Deputy Principal, Teaching and Learning
Fear or Armour?
Examinations begin in Week 8 for Years 9-11 and Week 9 for Years 7-8. One of the big topics of conversation for families around this time is how to eliminate the fear and stress that comes with exams.
Fear of an examination may be less about the exam itself and more about the idea of getting a disappointing grade. There are many ways students manage the lead up to exams and one way is allowing fear to build up a defensive armour. Students can protect themselves from the fear of failure by claiming:
‘I did not study’, ‘The teacher did not prepare us for the exam’, ‘I don’t care about my exam results’.
Parents and guardians can play a pivotal role in reframing this way of thinking.
Is your child afraid of exams? Possibly. The way we can work together to help them navigate the exam period is:
- to be explicit about the expectations for sitting exams
- being clear about the content that needs to be reviewed for the exam
- practising writing and answering exam style questions
- affirming the exam and test experience that they have had
- celebrate the success
These simple approaches align with how our teaching staff are working with our students. It is important to start exam revision early and to do small tasks but do them often.
Remember fear is real. Unpack this idea of fear as the armour we wear. Help your child to be open and curious about how they feel and what they are doing.
If you like this idea and would like to explore the difference between fear and armour, you might like to watch this short clip from Brene Brown, who discusses how this concept applies to leadership.
Susan Bradbeer
Deputy Principal, Teaching and Learning