NOT ANOTHER TEST (Helping your child cope with exam stress)

Member Name: C_Padd

Product:	Helping your child cope with exam stress
Date:	02/05/02 (152 review reads)
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Helping your children to get through their exams can be a stressful time for all concerned. The students are hard enough as it is with the workload and revision stress and parents can worry themselves sick through this as well. I could consider myself an expert for exams, as many people who are in education could do. We do enough as it is with exams just about every year, SATs, GCSEs, A-Levels then degrees. This opinion comes from a students point of view to keep with the stress at exam time.

I am doing my AS levels this summer, in about three weeks to be exact. This is a relatively new system where the government have decided two years ago to make us all do work for two years, not just one at college or sixth form. This includes several exams at the end of year twelve in the lower sixth and a whole new course for everyone. This helpfully means that people are still playing around with the system, teachers don’t know what exactly they should be teaching, there are no past papers with examples of questions, and as ever the students have no clue. Basically for me it means that I have some more weeks of frantic revision and then a wait for the results before I can send off a university application. The course is also modular, so I took two exams in January this year. I got an A grade in Geography, but then an E at Maths, so decide if you will just how useful this information I give will be.

I want to do this opinion in two main sections. First off how to cope with the stress of exams and the second part on how to revise. The two are linked in my opinion by the simple fact that stress is caused by revision. You are nervous before an exam because you are worried you have not done enough revision and the overwork from too much revision can also lead to stress.

1. Start well in advance. It is never too early to start really revising, as bad as it may sound. It is better than cramming a few days before the exams start working several hour
s a day if you just do twenty minutes a day some weeks before the exams.

2. Work hard throughout. Ideally you should have done some work a night throughout the course to make sure you understand each subject as soon as you do the work. This makes it a lot easier to just go over the stuff before exams when you are revising.

3. Play hard. It is important not to lose sight of other things when you are working. This may not be a problem for some people, but it is just as important to keep a good social life during exams and revision and have your own entertainment. It makes you a more normal person, and also makes you able to work harder when you do work out.

4. Relax. By the time exams come around hopefully you will have done all the revision you need. It is hard to do any revision this close, and it is better to relax. It will make you more prepared for the crucial exams and not get you so worked up.

5. Do yourself justice. It all comes down to the couple of hours in the exam. Preparing for the actual exam is as important as the revision. Sleep well the night before so you are well rested and ready. Eat before the exam, a proper meal with carbohydrates not snacks or nothing at all. Relax the night before with no work, just rest. Make sure you have anything you need for the exam, pens, ink, equipment and materials told before. Arrive with plenty of time, not rushing at the end in a panic and set yourself out as best you can. Then all I can say is do the best you can. Have faith in yourself and do yourself justice.

The above tips are really for the students yourselves as tips to avoid stress. Pass these onto your children as parents can help as tips for a better time when exams come around and hopefully about better results. I have no experience of parenthood, but know that it can be as hard for parents. The most important thing for parents at exam time is to make sure that your child is happy. It is a bad time for you bu
t it is even worse for the person taking the exam. That is not to say make everything revolve around them or go out of the way to help, but be sensible.

1. Keep stress out. It is hard for people to work with trying to get a life as well. Try to make sure that they have a good place to work where the noise and general fuss of life can be kept out when they are trying to work at home. Avoid any extra problems, they could probable do without it.

2. Don’t get too involved. Show some interest in what they are doing and help at all possible with work and other problems. However don’t push too hard, you are likely to get nowhere and end up negatively. You need to ensure that they do enough work to get their grades, but don’t overwork or push.

3. Make sure they are working hard enough. It is hard to strike a balance with 2. People need to do themselves justice and that only comes with hard work. Check on them to make sure they are not listening to music or watching TV and if necessary make a timetable of when to revise and when to work

4. Give them a life. It may not be a problem for some students, but some people will overwork and do too much. This could be damaging and you as parents could make sure that they do get out with fresh air and time off do enjoy themselves as well as studying.

5. Know you kids. Only you can really find out what does effect your children’s study habits. What works for some does not for others. If your child likes to work alone then back off and don’t get over involved, if you need to push to make them work harder then make sure they do enough. This comes with time and does help a lot.

Finally my Tips for Revising:

1. Find your own way. I could go on about what I do to revise for pages and pages, but I will not. First because I cannot be bothered on a Saturday afternoon and second because everyone is different in so many ways that I could not say wha
t works for you. Finding out what works for you can take time, but you need to make it work in whatever ways you find it best to learn the stuff you need.

2. Read around the subject. It really helps you to read as much as you can, whatever it has in relation to the subject. Reading quality newspapers is a good help for some subjects. Textbooks and purpose made revisions guides are also good to work from. It helps no end if you take an active interest and it just generally helps to read.

3. Use postcards. I like this method, and it works well for me. I have a good memory and this helps me a lot. This involves condensing notes onto small pieces of paper. It helps a lot to write out the notes again, then being able to repeat them over in the mind.

4. Recording yourself. I don’t like this method personally it does not work for me, but it can be a good method for people. Basically you record yourself reading aloud your notes, then playing back the results. It helps reading the work, as you are more conscious of what you are saying when speaking aloud. It can also be fun to heard yourself talking back.

5. Make notes. Then make notes on top of notes. This is a pretty good way to learn the subjects content. Writing out again makes you learn the content and is a good way to make sure you know what you do.

That is my advice for coping with the exams. Maybe instead of writing about this I should have actually done some revision. Not to worry, I just keep telling myself that in five weeks it will be over. Then my A-Level exams, university, driving test………

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