GSAT Jitters and Fears

As the dates for the GSAT examinations get closer, the level of children's fear and paranoia rise to alarming intensities. Students between the ages of 10 and 12 are grinding the wheels of learning every waking hour and dragging their parents with them, to prove their years of knowledge and its benefits in two days of testing. Just to prove my point, I overheard one pareant threatening certain harm to her child if on the day the exam results are posted, he puts her to shame in front of the other parents. She further went on to advice him that in the event he passes for a 'dunce school', all she would do is get him a machete and rake kit and set him lose to go take care of people’s yards, because according to her he wouldnt even qualify to sell on the streets as it require some level of numeracy skills, which he certainly didnt possess. Which child wouldn’t be scared? I would.


For most at this age, its the most dreaded period of their short life, and for the minority, a time long awaited to prove one’s academic and recall acrobatics to the examiner. Whatever the emotions that run deep in the psyche of the learner, examinations are not to be taken lightly as it is used as the yard stick for success in the exam and often times in life.

I have had the chance of interracting with a number of parents, students and teachers affected by the GSAT anxiety and have compiled a brief of their reasons for its anxiety.
1. Parent’s attitude was identified as one of the greatest contributors to students being pressured during the time of exams. Too often, parents, although not with malice, use their childrens’ lives as a vehicle for their second chance. As a realut, the child feels pressured in not being able to live up to the epectations of the parent/s. A definite cause for anxiety.

2. Most of the teachers content that the volume of work, (athough the curriculum is designed by educational experts and developed as a systematic planning of what is taught and learned in schools as reflected in courses of study and school programs), is way to copious for the specific periods given, and leaves little time for effective learning. Teachers have to be conducting extra classes in order to accommodte the teaching of new content. An additional pressure for students.

3. Insufficient time was also cited as another cause. There is no time allowed for pre-exam revision, as a result, students have the undaunted task of revising on their own without the guided assistance of the teacher who would make corrections, supplement information and share exam psychology with them

4. Students content, the syllabus is irrelevant. I however beg to differ. But since I am not the GSAT student here, my observation doesnt account for much here. Due to this attitude, effective learning is compromised as one of the bases on which students learn is through relevancy. The more relevant it is to the learners’ everyday life or experience, the more effective learning will be, and the converse applies. Inadequate preparation will lead to exam anxiety.


In addition to the above, exam panic is caused by other factors. Some include:
1. Lack of memory or forgetfulness
2. Fear of punishments from parents / teachers
3. Bad past experiences
4. Improper learning i.e. studying not in depth
5. Inattentive / distracted mind
6. Lack of self-confidence / hopelessness / inferiority complex


The simple fear of exam, if left untreated, may develope into a more serious condition and lead to paranoia. When this happens it now becomes a medical problem, such as nervous breakdowns, constipation, diarhoea, excessive sweating.

You can minimize or prevent exam anxiety by being aware of its symptoms. Some common symptoms parents and teachers can look for are:
1. Feeling blank or vagueness before exam
2. Difficulty in concentrating and studying while preparing for exams
3. Fear to appear for exams
4. Getting tensed on seeing difficult questions
5. Difficulty in expressing / presentation even for known answers due to fear or inferiority complex
6. Confusion and hopelessness
7. Sweating and racing heart
8. Tension and worries
9. Prevention and management – Learning, keeping it in memory,
10. Lack of interest in lesson

Extreme exam fear often leads to failure. This may further cause lack of interest and loss of self-esteem. Criticism and bad parenting are the main causes for exam fear which further causes depression , anxiety, tension, etc. Sometimes it even pushes one to commit suicide. Fearful/dejected students commit suicide because they were unable to perform well in a test/exam or difficulty in facing their parents, teachers or even themselves after that.

In light of all the preceeding, it is incumbent on all the stakeholders in education, to ensure this GSAT Exam and others exams are appriached with confidence. Confidence stems from adequate preparedness. Each of us has a role to play in reducing or eliminating Exam Anxiety.


source:
http://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst;jsessionid=K8LSwqxbd6GjjrWDyGp9DxpX8ndHS1MJ0q08dyWT72LpN39RJ6XP!657620650!-1226680035?docId=5000370163
Dr S Chidambaranathan,Homeopathic Consultant. Website: www.drcheena.com
http://www.aboutourkids.org/files/articles/test_anxiety_E.pdf

Grade 6: Then &Now pt. I

The last time I was in Grade 6 was many many many years ago, but you could never tell based on my sharp and effortless recall of Grade 6 content I daily rely on to assist my nephew in preparing for the 'dreaded' Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) in march 2010.

I recall like it were just yesterday in 19something when I was one of about 50 students in Ms Moss' Grade 6 class at Granville All Age, Trelawny. As I reflect on then and compare it with what my nephew's current reality is, I marvel at how much extensive changes have been effected to impact the learner and how little they seem to worked.

Lets take a quick look at what was then compared to now
• We had recess where every student was 'shooshed' outside the classroom to play. The more domesticated and introverted ones remained behind and swept the class for the afternoon session. The likes of me revelled in a mean game of dandy-shandy, site or baseball, the toast of the recess for girls and cricket, football and war games for the boys. What do we have now?: Students are told by teachers not to play as they get too sweaty and that makes for a foul smelling classroom when they return from breaks. OMG! I GUESS TEACHERS KNEW THE STRONG CO-RELATION BETWEEN LEARNING AND PHYSICAL EXERCISE AND IT DIDNT TAKE A DEGREE OR MORE TO DO SO.... JUST SHEER COMMON SENSE.

• Do you remember Mental Ability? Who can forget the problem solving techniques that were employed? It was a joy to be using our skills to solve x-factor questions, maths, english and all the areas of study integrated in one subject. For those who not gifted in the usual math or english, Mental Ability was the subject he would prove his prowess and smile at the rest of us. I guess then the integrated approach to learning was effective and very relevant

• And if you thought the techniques of problem solving were all, just remember the nmenomics employed in studing our daily list of new words and the enormity of strength it took to recall the 3 to 12 times? Every single day that God sent we had to prove our independent knowledge of those words given the previous day and all of thise time tables including up to 14xs dependent on the generousity of the dear teacher. Nowadays, the teachers merely ask for any proof of word knowledge and timetable swat. Yes they conduct spelling tests weekly – which is a composite of familiar words from the week’s lessons – whic is marked by a student. Soes the teacher review it. Definitely not!

• Then there is the elocution exercises. Teachers then were masters of style and diction. We had to read independently from our Reader and teacher always knew who to pick on for which section of the passage. Today, my observation takes me to a distant simalarity to this practice. Woe be to those slow or non-readers. Test reading seems to be a thing of the past. But with all fairness to the teachers, I have seen class reading timetabled for about 15 minutes per week.
• Talking about limited time? I remember when we had enough time and sufficient guidance to complete assignments, especially projects? Well I dont know if its the delinqiency of my nephew or the general practice of the G-6 teachers but parents are having to stay up late and loooong hours to complete their child(ren's) project which was given a day or two before and due the following day. There seems to be the trend of setting complex coursework projects which require at least 1 week of deep research and collation in addition to the sourcing of materials that are usually available from a store shelf. What ever happened to recycleables , reusables, or the plain old rubbish?
• Do you remember Phonics? Well well, that was one of my better subjects areas. Here we honed the skills in word pronounciation, which was timetabled at least twice per week. Today, when asked why students are not 'drilled’ with phonics, I was told by a renowned G-6 teacher "..it’s not on the syllabus..." Lord help us! Is it any wonder our students are so inept in their speaking, which translates in their less than favourable writing skills?

The Grade 6 I knew then and the Grade 6 I come to know are as alike as night is to day.