Candidates need support
Oct 22, 2006
PAM entered the examination room that morning with the confidence of a winner. Before exams, her father had sternly warned her against scoring a ‘fool’s grades’. Mathematics was Pam’s best subject and she had promised her dad she would study sciences in high school.
Wagwau Jamesa
PAM entered the examination room that morning with the confidence of a winner. Before exams, her father had sternly warned her against scoring a ‘fool’s grades’. Mathematics was Pam’s best subject and she had promised her dad she would study sciences in high school.
When she received her mathematics question paper, she could hardly work out the first question in section A. As she toiled to calculate the number in vain, she recalled her dad’s warning and her right hand became numb. The fear of letting her dad down and facing the consequences of a ‘fool’s grades’ hit her like thunder in the exam room.
Pam sat motionless. The word ‘failure’ rang so loudly in her mind that it made it difficult for her to answer the remaining questions. Although Mathematics was her best subject, she got a pass seven.
Pam is a typical case of a candidate who has been paralysed by extreme parental expectations. When children face an exam against the background of pressure mounted by parents, the anxiety hits them like a bomb. It is not wrong to have expectations as a parent but children are quite sensitive and the slightest pressure slaps them on the face with negative results. Did you know that most children face their final exams more with their parents’ dreams than with their own? The fear of letting you down might paralyse your child and make him or her fail to perform as expected. The standards you have set for your child might appear realistic but might also work against him or her. The greatest asset your child needs to handle challenging situations like exams is a positive self-concept. Pressure or threats shatter a child, making him or her vulnerable to fear and self doubts. Here is how to guard your child against fear during examination:
Make the child understand that marks scored in exams do not change his or her self-image. Marks are a reflection of your performance which does not necessarily define ‘who you are’. This skill will guard him or her against owning failures or disappointments in life.
Failure to handle the first question on the exam paper well does not condemn a candidate to fail the entire paper. A balanced exam paper has many concepts tested and not all questions are the same.
Spare time and talk to your child prior to exams. It is time to trumpet the child’s potentials and assure him or her of your confidence in them. Use statements like, “This is not the first time you are faced with exams and since you have always excelled, I am sure it will not be any different.†Avoid statements like “I do not have time to search for schools. Should you harvest poor grades, be prepared to look for your own school.†Such statements negatively affect the child.
The most important skill that your child should build before facing exam is having faith in his or her potentials.
As much as you would love your child to score clean grades, you should note that success in life takes more than excellent grades. You could still emphasise the need for excellence without pushing your child to the wall.
jwagwau@newvision.co.ug
0772-631032
PAM entered the examination room that morning with the confidence of a winner. Before exams, her father had sternly warned her against scoring a ‘fool’s grades’. Mathematics was Pam’s best subject and she had promised her dad she would study sciences in high school.
When she received her mathematics question paper, she could hardly work out the first question in section A. As she toiled to calculate the number in vain, she recalled her dad’s warning and her right hand became numb. The fear of letting her dad down and facing the consequences of a ‘fool’s grades’ hit her like thunder in the exam room.
Pam sat motionless. The word ‘failure’ rang so loudly in her mind that it made it difficult for her to answer the remaining questions. Although Mathematics was her best subject, she got a pass seven.
Pam is a typical case of a candidate who has been paralysed by extreme parental expectations. When children face an exam against the background of pressure mounted by parents, the anxiety hits them like a bomb. It is not wrong to have expectations as a parent but children are quite sensitive and the slightest pressure slaps them on the face with negative results. Did you know that most children face their final exams more with their parents’ dreams than with their own? The fear of letting you down might paralyse your child and make him or her fail to perform as expected. The standards you have set for your child might appear realistic but might also work against him or her. The greatest asset your child needs to handle challenging situations like exams is a positive self-concept. Pressure or threats shatter a child, making him or her vulnerable to fear and self doubts. Here is how to guard your child against fear during examination:
The most important skill that your child should build before facing exam is having faith in his or her potentials.
As much as you would love your child to score clean grades, you should note that success in life takes more than excellent grades. You could still emphasise the need for excellence without pushing your child to the wall.
jwagwau@newvision.co.ug
0772-631032