However, life is only as hard as the current challenges that you face, so in view of that - from my perspective as both an examining teacher, and as an 'ex-student', I offer the following pieces of advice from my years at this school (which are coming to the end of their 11th :)):
- EXERCISE! - It is not enough to cram your head full of knowledge (much of which you might not need...but you never know ;-) ) - however, it is good to get those endorphins moving around. You can sit on your brains too long! Take a walk, go for a run, cycle, have a swim...whatever - but MOVE!! It makes you feel good...and it will do you good, and keep your mind sharp & focused.
- BREATHE!!! It seems a silly thing, but sometimes students get SO nervous during the exams, and they talk so fast, and feel they have to get everything out of their brain as quickly as possible, and talk, talk, talk.... Meanwhile, the teachers watch them...until they start to go a certain shade of blue, and then we politely say, 'Breathe!' :) Such a simple thing, but easily overlooked due to nervousness.
- DRINK! And of course, I mean non-alcoholic drinks! You will be nervous, you will sweat, you will dehydrate...so, make sure you have plenty to drink AND go to the toilet before you go to the exam room :-)
- STAY FOCUSED!! Yes, I'm repeating this - it is SO easy to get distracted...to look out of the window...see something happening...and forget what you wanted to say... To not look at your teachers (look at them, but DON'T stare at them!! :-)) & to look over their heads & around them or at the floor...and notice something that causes your train of thought to derail... STAY FOCUSED!!
- IMPROVISE! Things might not go to plan, you might pick out a difficult topic, you might have a blank (like I did in history last year! :-O) - but don't give up! Dig deep - go deep in your well of resources, and...IMPROVISE! Sometime, you need pressure to find out what's inside. Pressure is not a bad thing, it can be very helpful. I call it the 'toothpaste tube experience' - the teachers do the squeezing, and we find out what's in there...you might not have a lot left at the end (for some of you, it might be a cruise, a day at the beach) but for others, your brain will surely hurt...but it will be worth it. But make sure you've got something in that tube to be squeezed to begin with ;-)
- 15 MINUTES - that is the time you get to prepare your topic (20 mins for the State Exam), and in my opinion that is THE MOST important part of the exam. During that time, you should write as much as you know, or can think about for the topic you have. But do this in bullet points, not long-hand, as some students have done in the past...you really don't have enough time to write a talk!! :) Fill up your paper with notes, prompts...and DO remember to look at it, and refer to it during the exam - be creative too :-)
- ENJOY THE MOMENT! It seems a crazy thing to suggest, but (if all goes well) this time will NOT come again, so enjoy it. For some of you, there will come a time in the exam when you WILL KNOW that you have it in the bag. Relax, but don't take your foot off the gas ;-) This is a unique experience in your life, and why should it be stress-filled? If you are good, and you believe you have done the hard work, then enjoy the results :-)
And finally, I wish all of my students EVERY success. It can be a bit of a lottery with picking the questions...and there are a lot of questions to choose from, but accept your choices. Don't complain about them - face them. Now is the time to show your teachers that they were right to have faith in you & to let you go for these exams :-)
See you in the exams, and on the other side!
Mr E
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