it. Examinations are no more a positive challenge. They have become a way by which we judge people on all fronts based on one perspective. There are also several empirical forces at play while a student appears for an exam, which are not taken into consideration."
Explains Pereira, "When children play and read, they like the challenges in the exercise. There is a great amount of excitement. In fact, children are born with a natural sense of curiosity which, if tapped in the right way, can be transferred into a keen interest in learning. Unfortunately, we swap down this interest and then force it upon children in the name of information and facts. To top it all, we have only one way of grading various types of children which is really unfair. Our education system has to undergo drastic changes, if we need students to take the examination as an enjoyable challenge."
"In this complex and bewildering world, Indian parents are going to learn the lesson that Western parents, teachers and schools learnt in the heady days of the 60s and 70s that the only way to bring up a child to be happy and successful is to let him follow his own 'star' according to his own timescale," says Andy Gray, head, governing council, EuroSchool, Mumbai.
Today, parents seldom take a personal interest in the child's study. It is left to the school and the tutorial classes. But education is much more than what is imparted in these institutions. What about the thousands of questions in a child's head? "These may not necessarily be about the so-called studies. There is hardly any close contact or relationship with children by parents, teachers or tutors. The schools blame it on the numbers, the parents blame it on work. Besides who is going to teach the students how to handle stress? How to make decisions? Where is the love, the emotional talk, the healing touch that parents are supposed to share with their children? Honestly, children have been living lonely lives for a long time. We have also dehumanised them. We need to relate to their humaneness," adds Pereira.
Children, make your pre-exam time easier
- Eat a sensible and regular diet. Get some fresh vegetables and fruit as part of your diet. Avoid too much caffeine, eg, coffee, tea and fizzy drinks. These give you a quick 'high' followed by an energy slump.
- If your energy does slump, have a banana rather than a caffeine drink. This helps maintain your blood sugar and helps you maintain your energy levels.
- Try to establish a routine that allows time for meals, sleep, revising and relaxing. You are allowed to enjoy yourself and it is important to have a break from study.
- Take some exercise, a walk for instance.
- Consider the possibility of visiting the doctor/counsellor if you feel the stress is too much -- some temporary help may be a sensible idea.
How to prepare for exams
- Start studying well before the exam. Revisions are more important than first time study.
- Understand the concepts rather than mugging. However, if rote learning is necessary, try using mnemonics.
- Use positive self-statements like 'I am doing my best', 'I am feeling calm'. The more negative statements you make, the more negative you feel!
- Don't work all night - get proper sleep.
- Make sure you know when and where the exam will take place.
- Get to the venue before time to allow you to stay as relaxed as possible.
- Try not to spend too much time analysing your performance after the examination. This leads to anxiety, since we all focus more on what we have done wrong than what we have done correctly.
Parents, help your children during exam
- Encourage them when they get stressed.
-Talk to them in a non-judgmental manner to know where they are coming from.
- Help them in setting timetables and guidelines for more effective study.
-Give them the message that you will accept them no matter the outcome of the exam. This is especially important in preventing suicides, as a lot of children feel anxious about their parents' views on their exam results.
- Don't pressurise if they are already stressed about the exam, keep reinforcing that you love and accept them as they are.
- Take care of their meal and sleeping habits.
(Inputs from Dr Parul Tank, consultant psychiatrist)
Source: Times Of India
According to children's author, Monarose Pereira, "Tension brews as examinations are around the corner. Today, this tension is unbearable because a student's entire life is determined by it. Examinations are no more a positive challenge. They have become a way by which we judge people on all fronts based on one perspective. There are also several empirical forces at play while a student appears for an exam, which are not taken into consideration."
Explains Pereira, "When children play and read, they like the challenges in the exercise. There is a great amount of excitement. In fact, children are born with a natural sense of curiosity which, if tapped in the right way, can be transferred into a keen interest in learning. Unfortunately, we swap down this interest and then force it upon children in the name of information and facts. To top it all, we have only one way of grading various types of children which is really unfair. Our education system has to undergo drastic changes, if we need students to take the examination as an enjoyable challenge."
"In this complex and bewildering world, Indian parents are going to learn the lesson that Western parents, teachers and schools learnt in the heady days of the 60s and 70s that the only way to bring up a child to be happy and successful is to let him follow his own 'star' according to his own timescale," says Andy Gray, head, governing council, EuroSchool, Mumbai.
Today, parents seldom take a personal interest in the child's study. It is left to the school and the tutorial classes. But education is much more than what is imparted in these institutions. What about the thousands of questions in a child's head? "These may not necessarily be about the so-called studies. There is hardly any close contact or relationship with children by parents, teachers or tutors. The schools blame it on the numbers, the parents blame it on work. Besides who is going to teach the students how to handle stress? How to make decisions? Where is the love, the emotional talk, the healing touch that parents are supposed to share with their children? Honestly, children have been living lonely lives for a long time. We have also dehumanised them. We need to relate to their humaneness," adds Pereira.
Children, make your pre-exam time easier
- Eat a sensible and regular diet. Get some fresh vegetables and fruit as part of your diet. Avoid too much caffeine, eg, coffee, tea and fizzy drinks. These give you a quick 'high' followed by an energy slump.
- If your energy does slump, have a banana rather than a caffeine drink. This helps maintain your blood sugar and helps you maintain your energy levels.
- Try to establish a routine that allows time for meals, sleep, revising and relaxing. You are allowed to enjoy yourself and it is important to have a break from study.
- Take some exercise, a walk for instance.
- Consider the possibility of visiting the doctor/counsellor if you feel the stress is too much -- some temporary help may be a sensible idea.
How to prepare for exams
- Start studying well before the exam. Revisions are more important than first time study.
- Understand the concepts rather than mugging. However, if rote learning is necessary, try using mnemonics.
- Use positive self-statements like 'I am doing my best', 'I am feeling calm'. The more negative statements you make, the more negative you feel!
- Don't work all night - get proper sleep.
- Make sure you know when and where the exam will take place.
- Get to the venue before time to allow you to stay as relaxed as possible.
- Try not to spend too much time analysing your performance after the examination. This leads to anxiety, since we all focus more on what we have done wrong than what we have done correctly.
Parents, help your children during exam
- Encourage them when they get stressed.
-Talk to them in a non-judgmental manner to know where they are coming from.
- Help them in setting timetables and guidelines for more effective study.
-Give them the message that you will accept them no matter the outcome of the exam. This is especially important in preventing suicides, as a lot of children feel anxious about their parents' views on their exam results.
- Don't pressurise if they are already stressed about the exam, keep reinforcing that you love and accept them as they are.
- Take care of their meal and sleeping habits.
(Inputs from Dr Parul Tank, consultant psychiatrist)
Source: Times Of India